with rebrowned sighted barrels signed ‘Maker to His Majesty the Prince of Wales’ in gold letters on the rib, struck with proof marks beneath, ‘narrow twisted’ and ‘Nephew to the late IP’, case-hardened breeches inlaid with a thick and thin gold line at the top and bottom and struck with the gold-lined barrelsmith’s stamps, engraved case-hardened tang decorated with foliage and a sunburst, engraved flush-fitting locks decorated with border ornament and a hound putting up a game bird on the tails, gold-lined maker’s stamps, fitted with ‘French’ cocks and gold-lined rainproof pans, figured walnut half-stock, finely chequered fore-end and grip, the butt with raised cheek-piece on the left, engraved steel mounts retaining some early colour, comprising butt-plate decorated with a hound putting up a game bird, trigger-plate with Prince of Wales’ ostrich feather terminal, trigger-guard with a Brittania trophy on the bow, and two ramrods-pipes, silver escutcheon engraved with the Prince of Wales’ feathers issuant from a crown and motto ‘Ich Dien’, silver barrel bolt escutcheons, and silver-tipped ramrod with silvered worm,, 82.4 cm barrels

Provenance

Peter Dyson & Son, 1994

John Probin, nephew of the gunmaker of the same name, is recorded working in Birmingham circa 1802-17. He is recorded as an apprentice circa 1809 and by 1816 he was insolvent, a debtor in Fleet prison. For an account of the Probin Gunmaking Dynasty see Godwin, Evans and Williams 2016, pp. 14-23. The engraving is perhaps from the workshop of William Palmer.