doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Harry Leonard Gunmaker

I've got a 500/450 NE hammer underlever by Leonard/A. Hillis that's from 1906. A local friend had another Hollis 3 digits off,same caliber but alas a boxlock/ejector.
What's the chances that they were in the same rack and had the same reamer back in 1906. Them add the chance that they'd be together again halfway around the world a century later?

WJ Jeffery may not have been a true at the bench gunmaker, as J Purdey was, but what he did was similar to many of the gunmakers of that period, sourcing parts from the trade and overseeing their completion. Henry Holland was actually a tobaccanist to start. The ejector works on my Jeffery are by Westley Richards, although they aren't mentioned in the ledger pertaining to my gun. This practise has continued all these years, read about Bob Turner, David Dryhurst, guys that have made a few guns under their own name but have supplied guns or partially completed guns to the very best makers for the past 20 years

What's the significance of the numerals? Are they "internal serial numbers", as it were? Leonard's production for various makers?

We think this was Leonard's internal numbering of guns. I don't think there were sets of numbers relegated to Jeffery or Hollis.

By the way, I was fortunate recently to find and purchase a 1908 A. Hollis catalog from India. It is full of info on Hollis firearms, double rifles and shotguns. Some of the shotguns show the typical Leonard scalloped boxlock action. Gives a full page description of how chopperlump Krupp barrels are made. Damascus barrels still first option on high end shotguns. It also shows test targets of 450-400's within 50 serial numbers of my double. What a find! Bob

Yow, what a find indeed! That's the type of thing that you just have to have when it comes your way out of the blue. Seems like magic, and the test targets being shot by guns with serial #'s close to yours just heightens the feeling.

I think the tobacconist founder of H&H was Harris, not Henry.
Not that it matters a hoot,but it's rarely I get to correct anyone on the fine board
Franc

my point re H&H was that relatively few gunmakers of that era, made the entire gun. The maker was responsible for bringing the components together and the ultimate quality of the finished product.

Yes, Daniel and Henry were relatives. Many of the Leonard family from Aston Birmingham worked at the various Leonard premises in Birmingham and in London.

Now that's interesting. One post by Ann Leonard.
Come on you cannot stop there tell us all about your family tree.
We LOVE knowledge on this board.

Yes, I am one of the Leonards whose ancestors made the lovely guns. And over in America my American relatives were iron and metal workers from the 17th century onwards.

It's all come rather as a surprise that the guns are so lovely, my father's family had drifted apart from the main family of Gunmakers so the information is mainly in the hands of my distant cousins Malcolm and Stewart Leonard who are direct descendants of Henry. My family are the direct line of the Daniel Leonards.

I have a bunch of Samuels in various generations.

From what we can tell the men and the women of the family worked in the gun trade. There were workshops around the Steelhouse Lane area of Aston/Birmingham and also in London.