A Unique High Grade Gun

[Arthur Shaffer]

I was just cleaning up my computer hard drive and ran across pictures of a unique gun I used to own. Thought they might be interesting to see. Unfortunately I didn't keep any full length pictures. I bought this gun at Jaquas about 12 or 15 years ago for around $600. It was really filthy and needed a good cleanup. It looked like a 16 ga that someone had bored the chambers out to 12 ga. I knew nothing about Collaths at the time but it had a lot of unique features. Several years later several articles in one of the gun mags caused an increase in interest in the brand. I noticed that none of the examples in the article approached the gun I had in quality, at least in my opinion. Research on the gun turned up the explanation of the barrel and chamber. The gun had very light Damascus barrels with re-inforcing ribs formed or milled on the first1/3 as part of the Damascus. Every part of the metal was heavily engraved. There were numerous gold filled inlays. The furniture was mostly horn including the underlever release and the ornate trigger guard which had a large Celtic design on the bottom. The stock was a highly figured piece of root stock.

It turned out the gun was chambered for a Proprietary Collath shotgun cartridge called, I believe, a Collath 14. This was basically a 14 gauge bore with a 12 gauge chamber. I sold it as part of a reduction consignment 5 years ago to a dealer who took it to Maryland to an antique arms sale. With the increase in Collath guns at that time, he quickly sold it for several multiples of what I paid. It's one of the guns in retrospect I most regret selling.

[Kevin McCormack]

Art, this gun looks very familiar to me! Was the show the dealer took it to the MD Arms Collector's Show at Timonium MD (the "Old Baltimore Show")? If so that's probably where I remembered seeing it (and that certainly would be the place to sell something like it!). I exhibited at that show for 25 years and had lots of time to run the aisles before and after the public was admitted; that's why I want to say I saw it there. Definitely the best antique arms show east of the Mississippi; lots of people from the U.K. and Europe come every year. Always held around St. Patrick's Day weekend and there are still lots of great walk-ins for sale.

[Arthur Shaffer]

Thars exactly where it sold. It was consigned with Antique and Modern Firearms here in Lexington, which was started by Charles Layson and Rees Day in the mid 1970's. They had started business as two collectors and were considered experts in Colt single actions, double shotguns and older rifles among other things. Rees competed for years in several of the Sporting Clays shoots for Classic doubles, shooting for one of the brand based teams. About 8 years ago they decided to deal in only used collectable firearms and be open to the public three days a week. This was to leave the weekends open for only shows. The last time I dropped in Rees's son had taken over operation.
They sold consignments at a modest commission and sold things quickly at a good price.

[Daryl Hallquist]

Continental Europe produced some wonderful guns. Here's a highly decorated Czech 20 ga pinfire rifle.
https://i.imgur.com/plnUZWB.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/iNckHqU.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/3UEj2xe.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/BHtw9Qh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/HDMMACH.jpg

[Arthur Shaffer]

We discuss engravers a lot, but I think the carver on the left rear of that stock has depicted a hunter in the middle of having a stroke.

[Daryl Hallquist]

A stroke , I hope not. A bit closer look seems to show the hunter with his dog between his legs, taking a rest. Wish we could know the complete story of these guns. The rib is marked with the maker's name and city, and the other two names appear on google to be names of Napoleon's marshals. I cannot figure a tie between those names and the gun.

[Arthur Shaffer]

To me it looks like a guy holding his face and head in pain. Maybe it's just me.