The Frederick C. Scales Gun, Part II

[img 1 right caption=The Frederick C. Scales Gun] When I left off in May/June, the Frederick C. Scales gun was in northern England, in the hands of restoration specialist John Foster, and was being prepped by Foster's associate Graham Bull for shipment to new owner Richard Raymond, in the US. As you'll recall, the gun had been built and finished more than six decades earlier by Scales-one of Purdey's finest craftsmen-ironically on a reworked action made by Purdey-archrival Holland & Holland. A series of articles by British gun writer Geoffrey Boothroyd had brought the gun to the public's eye and lent it an aura of mystery.As Foster and Bull were about to discover, there was even more to the mystery. Under the latter's experienced eyes, some telling inconsistencies began to surface regarding the action's supposed provenance. The gun clearly had a number of features consistent with H&H guns: Holland-style locks, the 10-to-5-o'clock position of the tumbler cocking indicators (when cocked), and the diamond on the underside of the forend. "However, the overall shape of the action was intrinsically wrong for that of a Holland gun," Bull said. "The top strap was of a typical Birmingham pattern, not that of a London gun, as was the ejector cam. At this point instinct and 35 years of working on double guns told me this was not a reworked Holland action but rather a Birmingham-built gun." Holland & Holland records indicated the Serial Number-H 22269-corresponded to a Holland Royal built in 1899, but only sans the H prefix. Curiously, the gun featured what appeared to be a Holland hand-detachable lock lever on its left lock. This device, however, was not patented by Holland's until 1908. (Actually, the Scales gun does not have true hand-detachable locks, because another lockplate retaining nail is located at 4 o'clock behind the fences.) Though the lever could have been retrofitted in 1939-'40, its presence seemed incongruous on a gun reportedly built in 1899. More important, the gun's proof marks clearly belonged to Britain's 1925 Rules of Proof, meaning the gun was built post-1925 but before the new rules of 1954. This in itself did not rule out a Holland & Holland provenance but, assuming original barrels, it certainly precluded a build date of 1899. Foster and Bull also noted the letters "JA" stamped on the underside of the left barrel just in front of the flats and above the keel rib. Initially, David Trevallion had thought the initials might be those of Jack Aldous, a barrelmaker at Purdey's in the '30s; however, Bull reported that "JA" was also the trademark of Joseph Asbury, a highly regarded actionmaker and ma-chinist to the trade in Birmingham from the late 19th Century until the firm's purchase by gunmaker A.A. Brown & Sons after World War II. Moreover, Bull informed Trevallion that H-prefix serial numbers are typically found on guns made by Birmingham's G&S Holloway, a well-regarded gunmaker to the trade in the Scales era. Holloway guns are often found engraved with many "makers'" names, but guns they built for the trade often have an H prefix serial number on the keel rib-precisely where it was located on the Scales gun. "I began to suspect the gun had been built by Holloway's by the position and style of the number on the tailpiece [keel rib] behind the forend loop," Bull said. "On comparison with another Holloway gun, I found that the style and face of the number and stamps were identical. I pointed out these findings to John [Foster]; he agreed wholeheartedly and immediately said, 'Holloway's!' on seeing the barrel number." Bull told Trevallion that in his opinion, the Scales gun had originally been a Holloway gun, itself possibly built on a J. Asbury-machined action. [img 3 left caption=Shaping the stock by hand] Until now Trevallion had been compiling as much information as he could on Scales and other Purdey craftsmen who may have had a hand in making the gun. Given Foster and Bull's dramatic findings, however, he shifted efforts to learning more about G&S Holloway. An original '30s-era Holloway catalog was procured, though its pages did not illustrate an exact match for a Scales-type gun. Trevallion's conversations with SSM Editor at Large Douglas Tate, author of the book Birmingham Gunmakers, prompted Tate to send Trevallion a copy of a Scales-era Midland Gun Co. advertisement illustrating the firm's "Supreme" Ejector Gun, described as a "London Pattern Side Lock" (see illustration below). The Supreme's bold scroll and beast motifs were, if not an exact match to the Scales gun, very close, indeed. British engraver Harry Kell (believed to have engraved the Scales gun) is known to have done work for the Birmingham trade, and it's plausible that he had a hand in creating the Midland's engraving pattern. At this point Trevallion felt he had enough information to proceed with an article, and he con-tacted me to act as scribe for his extensive research. About this time (2005) British gun-trade historian Nigel Brown published his magisterial tome British Gunmakers: Birmingham, Scotland & the Regions, in which he detailed the history of G&S Holloway as well as the company's serial numbers and records to the extent that they survive in the hands of Christopher Holloway, son of the last family proprietor of G&S Holloway, Graham Holloway. Tellingly, the published records confirmed not only the common use of H-prefix serial numbers on Holloway guns built for the trade, but also revealed that guns with serial numbers falling between 22185 and 22289 were built between 1939 and '40-a perfect match for the Scales gun. However, before we attempted to argue publicly for a Holloway provenance, we felt absolute proof was necessary. A letter was sent to Christopher Holloway asking for any details he might have regarding gun H-22269. Months passed without a reply. (We were to later learn that Holloway had changed addresses before the book's publication.) In the meantime we also contacted Robin Brown, director of Birmingham's A.A. Brown & Sons, which, as mentioned, purchased J. Asbury in the early '50s. Brown replied that he was "99.9 percent certain" that the gun's "JA" stamp indeed belonged to Asbury. We also contacted Daryl Greatrex, Holland & Holland's managing director, for any additional information he might shed on gun No. 22269. "Regarding number 22269, originally the gun was made in 1899 and rebarreled with 27-inch barrels in 1931," Greatrex said. "It is currently owned by a customer we know, as one of a pair, matching gun 22268." The information about Holland Royal No. 22269's current ownership would in itself preclude the Scales gun having the Holland provenance reported. Moreover, had the gun been a real Holland, any H prefix number would be merely a parts number. "It would not be the serial number that the gun ultimately featured," Greatrex elaborated. "The serial number should be featured elsewhere on the barrels, action and trigger guard." A note to Nigel Brown soon produced Chris Holloway's updated address, and another letter to Holloway in short order produced this welcome response: "Sir: "The records are taken from hand-written ledgers with varying degrees of clarity. The following are the written facts for the Holloway gun you quoted (22269): [img 2 right caption=The H-prefix provides a clue] "Order No. 571-62 "Barrels: Steel 12.30.2.5 "Chopper Lump: LO.5 RI "RI Asbury 8759 "Scott Lever Dble Bolt "Fluted bars "Betts 8790 "Connect Southgate "Fence Purdey "Locks Sidelock "Snap Marlow "Sold: 16/09/1939 "To: E. Gale, 20 Joy St., Barnstaple, Devon, England "I regret that I did not receive [your] post from the earlier address... I also regret that I am unable to explain some of the 'vernacular' used by my relatives' annotation[s] in the records. "Best Wishes, Chris Holloway." Holloway's letter makes it appear virtually certain that the Scales sidelock was built by G&S Holloway, probably on a barreled action machined by Joseph Asbury. Although the meaning of some of the "vernacular" remains a mystery, other specifics clearly match the Scales gun. For example, the gun's barrels are 30" chopper-lump steel 12-gauge tubes with 21/2" chambers-precisely as described in the records. The "RI" in the "RI Asbury" notation is probably a transcription error from illegible handwriting and should be a "J." Our understanding of the Scales/Gale connection is more tenuous-and from this point our conclusions admittedly more speculative. At the time, Edward Gale & Son was an established shop in Devon that sold guns under its own name, though the guns would have been made in the trade. According to British barrel-blacker Paul Stevens, whose grandfather worked for Gale, the latter (or another Gale family member) was Purdey trained-and if this is the case, it's possible Gale knew Scales and was picked for this reason. Indeed, in a log from a Purdey's June 7, 1930, Workmen's Dinner there is a "Gale" listed in attendance (along with Scales); unfortunately his first name is not shown. As Chris Holloway's letter makes no mention of stocking, engraving or finishing, the Holloway likely would have been in an unfinished state. "Almost certainly it was purchased as a barreled action in the white," Graham Bull said. Boothroyd's account of the craftsmen, including Scales, who finished the gun seems entirely plausible-the specificity of names and details lends the account an aura of legitimacy. Ken Hunt has authenticated Kell's engraving, and it would have made sense for Scales, a master stocker, to stock it to his own tastes and requirements, cheekpiece and all. What about the engraving's reported raison d'etre to impress Scales' German in-laws? It would take much more research into Scales' life and family history to know for certain but, to me at least, certain aspects of the account have something of an apocryphal ring about them. Remember that Germany had invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and when Holloway sold the gun to Gale on September 16, Britain already had been at war with Germany for nearly two weeks. Scales likely had not sent the gun to Kell's workshop for engraving yet, so with the two nations locked in mortal combat, it is arguable that any "shooting" invitations issued from Germany would by this time have involved stakes more serious than the "dignity of the British gun trade." Moreover, the carved engraving and beast motifs-although atypical for a British "best"-are not necessarily Germanic, as the Midland Supreme of the same era reveals. The mythological beasts are as much Medieval in inspiration as they are "German." The Green Man grotesques, appearing thrice, are particularly interesting. An ancient allegorical symbol of death and rebirth, depictions of the Green Man are found across Europe-and are especially common in Britain from the Middle Ages on. Kell utilized a number of grotesque types in his engraving, so there is little evidence to suggest its inspiration was perforce Teutonic. That said, the genesis for the gun and its engraving could have taken place long before the outbreak of hostilities-so a German connection cannot be ruled out. [img 4 left caption=Engraving on the midland supreme resembles that of the Scales gun] There is no doubt that the gun is unusual. Graham Bull offered his own insights into the gun's decorative and technical features. "Scales probably spent most of his working life with Purdey, who at the time made one style of gun with very little variation," Bull said. "It's my personal opinion that when it came to his own gun, he let his imagination run wild as to what he thought a gun should look like, or what looked good to him." Aesthetically, the Scales gun is miles apart from the chastely engraved Beesley- type self-openers he would have worked on for nearly 40 years. Why, indeed, would he have wanted to duplicate the same in a gun that was very much an emblem of self-expression and personal pride in his career as a craftsman? Like any good story, the saga of the Frederick C. Scales Gun resonates on several levels. In one sense it should be read as a cautionary tale-that readers (and writers) should not necessarily take as gospel everything seen in print, past or present, regardless of source. Despite diligence and best intentions, research dependent on personal recollections combined with subjective interpretations, informed speculation and missing primary sources inevitably invites errors. (As this article, too, incorporates to some extent aspects of all of the above, it is not only possible but almost certain that it will stand factual corrections in time.) It's well worth remembering that Boothroyd was a true pioneer in writing British sporting gun history and worked without the benefit of some of the more detailed and extensively researched histories published subsequent to his work. The Scales gun was, indeed, built on a Holland-type action, and the names "Holloway" and "Holland" are only a few letters apart and certainly sound similar. Given this, it's not surprising that aged craftsmen-interviewed by Boothroyd a half-century after the gun was built-might confuse the two, especially given Holland's fame and Holloway's relative obscurity. And as we know, once errors find their way into print they can assume lives all their own. The veracity of the printed word aside, on a more elemental level this is really a story as much about people as it is one of an object made of wood and steel. Incomplete though it may be, it is the tale of a craftsman, his life and aspirations, and how he and his magnificent gun have intrigued and fascinated generations to the present day. The great gun writer Gough Thomas once distinguished between guns made by craftsmen whose traditions were "traceably descended from that of a medieval armorer" and those designed for mass production. Today, with modern engineering increasingly able to duplicate not only the function of handmade guns but also the handwork of traditional craftsmen, it is well worth noting that no machine-made gun-however beautiful -will ever tell a story so rich and dramatic as that of Frederick C. Scales and his gun of golden beasts. Author's Note: Thanks to the following for assisting with research for this article: Alan Crewe, Bill O'Brien, Ken & Marcus Hunt, John Foster, Graham Bull, Robin Brown, Peter Blaine, Daryl Greatrex, Peter Powell, C.W. Harding, Douglas Tate, Nigel Brown, Chris Holloway, Paul Stevens and especially Richard Raymond, David Trevallion and (the late) Geoffrey Boothroyd. Vic Venters is Shooting Sportsman's Senior Editor.