Ed, just guessing, but I think there might be several parts involved. First, the English were a world empire and mercantile power who supplied sporting arms over all of the earth. Second, our culture has always been closely tied to England though there are probably as many Americans of European heritage as English. And I'm sure it helped we speak a common language. There is no question that German, French, Austrian, and even some of the Russian arms of that period compare favorably with anything England created. But most of their work remained at home. I agree with you, even some of the communist era guns display outstanding craftsmanship.
