Well that is interesting!!!
-- The address on the barrels is "502 New Oxford Street and rue Scribe, Paris." The address of the New Oxford Street workshop was changed to 16, New Oxford Street in early November 1881 although a few guns continued to receive the "502". rue Scribe closed in May 1885.
-- And the SN on the barrels is xx067. . .which doesn't fit with the gun's SN (if it is indeed 20674).
-- And I don't see any Whitworth grain sheaf trademark on the barrels. (There is an "S.SM").
-- It's London proofed for Black Powder but since it's a rifle, you can't tell the exact date except it is pre 1896.
-- I don't know what the "500E' stamp means.
I'm at a loss. Is this an early non-Whitworth steel barrel refitted to 20674? What is the SN on the barrel? Is it really steel? The first Reilly Whitworth barrel was Dec 1881. Reilly first advertised them in Jan 1882. There is a shotgun from 1876 SN 19953 which looks to have steel barrels but cannot be confirmed (if so this is a full 4 years before Purdey made his first).
Super interesting for a historian and it doesn't take away the quality and beauty of the gun.
-- what is the SN on the barrels?
-- are they really steel? Any more stamps on the barrel?
-- Could we repost these questions into the main board? Not sure some of the experts look regularly at this one.
