**A FINE 18 BORE D.B. SWISS FLINTLOCK SPORTING GUN BY J. H. FREY A ZURICH, CIRCA 1810 with blued barrels fitted with silver barleycorn fore-sight, inlaid with a gold line at the muzzle and a pair of gold lines at the breech, the former inscribed 'Canon Tordu' in large gold script (the bluing refreshed in the gun's working life, the gold retouched), retained by a moulded silver band incorporating the fore-sight, finely pierced on the underside with an oval filled with the owner's initials 'MB' and a sun-in-splendour on each side, engraved case-hardened breech tang moulded for sighting and decorated with stars and acanthus, flush-fitting engraved case-hardened locks signed 'J.H.Frey' and 'a Zürich' respectively, decorated with wrigglework on the borders, foliate bouquets on the tails and garlands beneath the pans, fitted with engraved case-hardened cocks, rollers, semi-rainproof pans, and blued steel springs, blued triggers, highly figured walnut half-stock, chequered grip, raised cheek-piece carved with a bold scroll at each end, engraved case-hardened steel mounts comprising broad trigger-guard decorated with game birds and with neoclassical urn finial, butt-plate and fore-end cap decorated en suite, three faceted ramrod-pipes, the forward two blued, blued steel trigger-plate, and blued sling swivels, silver shield-shaped escutcheon engraved with the owner's initials, silver barrel bolt escutcheons, and horn-tipped whalebone ramrod with steel worm 92.5cm; 36 1/2in barrels The initials are those of Martin Bodmer of Schloss Kyburg, to whom the gun was presented in 1905. Johann Heinrich Frey is recorded in Zurich circa 1769-1845 where he worked for, amongst others, the town Zeughaus.