Good evening colleagues. I was the successful bidder on a French side-lever 16GA hammer shotgun, which arrived today. The auction house described it as follows:
French side lever side by side double barrel shotgun made in France by Marquis Coirrer in Paris circa the late 19th century. 29 - 1/2" twist steel 16 gauge barrels marked on concave rib marked "MNF MARQUIS COIRRER succ BOULEVARD DES ITALIENS PARIS" with bead front sight and extractors. External hammer, full coverage vignette engraved action with side opener lever and double triggers. Deluxe checkered walnut English grip stock with diamond carving behind locks with heel and toe checkered butt with plugged entrance hole (probably for weight addition). Matching checkered walnut splinter forearm with push button release and coin silver diamond inlay. CONDITION: 40% remaining twist pattern with action worn to a silvery brown patina. Wood has traces of original finish with usage dings and marks. Pitted bores with good mechanics. A great gun for restoration. DLM Barrel Length: 29 - 1/2" FFL Status: Antique Gauge: 16 Manufacturer: Marquis Coirrer Model: SXS Serial Number: 1043.
The link is below, which includes the auction pics.
https://www.proxibid.com/A-MARQUIS-...E-HAMMER-SHOTGUN/lotInformation/69310248 I took more pics today, bur I am not sure which application to use to post them. The gun looks to be in good shape for its age. The barrel flats are marked Leopold Bernard and on the other side annotate work, which i could not make up and the word Paris. There is 2 groups of numbers marked on the underside of the bottom rib, but they don't match the number 1043 that is marked on the action flats. The flats and barrels don't have any other marks or proof marks I could see. Hammer are rebounding hammers. Side-Lever work perfectly and the gun locks tight. The stock has the usual for its age nicks and dings, but it looks solid and with a very nice figure to it. Barrels ring true and they have some pitting, but not too bad. I am not sure whether they are twist steel or damascus. It looks they need a good clean-up. Some goes for the lock plates because they have some dark spots, as you can see from the pick in the link, especially the left side plate. The whole action trigger guard, hammers, side-level, and the stock tow and heel metal clips are engraved with small "english" scroll.
What impressed me and made me bid on the gun was its apparent quality, being a hammer gun, being a 16Ga that I love, the overall engraving and how the action is filled in a rounded shape That shape is also followed by the side plates. And all that at a period with computes, CNC machines etc.
I would like to have the barrels and the guns evaluated and then debating whether to do a "sympathetic" cleanup/restoration, or a full refinishing, including barrel re-browing, stock refining, etc. In the past I have used Gunter Pfrommer, and Kirk Merrington, both with great results. What are your thoughts and what would you suggest for this project?
Note: I can post more pics, if you help me how to figure out how to do that. It has been a while since I posted pics here.
Thank you in advance.
BillK
