Davenport marked guns were made by three distinct companies --
1. W.H. Davenport & Co. - located in Providence, RI - 1878-79 - on Eddy Street.
2. Davenport Arms Company, a RI Corporation - 1880-1884 - located at 78-81 Orange Street in Providence, RI.
When the Arms Co. went bankrupt in 1884, W.H. Davenport became plant superintendent for Hopkins & Allen, in Norwich, Conn. In 1890, Davenport left H&A and formed
3. W.H. Davenport Arms Co., a Connecticut Corporation, with a factory in Norwich. William H. Davenport died in 1904 at the age of 78. The W.H. Davenport Arms Co. continued to operate into the 1909-10 time frame.
A fourth firm, the Hopkins & Allen Arms Co. bought the remains and made Davenport marked guns in their factory into the 1915-16 time frame.
A copy of Davenport’s 1902 catalogue, reproduced in The Shotgun Research Newsletter, Volume 2, No. 3, only shows single-barrel shot guns, ranging in price from $8 up to $20 for guns like the 8-gauge Goose Gun or the matted top rib 12-gauge with octagon breech.
Someone must have really wanted an 8-gauge to pay that much for a W.H. Davenport.
