I've seen one source that gave the mark(red enclosed) as a Definitive stamp from 1879 - 1885/1886 with the pairing of the Crown over Crossed Palms St. Etienne(blue enclosed) being the Provisional proofmark. So either way the use of this mark should bound the date of production?
Where is this term "HOYAU ETAMPES"?
Kind Regards,
Raimey
rse
Raimey, Lee Kennett refers to both marks as black powder proof of semi-finished barrels, the mark in blue replacing the one in red in 1879. Baron Engelhardt also dates the mark in red from 1869 and the one in blue from 1879, and does not specifically state that the latter replaced the former, although that appears to be the case. But at any rate, if the gun was made prior to 1897, we should be able to determine that from a photo of the barrel flats, which we don't have. In the 1890's, several additional proofmarks appeared (including all of those for smokeless powders, such as PJ, PM, PT etc all with a crown). If any of those are present, it would mean a gun more recent than the 1880's, and would cause one to wonder why the mark in red is there.
Ted, the French term for the piece in front of the trigger guard is une doodad (or maybe un doodad--can't recall whether masculine or feminine).
Last edited by L. Brown; 01/03/13 09:15 AM.
