Engliah gun lovers know today that many or most of the great English "gunmaker" names did not in fact make their own guns, but were either assemblers of trade sourced components, or had guns made to their specs with their name engraved upon them.

Was this also commonly known to the early retail customers at the time the brand name was being marketed as a best maker, or were they under the impression that these great named firms were the actual manufacturer of their bespoke gun?