Product Details
F. BEESLEY (FROM PURDEY'S)
A 20-BORE DOUBLE-BARRELLED TOPLEVER HAMMERGUN, serial no. 1266,
27 1/4in. nitro reproved fine damascus barrels, rib engraved 'F. BEESLEY (FROM PURDEY'S) 2 ST. JAMES'S STREET. LONDON.', 2 3/4in. chambers, bored approx. 3/4 choke in both, treble-grip action, carved percussion fences, rebounding sidelocks, border and fine acanthus scroll engraving, retaining traces of original colour-hardening, 14 1/8in. figured stock including 1 1/2in. wooden extension, weight 4lb. 7oz., in its lightweight canvas and leather case with serial numbered Beesley label instructing charges of 33gr BP, 3/4oz. 7 shot
Provenance: We are kindly informed by the vendor (and confirmed by the makers) of the following:
"This shotgun was completed in 1892 for William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor, for the sum of £36 15 shillings.
A member of the immensely successful Astor family, William Waldorf and his family moved to England in 1891 as the result of a family feud. He initially rented Lansdowne House (currently the Lansdowne Club), formerly the home of the Marquis of Bute, who sold it to the Marquis of Lansdowne. It was while living in London that he bought the Beesley shotgun. In 1893 the Duke of Westminster sold the Cliveden Estate to Viscount Astor and, in 1903, having become a British Citizen Astor acquired Hever Castle, the huge estate built in 1270 where Anne Boleyn lived as a child."
Estimate £2,500-3,000
S2