Fox Collectors

OK I am a lover of C grade Fox guns and a waterfowl hunter, handsome reward for finding this gun for me! I will even change my name to T. Frank Quilty

.........it has a nice "ring" to it.

I'm not familiar with the pad listed. What is a Day's?

Mike

Whoever Mr Quilty was he passed on to the great trap fields in the sky in 1939 (no birth year listed) and is buried in Du Page County, Illinois.

I've always been real impressed with the same snipe and quail on the sides of my NID Ithaca Grade 2 guns in Super-Ten and 28-gauge. You'd think the manufacturers would have taken the use of the gun into account in the engraving?!?

Mr. Quilty may have passed to somewhere in 1939, but he was not a competitive trapshooter through the teens or twenties, according to my records. I guess he probably passed to the "Great duck marsh". With lightning bolts, it shouldn't be hard to recognize.

My guess is he hunted on the Illinois River, that was the golden age of waterfowl hunting for wealthy Chicago residents. They would take the train to the duck clubs along the river and stay for a couple of weeks. If you checked the members list from the old duck clubs between Peoria and Bureau you would probably find his name.

With a little more looking it seems Mr. Quilty was born about 1874 making him 40 years of age when he ordered his prized Fox. Your assessment that he was probably a duck hunter is most likely correct and at best a recreational trap shooter but that is an awfully nice gun to be dragging out to the marsh to shoot a few stinking ducks (I'm sure Mr. Kaas will comment on the reference to "stinking ducks".

When Mr. Bart Cox advertised Henry Bartholomew's duck guns for sale, there was a wealth of terminology describing rust, pitting, wear, cracked stocks, smooth checkering etc. These guns included Becker Fox duck guns, Becker bird guns. a D Grade Fox, AA Grade Parkers with Whitworth Steel barrels, D Grade 20 gauge Parkers, Model 21 multi barrel sets, and on and on. These guns are meant to be shot, and carried in the field.

You are quite correct 8 bore guns were/are made to be used but you must admit Henry Bartholomew was no ordinary duck hunter. Quite the contrary he had a sizeable fortune to use to stock his gun room and duck clubs and being a gentleman of impeccable taste used that fortune to purchase very fine guns, much finer than a more prudent man might choose.

Some of you may know that Griffin & Howe has the custodianship of the Von Lengerke & Detmold gun sales records (1901 to 1929) and the Abercrombie & Fitch gun sales records (1929 to 1977). Recently I have discovered that G&H is also in possession of a few of the record books for Von Lengerke & Antoine, purchased 1929 by A&F, along with VL&D and G&H. Anyway, we do have the VL&A record book for 1914 and I thought that you might be interested to see the same gun entered in that record.



I have removed the last 2 digits of the other serial numbers. Fox 21298 was entered in the record on September 12, 1914 and 'sold' the same day. That's usually an indication that the gun was a special order as the buyer was pre-determined. The rest should be obvious but, if not, I'll expplain. From left to right: date of acquisition, record reference No., serial number, model, gauge, bbl. length, weight in lbs & oz, LOP, D@C, D@H, "Single Trigger", "Day Recoil Pad", Date Sold (overwritten as 9/12/14), Name of the buyer - "T.F. Quilty". I'm not certain of the significance of "No Tag".

Unfortunately, G&H does not have every year of the VL&A records but we are most thankful for those we have. And a very sincere 'thank you' and a taste of the malt in honor of the several unknown individuals, and especially George Henry Krug who ran the VL&D and A&F gun rooms, for writing down the information in a clear and careful hand and for preserving the records for future generations of owners and collectors.

Compliments of Griffin & Howe, Inc.

research@griffinhowe.com

Welcome Bob and thanks for the peek into a veritable "Fox Wonderland"!!! I'm sure Fox-Admin. will double-down on the ol' BP medication this morning!!! LOL.

I'm guessing that the $35.00 entry was a deposit amount paid by the buyer in waiting? Not a paltry sum in 1914, I bet?

TOOLMAN

Bob: Thanks very much. Here is link from Artfact of an auction listing from 2000 for this very gun. I believe it was an auction that took place in California. Abner or any other California collectors have any recollection of this gun at auction??
http://www.artfact.com/auction-lot/12-g ... tzy583lsid

Well I'll be dipped!!!.....guess it's not at the bottom of a river afterall huh Craig???....neat!

So now it's a two barrel set.