Pete ,Your pictures bring back many memories of Liege. For a year I lived 15 Km; up stream on the Meuse/Mass in Maastricht.I was a frequent visitor to Liege;in particular to the Arms Museum and the Saturday market.A market that seemed to run for miles along the bank of the Meuse right in front of the Arms museum. In this market it was possible to purchase anything from live chickens to a cased pair of dueling pistols!
In those days, the Arms museum had a fantastic display of the machinery used to produce damascus barrels,frankly I was amazed by the size of billet/bundles used and the massive rolling mills required to reduce the billets to the familiar ribands that are illustrated being hand welded in so many gun books.The variety of damascus patterns achieved by the master barrel makers of Liege was astounding. In particular barrels,stacked rolled and forge to incorporate the manufacturers name in the finished barrel. I was told that engineers /students from the nearby German engineering university in Aachen had studied the manufacturing process but had been unable to figure out the billet stack required to produce these magnificent named barrels.
The gun in the museum that most impressed me was the 14 barrel volley gun made for Colonel Thomas Thornton,circa 1804. I believe by a gunmaker, Dupe &Co; of Oxford,England.Colonel Thorntons sporting tours of the Scottish Highlands are credited as highlighting sporting opportunities in Scotland. Pete,I hope you managed to see this unique gun.
