Eric, if you go to Kirby's website and then go to the Abbey #46, in the small picture icons, the eighth picture from the left shows the top of the receiver , gun open, and pointing toward you. If you click on that picture, enlarging it, there seems to be lettering on the breech end of the top rib extension. I cannot make it out and cannot copy it to another more useable photo source. The lettering appears to be in two lines.
As to the Patent Use Numbers that we see on #46 and #47, I suspect those numbers refer to the British Patent 2218, of July 21, 1869 for the Abbey rising bite. That would make sense, since the Abbey patent was probably used on other British guns, that were probably made by Scott. As an aside, I cannot recall a Patent Use Number on guns for an American patent.
Yes, these guns are interesting. I note, too, that the G T Abbey rising bite patents are illustrated with a Purdey type thumb push opener. I took my gun apart and the mechanism was simpler than expected.
Later,,as I work with Kirby's picture more and expanding it to 400% on my screen, the lettering on the top row appears to be
"Geo. T. Abbey's",, and the bottom row appears to be "Patent".
Last edited by Daryl Hallquist; 01/03/16 03:45 PM.
