Have any of you seen the shotgun going up for auction at Holts in March that was supposed to be for Hugh Heffner?

I won't post a link cos the engraving isn't just a bit rude.... It's completely X-Rated!! Photo's are on the Holts Website.

It doesn't say on the site who it was for but a mate in the trade told me.

Personally I think if you turn up with it on a driven day you really need to be able to shoot!!

FB

Philippe Grifnée is possibly the best engraver in Belgium today. He does quite a bit of engraving for Holland & Holland.
His brother Léon is a very good stockmaker.

FB,

Aw, comon....don't make me have to search for Holt's....just give us the link!

Bobby,

I've no doubt as to the engravers' ability, but this is just ridiculous. To be honest I don't even think it is technically well done. The scroll is well executed but I wouldn't think he'd had much experience of the human part.

Now that you tell me he is in Belgium it all makes so much more sense...

Gerry,

It is Lot 1418.

FB

Kiri, you are right. That gun is in extremely bad taste. Even I would not post a link to that.

Just proves again that money doesn't buy good taste.

Pornographic shotgun... View at your own risk... Parental guidance required if under age...

(I wonder if the link will work?)

http://213.219.62.57/asp/fullcatalogue.asp?salelot=1007...fno=++++5901&image=1

- mike

Sale 1007 Lot 1418

AN EXTRAORDINARY GRIFNEE-ENGRAVED 12-BORE SINGLE-TRIGGER SIDELOCK EJECTOR BY AUGUSTE FRANCOTTE, serial no. 91410, 28 1/2in. nitro chopperlump barrels with matt game rib, tubes gold-inlaid 'AUG. FRANCOTTE - LIEGE - BELGIUM CAL 12', 'BRUCE HUNT LTD. GA', 2 3/4in. chambers, bored approx. imp cyl and 1/4 choke, non-selective single-trigger, removable striker discs, cocking-indicators, manual safety, the action, lockplates, triggerguard and toplever deeply carved in relief with explicit scenes of a prurient nature, with fine feathered and ropework borders, the fences and knuckle finely carved in relief with grape and vine and apple tree motifs on a stippled background, the triggerplate signed 'SPECIAL ORDER ENGRAVED BY PH. GRIFNEE', old silver finish overall, 15in. well-figured pistolgrip stock, beavertail fore-end, weight 7lb. 8oz., in its lightweight leather case. This gun was reputedly made by special order for Hugh Hefner
Estimate £8,000-12,000

I once loaded for a gentleman on a grouse moor in Durham, and he had a pair of guns (cannot for the life of me remember the make) on which the engraving of eroticism/pornography was very lifelike.

I seem to remember his wife liked them too! Difficult to have a conversation about them with her being in the butt too!!!

quote:

To be honest I don't even think it is technically well done.

Oh, the lass on the bottom of the trigger guard is pretty well executed, but it's still in poor taste. To each his own; I have better things to do with $20,000.

I understand the beauty of a nude female...but I can't imagine having pictures of a penis on my gun....kind of makes me sick!

quote:

Originally posted by ROSCOE:
...but I can't imagine having pictures of a penis on my gun....

A Freudian pshrink would have a field day with that one........

Nightwalker,

Perazzi offer some erotic engraving options I think, on some of their high grade guns. In those instances, the work is very well done and not in the vein of this type of thing.

I think they have those options on their site. They are definately in the brochure.

Rgds,
FB

So I guess the engraver had to plaster porn pix above his work bench to use as a reference?

you know, naked ladies would be fine, but the full on pentrative sex is a bit much - and that's coming from an "adult entertainment" fan! it would be a shame to have a gun you could only show a select few individuals.

OMG! It has a single trigger!

Obscene!

...and a BEAVER tail forend!!

I once saw a gun engraved with a nude women and a tiger, it was beautiful!!
This particular gun looks horrible....maybe it's me, but I would rather NOT have an erect penis and balls looking up at me while I'm out shooting!!

The late Gordon Brent of Memphis commissioned that FRancotte. The Managing Director of Francotte told me there was a translation problem and the engraver went beyond What Gordon wanted. Gordon had many Francottes made and was a major collector of English guns. The gun has traded back and forth for years. Thad Scott has sold it several times. I think those who buy it have to sell when their wives see it. I saw it at Thad's years ago. The engraving is impeccable but scenes are gross.

I had a Perazzi side-plate trap gun engraved by Grifnee and it was magnificent. Both sides had marsh scenes -- one side with pintails and the other with Canada geese and by moving the gun slightly the waves appeared to ripple and the grass move. Incredible detail down to the smallest bird.

quote:

The Managing Director of Francotte told me there was a translation problem and the engraver went beyond What Gordon wanted.

Really? If there was a bit of a language barier I suppose the buyer could have gotten frustrated and at the stage engraving came up he said "Just give me some fu@#ing engraving!"
And that's exactly what he got.

Spot on Jim!! Very funny, couldn't have put it better myself!

From 8000 to 12000 pound? I know where it is possible to stick that shotgun, obviously well greased. I already do not like the light engraving, imagine that one ..... and what a distraction all that explicit sex scenes, or to handle all that naked bodies, erected penis, the other huters asking to see the shotgun, putting question about the models ..... and I do not like some of them, not enough tits.