Original Late 19th Century French 14 Gauge Double Barrel Under Lever Hammer Shotgun Serial 502 by Brun Latrige of St-Étienne - circa 1885

Original Item: Only One Available. Here we have a lovely Double Barreled "Under Lever" Hammer shotgun by the well known maker by Brun Latrige of St-Étienne, correctly marked BRUN LATRIGE on the left lock plate and ST ETIENNE on the right. This company was founded by Paul Brun, who was born somewhere circa 1848. Between 1867 and 1872, he worked in Paris for "the three greatest Parisian gunsmiths", and then between 1876 and 1878, he was in Saint-Étienne where he had two children with his wife, Miss Latrige. He set up his workshop at 7 cours Fauriel, and combined his last name with his wife's to name the company. His headed letters and catalogues bear "house founded in 1836", either because he took over an old gunsmith founded on that date, or because his ancestors settled there on that date. Brun-Latrige was a very prolific designer and gunmaker, with numerous patents to his name, most of which were for hammerless design rifles and shotguns. He won numerous awards at design competitions, and his company was eventually sold to Firmin Rey shortly after WW1 ended, circa 1920-1922.

This gun looks to be a very good representative of his early work, an external hammer shotgun very similar to others we have seen from St-Étienne, France. It may have been intended for domestic use, or more likely was probably intended for the large U.S. import market. It is in 16 gauge with 30 inch long double barrels, and measures 45 3/4 inches in overall length. It is marked on the top of the barrel rib in gold with ACIER FONDU ST ETIENNE, which translates to "St-Étienne Cast Steel" or something similar.

Removing the barrel shows that each barrel is marked with the ST ETIENNE next to "Crowned Wings", a proof introduced in 1879 for manufacturer in Saint-Étienne, France. This was the location of one of the major French arsenals, and had a sizeable gun industry. Both barrels are also marked with 7.5, with 17.9 on the bottom of the right barrel, which we assume is the bore size in millimeters, a bit over 14 gauge. There are cursive f over "Roman" F proofs on the bottom of both barrels, which is also present on the "water table" under the right barrel. The barrel assembly, table, breech locks, and other components are marked with serial number number 502, which is stamped with the "0" raised above the other two numbers.

This lovely DOUBLE BARREL 16 gauge Hammer Shotgun presents very nicely, with a lovely patina of age, showing wear and patination from handling and moderate use. It is all iron mounted, and features some lovely minimalist engraving on almost all of the hardware. It has a great checkered wrist on the butt stock, and does not have any provision for a fore stock. The butt stock has a small sling swivel, and there is a round loop on the bottom of the barrel assembly for attachment of a sling. With a smaller gauge like 16, we assume this was used as a fowling piece, though it definitely would also be useful in home defense.

The action still functions correctly, with ejection and dry firing, and both firing pin springs are working correctly. The back action locks both function, do not have any provision for "half cock", as is common on hammer shotguns, which for the most part use "rebounding" locks where the hammer moves back after striking the pin. It is an interesting "under lever" type, instead of the more common lever on the back of the action seen later. It has a separate lever to release the barrel from the mounting, which we have seen before on hammer shotguns from St-Étienne. Please note that the breech and barrel locking mechanisms are a bit stiff, and can be finicky. The detent mechanism on the main lever that keeps it in the center is also missing. We checked the bores of the barrels, and they are relatively clean and shiny, showing just a bit of wear and oxidation.

The rear stock has a great color with lovely grain, and has a very nice iron butt plate. It is in very good condition, with strong checkering on the wrist, and no cracks or other major damage we can see. Overall the shotgun presents very nicely, with a lovely patina of age, with some traces of the original bluing present in places.

A very nice antique French hammer shotgun in 14 gauge by the well known Brun Latige of St-Étienne! Ready to research and display!

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: circa 1885
Caliber: about .693" 14 gauge / bore - 3 inch chambers
Cartridge Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 30 Inches
Overall Length: 45 3/4 Inches
Action type: Back Action Locks with External Hammers
Feed System: Top Break with Under Lever

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