It appears that by the 1970s Falla, etal., were long gone so the Auguste Francotte heirs may have had the tubeset lying around? They aren't chopper-lump, correct? Also any indication on the engraver, L. Smeet, R. Smeet, L. Corombelle, Philipe Grifnee- he could tell the tale. The gun screams quality, but without a copy of the ledger entry, I'd be hard pressed to buy it as a bonafide Francotte, which in the end really doesn't matter as I'd rather have the Poldi steel tubeset by Jean Falla and be iffy on the Francotte than a Francotte stamped with "Crown" over "AF" without the Poldi steel and any effort by the Falla boys. It all comes back to the firearms merchant vs. craftsman/mechanic. The small pools of craftsmen like Falla and others were the unsung heros upon which the firearms merchants like the heirs of Auguste Francotte depended. Falla was selling a tubeset while Francotte was retailing a finished product.
Kind Regards,
Raimey
rse
