Did Webley and Scott make shotguns for other makers/sellers? Seems I heard they made guns for Wm. Evans, for example. I also handled delivery of two Dickson boxlocks that were not round actions. These were lower priced and looked very much like W & S actions.

Of course they did.

Just for the sake of illustrating Webley & Scott's dominance in the English gun trade I've often estimated that 75% or more of the guns made in England had some W&S origin. And yes, that would include a number of the lesser well known London "makers" I also suspect that a high percentage of their "unlabeled" guns were totally finished in house. They had the ability to totally make a gun, whether it was rough forging actions and furniture or boring and finishing barrels. Few, if any, of the smaller makers had the financial ability or volume to make an entire gun from scratch.

I'd guess they likely made more boxlocks that ended up wearing other names than anyone else. A lot of the guns sold as Army & Navy were theirs, and the origin is indicated in the A&N records. I had an A&N pair that were made by Webley & Scott. The Evans I now own is without doubt a Webley & Scott product from shortly after their merger. It's an Anson & Webley screw grip. And as far as I can tell from the Webley & Scott book, was the most expensive boxlock they made at the time. Clearly a gun that a firm with a London address would not hesitate to put their name on.

Did W&S leave anything for clues on the guns they made for others?

Hal,
The Rigby books for the late 19th Century and the early 20th identify the
source of the gun - if not made by Rigby. Webley & Scott It'd. was the most common source
with many others that included Bentley & Playfair, P. Webley & Sons, Saunders, Ellis & Son,
etc.

No Webley & Scott records exist thanks to the blitz in WW2 and possibly because of the paper drives in England during the war. Everything was experiencing critical shortages and everyone was encouraged to turn in anything made of paper to be recycled.

The serial number date range we have is the product of extensive historical research.

I certainly have a Lancaster sidelock by Webley & Scott and a C.H. Maleham by Scott. Sometimes there is a 'winged bullet' trade mark or sometimes a 'castle tower' trade mark. My Maleham has it on the forend catch. Lagopus.....

I also have a C H Maleham hammer gun by W & C Scott circa 1882 I believe. It has the classic Scott long style forend catch, Jones underlever and peninsular backlocks. It is sleeved 30".

My pair of William Evans' has the Scott screw grip but the gun appears top quality with full sidelocks, stocked to the fences, great engraving and finish etc. Does the screw grip mean it was made by Webley or Scott or could it be made at Evans? No Evans records to search in this serial number range.

I had a lovely A&N boxlock that was clearly made by Webley, having the screw grip patent.

William Evans did not make guns, he contracted them out, almost always to Webley. Very similar business model to WJ Jeffery. Evans guns are usually very nice indeed.

How does Evans rank in the second tier of quality if they never made a gun?

I'm just relaying to you the history of the firm. Evans was a shrewd business man with an an eye for quality and connections in the trade. The guns retailed with his name were purchased by some of the most wealthy men in the world, see my add in the classifieds here for a paradox gun built for the Maharaja of Kotah. Evans could provide any level of British gun a customer so desired, he just did not build the himself. As I said earlier, they same is true of WJ Jeffery. This is in no way a knock of these makers, H&H did not have its own factory until the 1890's. This is simply the way the trade worked at the time. There have been several recent discussions on the board about what constitutes a gunmaker vs gun retailer.

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