Holland & Holland, 98 New Bond Street, London
12 bore '2^nd Royal' Bar Action, Sidelock Ejector
no. 16472
Date of manufacture: 1895

This is a very fine example of Holland & Holland's 'flag ship' gun from the last few years of the 19th Century and is in unusually good and original condition for its age. Hollands had only opened their new gun manufacturing complex in north London 2 years earlier and this superb gun was one of the first to be completely built in house.
As with so many older guns, the original barrels had been soft solder sleeved by Westley Richards and we have had the rather obvious joint laser welded and gun reproofed for 2 3/4" cartridges.
Holland & Holland records show that the gun was finished in 1895 for a Lord Gerald Grosvenor, then Duke of Westminster, who specified RH cylinder choke and LH only ‘slight’ choke, not that unusual in those days when shooters were not so preoccupied by choke constriction. The newly sleeved barrels are choked English 1/4 & light 1/2 (0.010" & 0.016" or US IC/MOD) in keeping with more modern practice.
With its interceptor sears, excellent barrel dimensions, this gun would make a very safe and classy target or game gun for the discerning shooter.
The action is of Holland own design and features: Double triggers bolted by an automatic top tang safety slide; Bar action, 9 pin locks; Gold lined cocking indicators; Interceptor Sears; Top lever operating a 'Purdey Bolt' by way of a 'Scott Spindle'; Holland’s patent ‘AB’ ejector and Anson's push rod forend catch.
Gun weight 6lb 11oz Engraving style Best ‘Royal’ Bold Foliate Scroll. Carved fences with shell motif. Gold inlaid '1' to top lever and barrel rib, engraved '1' to forend iron. Gold ‘SAFE’ at safety slide. Toplever engraved ‘PATENT EJECTOR’. Under-bar engraved ‘ROYAL HAMMERLESS EJECTOR’.
Trigger pulls measure approximately: Front trigger 3 ¾ lbs Rear trigger 4 ¼ lbs
The Steel to Steel Laser sleeved barrels are 28" in length, chambered for 2 ¾ " (70mm) cartridges and are of brazed 'dovetail' lump construction with soft soldered ribs. Top rib is of the smooth, concave game type.
Birmingham reproof for 70mm nitro powder cartridges in 2017.
Approximate barrel measurements at date of publication:

	Nominal Proof Size	Bore Diameter 9" from Breech	Minimum Wall Thickness	Choke Constriction
Right Barrel	18.5mm (0.728”)	0.730"	0.030+" Minimum	0.010" (IC)
Left Barrel	18.5mm (0.728”)	0.731"	0.029+" Minimum	0.016" (Mod)

Straight Hand Stock and Splinter Forend are crafted from highly figured walnut. We believe that the stock and forend wood is the original. The stock is lightly cast off for a right handed Shot and features a vacant yellow metal oval, well defined drop points and a 1” leather covered recoil pad. The forend has a finely engraved diamond and steel tip and one small inlet repair to its edge. The gun balances on its knuckle.
The 22-24 lines per inch chequering is to normal sidelock pattern.
The stock is finished with a traditional linseed oil based preparation as used on best guns by one of the top English makers. This finish uses no grain fillers to achieve its deep, smooth lustre, only many hours of alternate build and flatting off of the surface.
Approximate stock measurements at date of publication:

Pull to Heel	Pull to Bump	Pull to Centre	Pull to Toe
14 1/2"	14 5/8"	14 5/8"	15"

Drop at Comb	Drop at Face	Drop at Heel
1 9/16"	1 3/4"	2 3/16"

Cast at Comb	Cast at Heel
Negligible	1/8" (approximate)

For the purposes of these measurements, 'Drop at Face' is the 'drop' measurement taken on a line perpendicular to the line joining the trigger and centre of the butt at approximately 8" from the trigger (front trigger on a double trigger gun).
Patents Exhibited include:
'Purdey Bolt' patent no. 1104 of 1863, 'Scott Spindle' patent no. 2752 of 1865, Holland’s ejector patent no 800 of 1893, Anson's forend fastener patent no. 3791 of 1872.