doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Meriden identification

Last year I acquired a nice Meriden 12 ga. with 28 inch barrels. the sidelocks on the gun were engraved exactly as one appearing in a DGJ article. MIne is marked on the watertable K28 and on the other side of the table 35. The barrels are marked as Krupp steel Essen. As I truly like the gun, I recently acquired another Meriden....this one is a twin to the other but has 32 inch barrels. the water table is marked K32 and the other side as 35. the barrels are also marked as Krupp steel Essen. Both guns are double trigger auto-ejector models.

Now the questions. After acquiring a 1910 Meriden catalog that advertised their guns as models A, B, C, D, E and F ...I am lost to how to identify my guns. The catalog shows engraving on the sidelocks but not clear enough to compare to my guns. There is no alphabetical markings on either gun other than the "K " which I believe means Krupp as it is accompanied by the correct barrel length markings of 28 and 32. Any ideas??????
Tom Regal

1909 Catalog #118: Aubrey Engraved Hammerless “12-gauge double barrel, full engraved, hammerless, quadruple lock action, (extractor), breech loading shotgun made by the Meriden Fire Arms Company of Meriden, Connecticut, a factory owned, controlled and operated by us, designed, modeled by and built under the direct personal supervision of Mr. A.J. Aubrey, vice-president and general manager of the Meriden Fire Arms Company, and maker of the highest grade double barrel breech loading shotguns made in America.”
Model 30 - ALE - Laminated - $16.35
34 - ADE – 2- blade Damascus - $18.85
50 - ASE – Elaborately engraved Laminated - $19.95
52 - DSE – Elaborately engraved 2 blade - $22.35
56 - Very elaborately engraved very fine 4 blade - $29.75
58 - Very finest 4- blade - $39.75
60 - Special 4- blade - $49.75
62 - Made to order finest hand engraved 4 blade - $69.00
(L.C. Smith Grade 2 Damascus - $56.00)
Receivers were eventually marked S-Steel barrels, T-Twist, K-Krupp, D-Damascus, and C-Chain Damascus.
In 1910, A.J. is in Santa Clara, CA employed in Sporting Goods, and the “A.J. Aubrey” guns were then listed in the Sears catalogs as “Meriden” guns. BUT there was, as you know, a high grade Meriden Fire Arms Co. line also.
Your '35' was likely the '34' with Krupp barrels, and the 28 and 32 are the brl length.
Lots of pics for comparison here http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/17474742

Im going from memory here but I thin the 1907 Sears catalog will have the infor that you need. They should have reprints on ebay.
It sounds like to be you have 2, 35 grade guns.
Bob

Tom,

Do I have your serial numbers?

You are correct, the K means Krupp barrels.

The Sears catalog model numbers are here. I have yet to see "crystal steel barrels".

http://damascus-barrels.com/Aubrey.html

Pete

Would anyone with actual experience care to comment on Meriden shotguns as far as reliability, durability, and quality. I'm wondering how they stack up with the other major makers of the time. Were they in the same class as say Parker, L. C. Smith, Lefever, Fox, or more like Crescent or the Hardware store guns? Most I've seen seem to have been rode hard and put away wet, and have had issues such as being loose and off face. That has left me with a prejudice that caused me to pass on a nice higher grade Meriden at a very good price a few months ago.

Had A J Aubrey been able to come up with a decent locking system, Hunter Arms would have ben in trouble. The Meriden workmanship is just as good, especially on the higher grades, I think the wood work and styling is better than the Smith on the low grade guns.. Problem is, they will shoot loose.. MDC

Pete,
The serial number for the 28 inch Meriden model 35 with auto-ejectors and Krupp barrels is 55032...the gun is mod/full and functions perfectly. The serial number for the 32 inch Meriden also with auto-ejectors is 64744 and it is bored XFull/Xfull. Cosmetically it is in slightly better shape than the 28 inch gun. The Meriden catalog lists guns by A, B. C. etc and no mention of numbers. I think that they changed the system to be in line with the Aubrey numerial designations. In sum, the guns are more finely figured that a L.C. Smith field grade and are more like a Francotte or a Lefever in balance....they are very nice and shoot beautifully and their felt recoil is minimal. Thanks for everyone's inputs.
regards,
Tom

Tom,

Thank you. I have updated the listing with your guns. If you have pictures of them, I am sure many would enjoy seeing these guns.

Pete