Chris,
Thank you very much for your detailed comments.
I also noticed your comment about having difficulty viewing the photographs in a larger size. Ted very kindly uploaded the photographs for me, but I have the original high-resolution files here in France.
I can post additional close-up photographs directly on ShotgunWorld, particularly of the barrel flats, proof marks, barrel numbers, action, detachable locks and the damaged areas near the muzzles. If there are any specific markings or areas you would like photographed, please tell me exactly what you need and I will take the clearest possible pictures.
Your comments about the condition and value are very helpful. I have not yet had the detachable locks or the internal mechanism professionally inspected, and I do not intend to fire the gun before the barrels, bores and wall thickness have been properly examined.
Your observation concerning the stock oval is also particularly interesting. My gun has a gold oval engraved “A.C.M.”, and identifying those initials is one of the main objectives of my research.
I am also now investigating whether the present barrels are original to No. 16143 or whether they may have been fitted at a later date, because the serial-number chronology and the proof marks appear to raise some questions.
Thank you again for your help,
Thomas
