Posted in DOUBLES on Mar 14th, 2011
James Julia auctioned this piece of firearm/literary/American history today: this Westley Richards droplock double rifle in .577 Nitro Express that was once owned by Ernest Hemingway. The gun hammered down for $295,000. That’s without the buyer’s a premium of 15%. So whoever bought Papa’s mammoth double dropped around $340,000 to get it. Those are some [...]
It’s been tough winter here in New England – long, gray, snowy. I’ve had just about enough of it. So I’m glad it’s over 60 degrees out today. The snow is melting away and the ice on the rivers is breaking up. I’m hoping to get my canoe in the water in a couple of [...]
Posted in DOUBLES on Feb 18th, 2011
Time magazine ran an interesting article on Wednesday about investing in fine double barrel shotguns: “When the final hammer came down at the end of the December auction at Holt’s Auctioneers — which specializes in the sale of classic English shotguns — total sales had hit a record $2.72 million. Among the hot sellers: a [...]
Posted in DOUBLES on Feb 11th, 2011
When it comes to prices, the used-gun market is made up of dreamers, realists, and fools. Dreamers put ridiculously high prices on guns and, well, dream. Realists price right down the middle. They move stuff and their inventory turns over at a regular pace. Then there are the fools. Some of their prices too high, [...]
Posted in DOUBLES on Jul 29th, 2010
It was 1863. The year kicked off with the world’s first underground railway opening in London. Six months later, General Robert E. Lee led Confederate troops into the Battle of Gettysburg. And in November, Mr Thomas Leigh took delivery of this J. Purdey hammergun, #6597. It was one of a pair of 10 gauges with [...]
Posted in DOUBLES on Jun 23rd, 2008
Shooting sportsman around the world know that there are a lot mysteries in the world of fine firearms, even today when the web makes information so easy to find. One of these mysteries is the gunmaker, or gunmakers, Guyot. Over the years, I’ve come across a bunch of double barrel shotguns with the name Guyot [...]
