Question answered!
Dear Wesley,
Your gun’s lock plates are reminiscent of the Murcott Mousetrap but this is a red herring as the lock & action work can be identified by the Crudgington & Baker book volume 2, page 91, to a Richard Ellis and Henry Scott of Birmingham. The photo of the action flats show their patent mark of ‘RE & Co. Patent 2816’. The date of patent is 1879. Apparently, this was used quite commonly by mid-tier gunmakers of the time but only for a short while until better designs appeared.
I have no doubt that the gun was made in its entirety within the Birmingham guntrade in 1879 or 1880 and I can also find no reference to a ‘R Hanbury’ so must assume that he was a provincial hardware retailer who bought in a couple of guns to put on the shelf alongside nails, soap and rat traps!
Very best regards,
Toby Barclay
Heritage Guns
Historic Guns For The Modern Sportsman
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