Here's a F Williams that has been on GB for quite some time. Other than seeing the engraving, its difficult to tell much about it.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=483987814This is a later Fred'k (Frederick) for comparison. Hardly a "Best" gun, the seller is a little overly enthusiastic with his description.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=484042738Here's a snippet from the Fred'k gun's description that cites a DGJ article:
According to Double Gun Journal: Frederick Williams started making premium quality hand built shotguns in Birmingham, circa 1881. In 1886 he moved his business into an imposing three story building at 32/33 Weaman Street in the Saint Mary's District, the heart of the Birmingham gunmakers quarter, not far from the noted gunsmiths' public house known as the Green Man. Mr. Williams advertised himself as a "specialist in English hand made shotguns." He appears to have produced a large number of top quality doubles, both boxlocks and side locks. Frederick Williams sold shotguns to the public from his Birmingham works and at one point also maintained a retail gun shop in London. However, most of the shotguns produced by Frederick Williams were marketed by London gunmakers under their own names, or by provincial retailers, once again, under their own names. Such was the quality of the Williams products that many of the most prestigious English makers were proud to sell them alongside their own best guns. Thus today classic side-by-sides bearing the inscription, "Fred'k Williams*" are a rarity. (*note the apostrophe used in abbreviating the name Frederick). The Great Depression and the Second World War devastated the British gunmaking industry and ultimately destroyed the British Empire. The last known Frederick Williams shotgun was proofed at Birmingham in 1950.
