Baltimore Maryland Dealer-Marked Double Barrel Shotgun
This is a high quality English Double Barrel 12 Gauge percussion shotgun made for Baltimore Maryland Arms Dealer "Schaeffer & Loney". Made between the 1850's up to the Civil War, many of these Southern marketed shotguns ended up in the hands of Confederate soldiers...particularly cavalry.
This particular gun was made in Birmingham England...similar to Hollis & Sons design. While most of these would be marked with their makers name, a dealer with good relations through correspondence could have guns made up with just his company name. Other Southern dealers with their names on English Shotguns we've seen are "Cofer of VA." and "Sutherland of Richmond, VA". Furthermore, for a Southern gun, this is of much nicer quality than we normally encountered over the years. The barrel secured by double keys into the one piece stock with nicely engraved supporting escutcheons. Normally, one key was enough for a half-stock shtogun..even on a most high-end guns of the era. All the furniture is made of iron with heavy re-enforced decorative tang-work on all pieces. Its really over-built and in some ways similar to Southern-made percussion rifles of the 1850's and 60's. The walnut wood is high grade burl English Walnut with a checkered wrist. Nicely engraved locks and furniture.
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