Hi folks,
I'm new to this forum and a relative newbie to the world of shotguns so I hope it's okay to ask questions. I posted about a JP Sauer hammergun I just acquired and was stunned by the amount of information Raimey was able to tell me from the various marks on it. This made me wonder if there might be some clues to be gleaned about a couple of other older guns I own, in particular how old they actually are.
One of the ones I'm curious about is a W.H. Pollard, it's signed for 63 King William St London EC which I gather is an address used from 1885-1920. The serial number is 7704, but I've not found any records giving approximate dates.
So... to cut to the chase do any of the proof marks narrow down an earliest date? I confess I'm still learning about the proof marks so there's quite a few here that I don't recognise, for instance the crowns over the stylized 'R' and 'P' (unless the P is a miss-struck R again) and the letters LP over 77.
Any thoughts very gratefully received!
Many thanks
Anne

Proof marks; https://flic.kr/p/2iczxFj

Marks on water table; https://flic.kr/p/2icxbjC

Marks under barrels; https://flic.kr/p/2icAzWv

1904-1925 proof marks, reproofed in London in 1977

Might as well post this chart again from Diggory Hadoke's book...very handy to have:

Brilliant, thanks guys!

The Crown over the 'R' is for London re-proof. A further mark shows it was done in 1977 with the LP over 77 mark. An italic 'R' is London re-proof and if it was a Birmingham re-proof it would be a straight forward capital 'R'. If you ever get really confused over markings the Birmingham Proof house will always advise if you send them a photo. Lagopus…..

The R is proof positive of reproof. But you will see quite a few British guns which have obviously been reproofed (different sets of proofmarks from different eras) without the R.

Original Birmingham marks post 1904 pre 1925 .