Percussion shotgun

[tacfoley]

I've just looked at this fowling piece on a pal's laptop - it is definitely not a Manton-made piece of any kind. The workmanship bears no resemblance to that of any of the Manton's, particularly in the use of a fake 'fraktur-style' lockplate name. I'm betting that it is a Belgian-made 'homage' piece of low-cost, made after the style of an English fowling piece of the 1840's, and sold by the thousand all over Europe. Naming your product after a famous maker, but making a slight change in the spelling, was accepted business practice back then. Examination of the proof marks will show that. Look for the letters ELG in an oval, with or without a crown, and a small stamp that looks like Nelson's Column - the Perron, a famous Liége landmark. Manton's names were found on the barrels as well as the lockplate, as were under-barrel London Proof Marks after around 1834, when they became a legal requirement for sale.

tac

[Fronteria]

I've just looked at this fowling piece on a pal's laptop - it is definitely not a Manton-made piece of any kind. The workmanship bears no resemblance to that of any of the Manton's, particularly in the use of a fake 'fraktur-style' lockplate name. I'm betting that it is a Belgian-made 'homage' piece of low-cost, made after the style of an English fowling piece of the 1840's, and sold by the thousand all over Europe. Naming your product after a famous maker, but making a slight change in the spelling, was accepted business practice back then. Examination of the proof marks will show that. Look for the letters ELG in an oval, with or without a crown, and a small stamp that looks like Nelson's Column - the Perron, a famous Liége landmark. Manton's names were found on the barrels as well as the lockplate, as were under-barrel London Proof Marks after around 1834, when they became a legal requirement for sale.

tac

Spot on Tac, I didn't want to be the one who broke the news as to where in my view it was made.