Product Details
EX W. KEITH NEAL: JOHN MANTON, LONDON
A FINE CASED 15-BORE FLINTLOCK SINGLE-BARRELLED SPORTING-GUN, serial no. 4992,
for 1808, with octagonal to sixteen sided to round browned twist 34in. barrel banded at the intersection, bead fore-sight, screw-over breech-block inlet with a rectangular gold poincon to top signed in raised letters, 'MANTON, LONDON' together with a further gold line, platinum lined touch-hole, trophy engraved top-tang, flat border and gamebird engraved lock signed 'MANTON' below the rainproof pan, rollers to the frizzen spring and sear leg, walnut half-stock chequered at the wrist, iron furniture, two barrel keys and original mahogany ramrod, complete in its maker's walnut case compartmented in green baize and bearing a John Manton parchment label inside lid (losses) and including a quantity of shot chargers, a powder flask, shot belt, wad punch, flint wallet and turn-screw together with its W. Keith Neal collection medallion numbered 'C209'.
Provenance: Previously sold Christies, London, Lot 104, 9th November 2000.
A note written in Neal's own hand accompanies this lot reading:
"This gun came to me from Dick Cooper. He saw the gun in a shop window in Farnborough while driving down the street in his tank, during the war, about 1940. He stopped his tank & bought the gun and showed it to me later at Boodles. He said "Keith, this is your gun." At this time Dick was on active service with the 4th Royal Tank Regiment.
signed W. Keith Neal"
Typed on the bottom of this note is another note stating that this gun has the rare over-screw breech-plug which Col. Hawker declared dangerous. Neal speculates that if this was the case then this gun obviously wasn't dangerous as it had seen plenty of use. Gun No 4992 is also mentioned in his and D.H.L Back's book 'The Mantons: Gunmakers', where it says that the breech conforms to Patent No. 2178 of 12 April 1797
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Estimate £4,000-6,000