Product Details
EX SMALL ARMS SCHOOL CORPS WEAPONS COLLECTION
VALENTIN CHRISTOPH SCHILLING
AN EXCEPTIONAL PRESENTATION 12-BORE TOPLEVER HAMMERGUN, serial no. 19183, with extra barrels,
School Corps Ref 1831;
27in. fine twist nitro reproved 12-bore shot barrels with broad raised rib, bead fore-sight, the muzzle ends with finely engraved decorative bands, the breech end finely gold-inlaid with rococo floral designs, the rib inlaid in gold script 'V. CHR. SCHILLING, SUHL', 2 1/2in. chambers, bored approx. true cyl. and 1/4 choke;
27in. fine damascus nitro reproved 12-bore shot barrels with broad raised rib, bead fore-sight, the muzzle ends with finely engraved decorative bands, the breech end finely gold-inlaid with rococo floral designs, the rib inlaid in gold script 'V. CHR. SCHILLING, SUHL', 2 1/2in. chambers, bored approx. 1/4 and 1/2 choke;
treble-grip action with carved percussion fences, rebounding sidelocks with ornately carved hammers, set front trigger, scroll-fronted triggerguard with scrolled horn skeletal pistolgrip tang, the action, lockplates and furniture very finely carved in high relief with scrolling floral designs with ropework bordering, surrounding and invading woodland scenes of wild boar and roe deer on the left, on the right fox pursuing duck and a chamois with hound, the triggerguard with a red stag, retaining some original colour-hardening, 14 3/8in. well-figured stock with cheekpiece, sling swivels and finely carved and serial numbered skeletal buttplate, the hand and the sides decoratively carved with floral and acanthus motifs with intricate hunting scenes in three-dimensional form, the left side with woodland scene involving a hunter with rifle and hound, deerhounds bringing down a stag in the foreground, with oak forests and a mountain top Schloss in the background, the right side with similar designs and a central figure of a hunter looking through an eyeglass, the middle with florally carved oval cartouche surmounted by an eagle, with central blank white metal escutcheon, the butt with caved a band of oak leaves, the fore-end with carved Deeley & Edge patent release catch, the fore-end wood partially chequered and with scenes of chamois toward the knuckle, the tip with draped rococo designs and a central basket of fruit and flowers, weight 7lb. 4oz.
Provenance: The Small Arms School Corps have kindly supplied the following information regarding the gun:
"On 2nd March 1945 the 2nd Battalion the Lincolnshire Regiment attacked and captured the village of Winnekendonk, thus opening up an axis of advance to the Rhine. The place was stubbornly defended by a German parachute battalion supported by self-propelled guns, and success cost the Lincolns eighty four casualties plus the loss of three tanks from the supporting squadron of Scots Guards.
This gun was found in a farmhouse which had recently been the headquarters of a German Divisional Commander and is believed to have belonged to him.
It was presented by Major-General C.L. Firbank CB, CBE, DSO, who commanded the 2nd Lincolns during the battle. General Firbank later commanded the School of Infantry in 1945-51 and subsequently became Director of Infantry.
One of General Firbank's company commanders in the battle was Major General C.G. Gilbert. CB, MC, who also commanded the School of Infantry in 1967 - 70."
The German forces tasked with holding the position were a single battalion from the Fallschirmjager Lehr Regiment with a Fortress battery in support. A day and night's fierce combat ultimately lead to the surrender of nearly 250 German troops and a count of 43 dead.
The Lehr Regiment had earned a the praise and respect of not just the German High Command, but also Winston Churchill just two years previously when they successfully completed Operation Eiche - a daring raid to rescue the recently imprisoned and heavily guarded Benito Mussolini from his temporary incarceration at the Camp Imperatore Hotel, high in the Apennine Mountains. The rescue was carried out successfully without a shot being fired.
Other Notes: The firm Valentin Christoph Schilling dates back to circa 1816 and he is recorded as being a medal winner at several International Exhibitions in Berlin, Paris and London. Whilst much of his production seemed to focus on military firearms of all descriptions, his sporting guns are usually of exceptional quality. The firm was bought out by Heinrich Krieghoff (of Sempert & Krieghoff) in 1904.
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Estimate £6,000-8,000
S2