What makes you think the case in question was ever a Browning case? The handle and latches are different than those shown on the cases in my pre-WW-II Browning catalogues. My money is on the case in question having been a side-by-side case from the get go.
The person who matched the case to the Jeffery rifle that has been residing in it claims that it had a Browning tag when he acquired it. I agree that all of the hardware looks different from the other examples I have seen on the internet. However, the covering material sure does look similar.
