It appears that George Lander passed on July 14th, 2023. Anyone confirm that?

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

He hadn’t been here in a long time. He made mention of selling his collection due to age some time ago.


Godspeed.

Best,
Ted

Here's a link to George's obituary: https://woodridgefuneralhome.com/tribute/details/75431/George-Lander-Jr/obituary.html

George's 4 bore Reilly 15625 (1869) sold 3 years ago for $10,000. He had been asking in excess of $50,000.
https://doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=595036&page=1


Here is the DGS line about the gun:
https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=550059

And here is the 2009 thread when George L. bought it...There are some pretty vicious comments on that line.
https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=181400&page=1

I was always wondering about George's health since we hadn't heard from him for awhile...he began selling off his collection about 5 years ago after the death of his daughter. I never met him but our internet exchanges were always civil and educational. RIP Sir.

After his daughter's death, he was never the same again....


I thought his 1st name to be odd & maybe began with a >>V<<, but I could not remember.

I was just curious if the Obit was our George Lander, closer friend of Jim Kelly.

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

Sorry to hear of George's passing. I met him many years ago at an auction in Columbia, SC. I will remember him as the first one to publicly out Bo Whoop. He had seen it in Jim Kelley's shop in Darlington while it was there for restocking (butt only). Poor George was "crucified" for suggesting that the "hallowed" Bo Whoop had been found. However, it was true and I was able to see it a couple years later before the owner in Savannah sent it to Julia's for auction.

RIP, Mr. Lander

Sad to hear that another member of our community has passed.

I have read (and I see in one case from my previous comment re-read) with interest the attached threads.

The gun appears to have started life as an 8 bore pinfire shotgun (maybe with rifle barrels since lost?) with a 7 bore proof diameter.

It has then been converted to a paper cased 4 bore.

It seems to have been assumed that it was never re-Proofed BUT I notice that the bore size of 7 is stamped twice on each barrel. That is most unusual.

Does that indicate that it went back to the Proof house on conversion and they simply re stamped the bore size to indicate re-Proof?

If it was done prior to 1875, and that is quite likely given the obsolescence of pin-fire cartridges chamber sizes and lengths were not then marked at Proof and I believe the Re-Proof mark was a later introduction

I never met George, but corresponded with him about Bo Whoop and other subjects. I took his side early on when everyone else was accusing him of fraud. He showed them. His pricing of his collection guaranteed that he would die with most of his guns. I may follow his lead. At 78, I'm still buying more than selling.

What I remember is the time he listed page after page of guns for sale here. He must have bought a container full of English (mostly) clunkers. I don't think he sold many. Sorry to see that he has passed...Geo

It was a sad time indeed when he lost his daughter. As commented, he was never the same. RIP. Gil

Yeah, George was deaf as a Post and you really couldn't communicate well with him over the Phone. But I stopped by his office a time or two and witnessed the whole of his collection, many cased, & setting on tables..... I never did ask him how he came to acquire so many.....

Serbus,


Raimey
rse

Yes, the Obituary is that of "our" George Lander. I've known him for 45+ years and my office was less than 1/2 mile from his for almost 30 years.

Go with God, George.

FlyChamps (aka Bob), Raimey and Stan et al;

I am saddened to learn of George's death. I remember going by his real estate office maybe 2006 and viewing some of his guns and rifles. I also remember he had an assortment of old land rovers in the parking lot--2 or 3 I suppose.

Stan; you mentioned seeing George at the 2007 Charlton Hall auction on Gervais Street in Columbia, SC. I remember seeing George there as well as Raimey, Diggory and some others at this auction. That was the period of time when vintage guns were bringing significant prices and Charlton Hall wanted to get in on the "rush to buy them". Unfortunately the very next year we had a world wide economic fall.

What surprised me most of all about the Charlton Hall auction then was that they had and auctioned a David Shepherd original African Elephant painting. I was astonished that such a painting would appear in a one horse town like Columbia, SC ( I live a few minutes away in the red hills and forest). I seem to remember that the Shepherd painting brought a couple of hundred thousand dollars---do any of you remember what was the hammer price--I remember it was a telephone bidder who bought it. I would liked to have met David Shepherd and ridden on his own private steam railroad in England. I suspect Ole George would have like to have met David Shepherd as well.

https://davidshepherd.org/shop/study-of-elephants/

Kindest Regards;
Stephen Howell

Great Memories there bushveld. I do remember you were smitten by that specific Art offering and maybe another piece, like an Elephant foot?? But I did allow George to outbid me on a single shot 4 bore lacking a forend, which many times denotes a acquisition by sticky fingers. Who knows, Dig may have brought that in.... Kelly was going to make a forend for it? But there was an old rattletrap Farquharson rfile that fetched good money too. Again Great memories and just makes the voyage even more beneficial.

Serbus,
Raimey
rse

I bought my 16 bore 1866 Joseph Lang non-rebounding hammer gun (rebarreled in Damascus by James Woodward) at that 2007 auction, a gun that Diggory brought over. Several years later I was outbid for a Holland & Holland Royal and a Purdey at a Charlton Hall Auction, probably to my significant financial benefit. After that I haven't seen many guns at the Charlton Hall auction that were of interest to me.

It has been several years since I've seen George and I knew he was in poor health.

Raimey;

Yes, very much smitten with the elephant painting by Shepherd. I was familiar with his African wildlife paintings as I had lived in South Africa and in England. I am not certain that Shepherd's paintings fetch as much as they did in 2007, certainly vintage guns do not. I had a gun for sale at that auction with a reserve of $10,500.00 and the high bid was $10,000.00. Today the gun is worth maybe 2/3 of that price.

Regards;
Stephen

Indeed. All I can muster is >>carpe diem<<. But NEVER have I been disappointed nor less advantageous by travelling to meet fellow Gun Collectors or Custodians.......


Serbus,

Raimey
rse

The 2007 Charleton Hall auction was fun, for a country boy like me. I was exposed to any number of items that I would have never seen without having been there. It was there that I met Diggory. I remember that, on the evening before the auction, he gave a talk on English gun engraving. I felt like I was in high cotton. I also remember meeting Raimey that evening. I asked Dig if he would vet a Colt 32" hammergun for me. He reluctantly, but graciously, looked it over for me and pronounced it well ......... as well as a gun of the "colonies" could be. Next day I shot sporting clays at Hermitage Farms in Camden and received a call at about station 12 where I stopped and completed my bidding on the gun. I was outbid. Dig was such a gentleman. I saw George again at a Fall Classic shoot at Georgetown a few years later.

Dig's luggage had gotten misplaced enroute to Columbia and he had borrowed a sport jacket for the evening. I remember him apologizing for his appearance. I thought he looked perfectly fine, albeit the colors were a bit mismatched. (That's not the Colt he's holding in the pic, obviously).

Indeed, >>Cocktails & Conversation w/ Dig<<......

Serbus,

Raimey
rse

George and I exchanged emails when he was getting a hard time about Bo Whoop. He sent me pictures and other documentation hoping I could help with provenance. It was a slam dunk when the serial number was outed. He was quite disturbed about the reaction of the "doubters". So was I. I may still have the emails in my Fox file.