Hi folks,
I'm new to this forum and a relative newbie to the world of shotguns so I hope it's okay to ask questions. I posted about a JP Sauer hammergun I just acquired and was stunned by the amount of information Raimey was able to tell me from the various marks on it. This made me wonder if there might be some clues to be gleaned about a couple of other older guns I own, in particular how old they actually are.
One of the ones I'm curious about is a W.H. Pollard, it's signed for 63 King William St London EC which I gather is an address used from 1885-1920. The serial number is 7704, but I've not found any records giving approximate dates.
So... to cut to the chase do any of the proof marks narrow down an earliest date? I confess I'm still learning about the proof marks so there's quite a few here that I don't recognise, for instance the crowns over the stylized 'R' and 'P' (unless the P is a miss-struck R again) and the letters LP over 77.
Any thoughts very gratefully received!
Many thanks
Anne
Proof marks;
https://flic.kr/p/2iczxFjMarks on water table;
https://flic.kr/p/2icxbjCMarks under barrels;
https://flic.kr/p/2icAzWv