Cont’d

The first owner and his gun

Frank Albrecht bought the gun in 1906, but already in 1908 he had a problem with it and sent it to Westley Richards with a complaint. Obviously, the gun wasn't faulty at all - if we believe what Westley Richard's manager Douglas J. P. (John Perks) Haines wrote in a two-sided letter to Frank Albrecht.






For better convenience, here's the plain text of the letter:

”Birmingham, 29th October 1908

F. Albrecht, Esq.
Brooklea
Ledsham
W. Chester


Sir,

We duly received your gun and are pleased to report that there is no breakage. If the forend was properly put on, we do not think it would be possible for it to have fallen off and this is what we understand you to say happened. If the gun is fired and the forend taken off, with the gun open, the ejecting hammers which would be cocked in the ordinary way by the closing of the gun, are let down and it is impossible to put the forend on the gun again until these have been cocked. A simple method of cocking them is to pull out the extractors with your fingers to their full extend, place the forend on the barrels, and press back the extractors by pushing them with your thumb, this cocks the little hammers which hit against the two extractors.

We enclose the directions for cocking the detachable locks if the hammer should be let down when cleaning them - it is important to see that the limbs are pressed close to the plate.

We have stripped and carefully examined the gun and we feel sure that there is nothing the matter with it and that the trouble for which you sent it back has been occasioned either by taking the forend off the gun with the barrels open or through the forend falling off the gun when closing it up after it had been discharged through negligence in not properly pressing the forend home when putting the gun together.

We return the gun tonight.

We are, sir,

your obedient servants

Douglas J. P. Haines, Manager”

As mentioned in the letter, “directions for cocking the detachable locks” were enclosed - and still are present:




I don't know, how long and how intensive Frank Albrecht used his gun. At least, he did.




The gun must have been shipped to WR in later years again, as a shipping sticker from Westley Richards with the 23 Conduit Street address in London (from 1914 on?) still is present on the case.