If the bottom is nailed on it is unlikely to be a cartridge box of any kind. Nails would work loose...
Agree. Good eye seeing that in the dovetails picture. My thought had been that the bottom would have been slotted into the sides if it were for carrying anything heavy.
W Richards Liverpool was a fine maker... William Richards was the real deal.
The auction house had this listed as a Westley Richards, which I knew better. I didn't know as much about W Richards, except that the name was used for Continental production guns, as you said, and that there was another British maker with the Richards name of good reputation.
