From what I'm reading here, it's easy to get the impression that anyone with more than jingly money could walk into VL&D and order whatever he pleased from Francotte.
My 1899 12ga 14E has checkered cheeks, full engraving but not deeply chiselled fences. The delicate specifications suggest to me the owner must have had in mind a 28-inch barrel custom grouse gun. It feels like a sub-gauge.
Engraved on the rib is "Made for C.W. Billings." He was captain of the victorious 1912 US Olympic trap shooting team, "the man through whose efforts the team was made up", according to an old Sporting Life report that Drew sent to me.
