Do you remember a time when Christmas Eve
was filled with anticipation and excitement: the presents that you would open
the next day, a stocking that would be full to the brim and a heart beating
with expectation? Well, I had thought
that such Christmas Eve feelings had long since departed but, to my
astonishment, such excitement returned like a ghost on Christmas Eve 2005.
I automatically opened my emails on
December 24 and there was a message from Joe Hall at Matched Pairs. It was short, only one line, yet that one
line harboured the most exciting event that I have experienced in over 40 years
of interest in antique guns. The email
said: ‘Have located Boss Hammer Gun no. 3456. Will be in touch, Joe.’ I read
and re-read it, surely it couldn’t be true. The brevity of the email was frustrating, I had to know more at once. I phoned Joe immediately and he confirmed
that a customer had just registered Boss hammer gun no. 3456 with his company Matched
Pairs. The gun appeared to be in good
condition and possibly for sale.
He added that it was an awkward time of
year but that he would get back in touch with me in the New Year.
I was absolutely ecstatic at this news as I
had owned the No.1 gun of this pair, nos. 3455/6, for many years. For years and
years I have been trying to locate the no.2 gun of the pair, no.3456, but with
absolutely no success. I tried adverts in various magazines and each time an
auction catalogue appeared through the post, I eagerly devoured its contents in
the feint hope that No.3456 might just be there, but it never was.
Reuniting harmless guns is more successful
as their survival rate is far higher, but so many hammer guns were simply worn
out or thrown out when they became obsolete, that their survival rate is far
lower. In theory, the odds should have been good as Boss made only 962
centre-fire hammer guns. Yet, in practise, reuniting a hammer gun with its
partner is almost unheard of. Joe hall himself was very pleased, saying that in
20 years of running Matched Pairs these were the only pair of hammer guns he
had ever reunited. In addition, in all the time I spent researching Boss &
Co., for my book about the firm, and subsequently to the present day, I have
never come across an existing pair of Boss hammer guns, although over 50
percent of their hammer gun production comprised pairs.
The story really began in august 1989 when
I travelled to Gleneagles in
Scotland
to view the Sotheby’s auction. Amongst all the guns on display, the one that
took my fancy was a Boss hammer gun No.3455, slightly worn but exuding style and quality to the extent that
I had to buy it. The action was locked by a purdey 2nd pattern snap
thumb-hole under lever, a closing action not used to a great extent by Boss,
only 117 examples being recorded. I find such thumb-holes very attractive with
their wide bifurcated trigger guard and short lever. In addition, the absence
of a top lever allows for uninterrupted engraving of the top strap. This gun
also had front action lock of the type that I prefer, again unusual for a Boss
hammer gun, as most have back action locks. The hammers were very typical,
elegant Boss hammers and the action and lock-work were finely scroll engraved. The entire gun was graceful and elegant, hence the reason
for my purchase.
To me, the provenance of a gun is just as
interesting as the gun itself and in this gun I was not disappointed. It provided
to have far more fascinating provenance then I could have anticipated one
factor in why I was so keen to find the No.2. I got in touch with Boss and they
told me nos. 3455/6 were sold on October 31, 1877 to
captain V.Montagu.
I looked up various who’s who of the late
19th century and soon found reference to Captain V. Montague, his
entry in 1906 Who’s Who referring to
him as Rear Admiral Victor Montagu.
But what made his entry even more fascinating was the information that he had
written two books, A Middy’s
Recollections 1853-1860 published in 1898 and Reminiscences of Admiral Montagu published in 1910. I obtained both
these books and what an informative read they were, bringing to life the owner
of my gun and, in addition, giving much detail on his shooting experiences in
the third quarter of he 19th century with
my actual gun. It isn’t often that you find an original source like this referring
to a gun in your collection.
Victor Montagu was born on April 20, 1841
in
London, the
second son of the Earl of Sandwich. The family lived at Hinchingbrooke House,
Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, the house still existing today, albeit in different
guise as a school. As a mere boy of 12 years of age he joined the Royal Navy as
a midshipman junior officer in 1853, embarking upon the 91-gun battleship, Princess
Royal. He was put in charge of a 12 oared cutter, an amazing responsibility for
a 12-year-old. He was immediately embroiled in war as his ship set sail for the
Black sea at the beginning of the Crimean war
in 1853 and he was involved in shelling Russian forts. Punishments were
draconian in the navy at this time and Midshipman Montagu committed the heinous
crime of putting his hands in his pockets on a freezing cold night. He was unfortunately
spotted by his captain who immediately ordered him to go to the ship’s tailor
to have his pocket’s sewn up. After the war he saw service in the
Mediterranean, the China War in 1857 and the Indian Mutiny
of 1857/8. He served with the Naval Brigade and, considering that he was only
15 years old, had difficult duties to perform: ‘in the early days of the Mutiny,
we had constantly to hang the wretches. Once I was sent to hang eight rebels on
one tree.’ He won five medals and eventually retired as a Rear Admiral in 1886.
His second book, Reminiscences of Admiral Montagu, gives many detailed accounts of
his shooting experiences, no less than three chapters being devoted to this
and, of course, as far as I am concerned most shooting was done with my guns. What
intrigued me greatly was that he shot regularly with the Prince of Wales (later
king Edward VII) and occasionally, due to his naval connections, with the Kaiser
Wilhelm II, the cousins that would soon part ways in cataclysmic fashion in August
1914. He regularly shot at the Price of Wales’ estate at
Sandringham,
using the Boss hammer guns. I often think whilst out shooting with these guns,
that over 130 years ago these guns were in far more illustrious company then on
my present shoot. In King Edward VII’s official biography by Sir Sydney Lee, he
quotes from the Prince’s diary of January 19, 1880: ‘we have a largish party
staying here (
Sandringham) this month
including Curzons, Carringtons, Victor and Lady Agnetta Montagu…. Weather fine and mild but cock pheasants wild.’ My pair of Boss guns were there too, only three years old!
He shot at all the well known shoots of the
era, boasting that he had shot in 33 different countries, and in addition he
shot abroad whilst in service with the navy. Although there are frequent references
to his guns in the book, he never mentions the Boss hammer guns specifically. I
presume that he would not take them on board ship, leaving them at home for the
driven shooting parties.
In 1891 Admiral Montagu replaced his Boss
hammer gun pair, nos. 3455/6 with a pair of top lever hammerless Boss guns, no’s
4149/50, and most probably from this
point on nos. 3455/6, were relegated and possibly split up afterwards as they
were now obsolete. Admiral Montagu himself died on January 15, 1915.
Finally, in June 2006 a deal was concluded
and No.3456 was forwarded to me. It was a Friday and as usual with Sod’s law I wasn’t
in, hence the carrier returned the parcel to the deport some 40 miles from me. They
would re-deliver on Monday; Oh no they wouldn’t, I
jumped in the car immediately and headed off to the depot. As I drove there, I was
on the one hand pretty excited but also a bit apprehensive. What would the gun
be like? Would it be tarted up? I abhor ‘restored’ guns brushed bright,
re-blued, re-browned. Re-checkered etc. I love the description Andrew Orr of
Holts gives such abominations: ‘tarts breakfasts!’ A gun dating from 1877
should age gracefully and not have a century of patina removed.
I picked up the parcel and, even though I was
in the car park of the depot, I knew that I couldn’t resist a sneaky peak. It was
really exciting having my first view of a gun I had been constantly searching
for. Wow, I was truly impressed, not only did No.3456 match exactly No.3455, it
was in even better condition and un-restored into the bargain. Upon returning
home I placed my No.1 gun on the table and slowly took the No.2 gun out of its
parcel.
Thank God nobody was looking in the window
as I literally spoke to them: “Do you know, this is
the first time that you two have been back together in about 100 years? You are
made for each other!” They were quite literally friends reunited. It was quite
a moving moment thinking of this fact as I had ascertained from the owner of
the No.2 gun that it had been in possession of his family for a very long time
and it seemed probable that the pair had been split before world war one. I
always like a few drams on a Friday night but I must confess I had a few extra
that particular Friday as I celebrated a very lucky turn of events.
I
must thank Joe Hall of Matched Pairs for all his hard work.
