Bill Whetton;
Please LOG IN and check your private messages, as I responded to your message to me a week ago. Yes, I am the author of the writing about the Howell family of gunmakers of Birmingham, England published in the Winter 2005 issue of DGJ. I will be pleased to help you concerning your great grandfather William Howell, gunmaker.
Kindest Regards;
Stephen D.Howell
Hello, Mr. Howell! Are you still collecting information on Arthur Howell guns? I recently purchased a nice 16 bore, top lever, back-action hammer double with 'AH & Co.' stamped on one of the barrels beneath the forend. There is also, what I assume to be, Howell's serial number, 6373, as it is different from the Sanders serial number, 1363. The locks and top rib are marked 'A. SANDERS'. The top rib includes the Maidstone address. The Birmingham proof marks are from the 1925 - 1954 period. Inside the right lock, there is a marking 'I A' inside of a rectangle. The 'A' is perfect, and I am sure the other letter is an upper case 'I'. I was thinking it might be a 'keeper's' gun made by Webley and Scott and marked for retail at Sanders' shop. Will this help in your acquisition of Howell documentation? Cheerio!
Dear Roundsworth;
Thank you very much for the information of your most interesting find. I have looked for a long time to find something other than a boxlock that Arthur Howell made (or in your case partially made) and your find has mad my day.
Your description caused me to believe that it is a gun that Arthur Howell re-barreled at his Weaman Street shop in Birmingham.
I am going to send you a PM with my email address and ask that you allow me to contact you via email and that you send me some photos of this gun.
Kindest Regards;
Stephen Howell
Blythewood, South Carolina
Mark;
I received your email and your photos of a nearly new with 90% case color hardened back action hammergun, which contrary to my above comment was made entirely in Arthur Howell's shop. Also I am sending to you two photos of Arthur Howell's gun catalogue of that era which illustrates your Sanders gun on page 16 and the gun trade price for it a £3-18-0. Your gun must have spent it live in the closet of a farmer somewhere.
Additionally I am also sending to you a photo of the front of the building on Weaman Street, Birmingham, England of" A. Howell &Co, Gun & Rifle Makers" shop where your gun was made; and a later version of Arthur Howell's gun catalog illustrating your shotgun for post WWII a price of £8-15-0.
Arthur Howell died in 1957 and his gunshop records were burned some years later in the back garden of his home in Solihull. I visited Arthur Howell's daughter Margaret Howell Hay and her son in 2002 at her home in Solihull and she told me about the disposal of the shop records. She told me about traveling with her father to Belgium prior to WWII to purchase barrels for his guns as well as walnut for the gunstocks--which she probably witnessed the purchase of both of these for for your gun.
I did some measuring of the barrels. The 2-1/2" chambers are intact, but, the bores have been 'cleaned up' a bit. The right bore measures .658" with the choke at .658". The left bore measures .659" with the choke at .635, which is not full, but modified/ improved modified. The gun balances nicely about 1/4" ahead of the hinge pin. That is too bad about the records being destroyed.
I have taken 4 ruffs with the gun so far. We have had some mild temperatures here, mostly in the upper 50s with a few days in the 60s. Yesterday was 70!
Note: The bore measurements were made with telescoping 'snap' gages and a caliper. They may be a skosh off, either way!