Gentlemen,

I wonder if any of you can tell me a little about this London gunmaker?

I particularily wanted to find out where he fits into the hierarchy of London gunmakers, i.e. Is he considered to be in the Premier league like Purdey et al, or somewhere in the lower echelons? Quality wise, who would some of his contemporaries have been.

The reason I ask is that I've seen one of his sidelocks for sale that needs new barrels or resleeving, and I'm not sure if it would be a viable restoration project.

Any opinions gratefully received!

Many thanks,

Eric.

Eric,
My brother is named Eric. Good name. Well, my British bro', it seems odd for me to be telling you about one of the better London gunmakers like Charles Boswell, but here goes.

I have begun to educate myself on the universally appreciated English double guns. I was just perusing the book by Geoffrey Boothroyd,_ Sidelocks & Boxlocks, the Classic British Shotguns_. The author lists Charles Boswell right after Holland & Holland in his opening run down of the best London gunmakers. Apparently the author has written several pieces about Charles Boswell in the British publication _Shooting Times_.

Charles Boswell was a native of Hertford County, born in 1850. He apprenticed at the gunshop of Thomas Gooch in Hertford for seven years.

Boswell then worked at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield for two years. He then boldly set up his own gunshop, as Charles Boswell, gunmaker.

Charles Boswell was also an expert shot in the sport of live pigeon shooting, and he quickly became known for his prowess as a good shot and a good gunmaker. By 1884 he moved his shop to more prestigious appointments at No. 126 The Strand, London.

He quickly became well known abroad, especially in Australia and South Africa, for the quality of his work, and he continued to supervise the work closely and stayed at work at the bench himself.

The firm survived the First World War, but got bombed out in 1940, and direct family involvement ended in March 1941. The firm was continued under other management until the 1960's, so there was a lot of goodwill tied up in the name "Charles Boswell."

Charles Boswell guns bear a great reputation.

What sort of gun do you have scouted out there, Eric? Please tell us a bit more about it. A Charles Boswell rifle or shotgun of any type would be a desirable piece for acquisition, IMHO.

Maybe you could look up some more information in back issues of the British weekly sporting magazine, _The Shooting Times and Country Magazine_. The April 24, 1975 and December 10, 1981 issues have Boothroyd pieces on Charles Boswell.

Oh yes, was he in the premier league with the likes of Purdey? I am no expert, but I would say he is definitely in the upper echelons. His name may not have the snob appeal attached to Purdey, but he was one of the great founding members of the golden age of London gunmakers. And he was was hell on live pigeons!

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Rifles And Bullets r us: RAB

[This message has been edited by R. A. Berry (edited 11-09-2001).]

Chas. Boswell is right up there with the best equal to all but perhaps Boss...and thats no slight praise. Well worth restoration, and use the best gunsmith availabvle who know his business, the gunsmith you choose can make or break the value of that gun, which will be in the 6 or 7 figures..

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

You really have to beware with these guns of ours. Not only is their the heirachy but there are the model types and within that the year of manafacture and bore. Add to that condition, stock length, barrel length and choke and whether it has a case etc and you start to run into problems.

An ordinary Purdey non ejector 16bore with a short stock, thin in it's 27" barrels, choked cylinder and improved cylinder with no colour remaining and no case from an undesirable period (60's?) will make much less than you would think (�2.5k) and will continue to do so forever. It might make a nice grouse gun but if you've the money for that......

A sleeved Boswell whether a sidelock or not is worth very little even if you could find a buyer for it. It maybe different here but sleeving absolutely ruins the value of a gun to the extent that many dealers will not accept them at any price.

Also I may not have as much experience as the others here but in shotguns Boswell is not thought of as being in the same league as Boss, H&H, Purdey etc.

I won't comment on the English guns other than when you've reached this point, and want to buy, you must first buy the quality, the condition and last, the name. Certainly, many best name makers have more guns out there than other lesser ones.

May I recommend the "Double Gun Journal" also as a great source of information on doubleguns.

DR. BARRY, I'd like to invite you to look into the Great Lakes Side by Side Association (GLSSA). They have shoots a couple of times a year and usually bring an assortment of guns to the shoots. Great bunch of people too. I didn't have a SxS shotgun over the summer and some of the new friends I made invited me and put a fine Damascus barrel Parker in my hands to shoot that day. I think you would enjoy the outings. You can find some of the members hanging out at http://www.shootingsportsman.com bbs.

regards,

redleg

I agree with 1894, as that is a fair assessment...I will add that the guns in question bring a good deal more in the USA...

Nothing compares to a Boss, it is the creme de la creme...

The Chas. Boswell in higher grades will be below the above mentioned but its in the ball park locally or on par with Jefferys and guns of that ilk....

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

Gentlemen,

Thank you for all your replies, they've been extremely informative as always!

Anyway, I went ahead and bought the gun, it only cost me �300 in the end which, even if it turns out to be a total howler, isn't bad as I've been offered �150 for the case alone.

RAB, the details of the gun are as follows:
12-bore sidelock ejector with treble-grip action-body. It has carved ribanded fences, best bouquet and scroll engraving, the lockplates are inset with gold-inlaid cocking indicators.
The stock is 15" long and well figured, it has a few slight marks but the chequering is ok.
The barrels are out of proof and thin (20 and 17 thou), but my gunsmith has submitted them for proof anyway just to see if they pass.
Also one of the striker holes is a bit oval, so I might look into fitting disc set strikers.
Finally, the gun comes with the maker's oak and leather case, which is in pretty good nick.

I'm not actually all that worried about the ultimate value of the gun as I plan to keep it. I reckon that if I have to resleeve the barrels, it'll cost a total of about �1500, including the original purchase price. That would include modifying the strikers and altering the cast etc. of the stock too, which doesn't seem too bad. Rebarreling with chopperlump barrels would probably not be worthwhile, the cost varying between �8000 (!!?) and �2500.

Regards,
Eric.