Product Details
FORMERLY THE PROPERTY OF FREDERIC GREENER
A .577 (SNIDER) SINGLE-SHOT MILITARY TARGET-RIFLE, UNSIGNED, MODEL 'MKII SNIDER', no visible serial number,
circa 1870, with blued 36 1/2in. barrel, block and blade fore-sight with special spring-steel cover, elevating ladder rear-sight also with a lift-off spring-steel cover marked 'SNIDER' and stamped with a Victorian registration mark, flip-open breech-block marked with an arrow and 'SNIDER' trade-mark, spring-loaded thumb-catch, borderline engraved lock and hammer (much colour remaining), walnut three-quarter stock with chequered wrist, the chequering conducted in the Greener fashion, brass furniture, three iron barrel-bands and jag-ended iron ramrod, much finish remaining throughout
Provenance: The following information was kindly supplied by Mr Graham Greener of W.W. Greener
Frederic Greener (1872 - 1949)
Frederic Greener was the youngest of W W Greener's sons to become involved with gunmaking. Like his elder brother, William Oliver, he was not really interested in guns; but like his brothers, before him, he completed his apprenticeship in the factory and worked alongside the other craftsmen. One of Fred's passions was chemistry and he spent many years blacking and browning gun barrels to obtain the very fine figures in damascus barrels and the deep blue-black sheen of properly blacked steel barrels. He became an accomplished chemist and during a varied career he invented synthetic 'Rosin' a resin which was cast into egg shaped pieces and used on the bows of violins. This was as a result of another of his interests - he was an accomplished musician.
Like his brother Harry he was also an inventor and patented several inventions relating to guns. His first was for an adaptor for miniature rifle ammunition 1904 and this was followed by two more patents in 1905, the first for a safety device and the second for the 'Nomisguard'. This device slid over the end of the barrels of a double gun to provide protection from hot barrels during rapid shooting. It had two 'ears', one on either side of each barrel, designed to concentrate the shooter's aim for bird shooting. In 1907 he invented an offset barrel conversion which enabled rim fire ammunition to be used in a centre fire rifle. His last invention involving guns came in 1909, for a folding rear sight for rifles.
Fred was a keen shot and represented his country on several occasions. In W W Greener's book The British Miniature Rifle, published in 1908 there is a picture showing the target with ten shots made by Fred Greener at the International match between England and Australia in 1907. Fred also won the Daily Mirror Championship Cup in 1907 - both matches were won with W W Greener rifles of course!
In the early 1890s cycling became very fashionable and Fred became a keen cyclist so his father eventually set him up with his own bicycle business. This was carried on in Edmund Street quite near to the W W Greener factory so that Fred could take advantage of the various machines and workshops to make the parts required for bicycle manufacture. Fred did not make bicycles for very long and soon returned St Mary's Row to work for his father again. He continued at the factory for many years being associated with the various improvements to rifles and rifle sights working closely with Harry Greener on these inventions. He died in 1949 after a short illness.
This Snider target rifle originally belonged to Fred and although it was not made in the Greener factory it was chequered by Fred and used by him in target shooting competitions.
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Estimate £1,000-1,500