LONDON.- A single owner collection of Collectors’ Firearms exceeded expectations in Gavin Gardiner Ltd’s sale of Modern and Vintage Sporting Guns and Rifles on Wednesday, April 27, 2022.

The collection, which included examples by makers such as Smith & Wesson, Webley and Colt, saw a .50 boxer double barrel hammer howdah pistol sell for £8,750*. Retailed by T. Johnson of Swaffham in Suffolk, it sold for 10 times its pre-sale low estimate of £800-1,200 to a UK Private Collector [lot 30]. A fine 6.5mm bolt-action sporting rifle by Westley Richards sold for £3,500. Well-finished in the makers’ distinctive style, it was estimated at £400-600 and was bought a member of the UK trade [lot 97].

As Gavin Gardiner said after the sale: “I was delighted by the level of pre-sale interest in the group of collectors’ firearms, and this was reflected in the astonishing results that this collection achieved. Including many items rarely seen in the UK, the collection had been assembled over two generations.”

He continued: “Best sporting shotguns in exceptional condition continued to sell well, and the airgun pellet collection was a delight to see sell so well. I look forward to my next auction in September.”

Elsewhere in the sale of over 400 lots, a fine 12-bore single trigger “Royal” model self-opening sidelock ejector gun by Holland and Holland sold for £15,000 to a member of the UK trade [lot 259]. The maker confirmed that the gun was completed circa 1980 and appeared little used. A 12-bore single trigger assisted opening sidelock gun by Boss & Co, which was built in 1920, sold for £8,750 to a European Private Buyer [lot 264]. A fine 28-bore boxlock ejector gun by John Wilkes, which was built in 1937, fetched £6,500 against an estimate of £2,000-3,000 and was bought by a Private Buyer in the USA [lot 377].

Another lot that sold very well was a large collection of collectors air gun pellets and tins, many of which were pre-war and including makers such as BSA and Webley was sold for £938 against an estimate of £150-250 to a member of the UK specialist trade [lot 227].