It wouldn't surprise me if it turns out to be a DelGrego - Runge upgrade. For a CHE in the 1927-28 era there are just too many things that don't ring true to be an original CHE. We will probably never know for sure but it may have been a rebarreled, restocked, reengraved VHE....
Also, the position of the quail's wings on the floor plate, the posture of the dogs and their leg position, the straight front leg always on the viewer's side with the cocked leg always on the off side (all typical 'Runge-style'). The case color in the forend latch finger recess looks very much 'cyanide' and not so much bone-charcoal. The drop points and 'nose of the comb' suggest a Remingtonesque style.
JMHO
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__________________
"I'm a Setter man.
Not because I think they're better than the other breeds,
but because I'm a romantic - stuck on tradition - and to me, a Setter just "belongs" in the grouse picture."
George King, "That's Ruff", 2010 - a timeless classic.
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