Why she would buy a VHE instead of a fancier grade? The answer to that question might be as simple as her tastes. She might have grown up seeing even her wealthy father and grandfathers carry and perhaps even prefer relatively plain guns. Maybe she found the higher grade guns to be gaudy? My wife would pick a plain gun over one engraved with dogs. Engrave one with flowers and she would ooh and ahh over the thing - to the extent she would ooh or ahh over a gun in the first place. If Mrs. Astor were trying to share in the activities of her likely distant husband, with whom she was unable to have children, then perhaps she had the wisdom not to show up with a nicer gun than her husband.
How many millionaires do you know who hunt with plain jane guns today? I would wager that to be the vast majority. A friend of mine married up, which has allowed me to shoot doves with one of the wealthiest tree farmers in the State of Georgia several times. The man usually pulls out a single shot 20ga that continually rolls around in the trunk of his Buick sedan.
Knowing the history of a gun is interesting; however, provenance is a little like beauty - the importance is in the eye of the beholder. The provenance value is going to be significantly subjective, if any at all. How much would you pay for a pair of basketball shoes worn by Michael Jordan? How much would you pay for a pair worn by Michael Jordan's wife?
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Will makes some excellent points and I agree with all of them. - Dean Romig 03-13-2013
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