If you know Boss guns then you know that they are the senior member of a very short list of the worlds greatest gun makers.

Henry Atkin worked for James Purdey and proudly stated this fact on his barrels. The barrels on this gun are made from the finest steel of the the period, Sir Joseph Whitworth steel. These are at no surprise the same barrels that Purdey used on their shotguns.

The Purdey records show that in 1935 the gun was in the Possession of a Miss Gertrude Boeckmann of Saint Paul Minnesota. We have a copy of her obituary. She was only 20 years old when she received this shotgun. The obituary mentions she was an avid fly-fisherman and talented and enthusiastic figure skater. The obituary lists all of her kids, grand-kids, and great grand kids. It would be interesting to contact them and learn more about this very interesting lady! I would love a picture.

On its own merits this fine shotgun is tight on face and ready for the field. The engraving is still very sharp and the wood is in excellent condition. Note the case has Gertrude's initials and St. Paul monogrammed on the case, obviously original to when she received the gun. It would be fun to see this gun go to another avid sportswoman!

Note the weight! And now have pictures of the gun in the vintage Dickson correct vintage case.

Completed in 1903 this is a true Edwardian era gun ( Queen Victoria died in 1901 thank you Austin). The gun is found in an original Grant case which also is in very nice original condition.

Does anyone recognize the family crest in the stock?

This is a super example of what Grant could do and at a very attractive price. Note the 2 3/4" nitro proofs.

I love the original and unmessed with feel of this shotgun. The barrels are well in "12" proof with both barrels at .735 and with excellent wall thickness. The stock dimensions are perfect for the masses and the chokes being full and full one can now make them anything they want. We charge $75.00 per barrel to open chokes. All in all an excellent London gun at a very attractive price point when compared with a similar quality London gun such as a Boss or Purdey.

Note the modern dimensions.

Balanced just slightly forward of the hinge pin this shotgun handles perfectly. The bores are bright and clean with excellent walls and the barrels are tight on face. Own a London BEST for a fraction of the cost than if you were to buy a London first name of which the quality would be none better

This gun has some of the best engraving you will ever see on an English sidelock from this period. With great stock dimensions and nice long barrels with realistically useful choking, this fine sidelock has a lot to offer.

Great stock dimensions for many combined with a useful choking and excellent wall thickness makes this little and light English sidelock a real find.

I do feel it was when new ( I believe the ninth gun built in 1933) a semi-pistol grip gun and it has since been expertly converted to a straight grip.

Twenty gauge Boss doubles are like prime real estate. They seldom come up for sale, are priced at the top of the market, and there are never any regrets in owning as they are always worth what you paid and more. A solid investment at $57000.00

It is fairly rare to find a .410 with auto ejectors and with 28" barrels. bores are nice and clean.

Townsend Whelen Born March 6, 1877 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Died December 23, 1961 (aged 84) St, Louis, Missouri, U.S. Buried Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, U.S. Allegiance United States of America Service/branch United States National Guard United States Army Years of service 1895-1899 (National Guard) 1902-1936 (Army) Rank Colonel Spouse(s) Mary (Pratt) Whelen Townsend Whelen (March 6, 1877 – December 23, 1961), called "Townie" by his friends,[1] was an American hunter, soldier, writer, outdoorsman and rifleman. Whelen was a colonel in the United States Army,[2] and a prolific writer on guns and hunting, writing over two thousand magazine articles in his career. He was a contributing editor to Sports Afield, American Rifleman, Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, Guns & Ammo, and other magazines, and author of Suggestions to Military Riflemen, The American Rifle, Telescopic Rifle Sights, The Hunting Rifle, Small Arms and Ballistics, Hunting Big Game (of which he was the editor), Amateur Gunsmithing, and Why Not Load Your Own. An autobiography, Mr. Rifleman, was begun by Whelen, but finished by his family and published after his death.[3] Whelen edited and wrote the introduction to WDM Bell's autobiography "Bell of Africa" and arranged an American publisher.[4] An expert rifleman with few peers, Whelen could reportedly hit man-sized target at 200 yards using the bolt action, open-sighted M1903 Springfield .30-06 service rifle, scoring six hits in ten seconds flat, and could do it on command. Colonel Whelen experimented with the service .30-06 Springfield cartridge while he was commanding officer of Frankford Arsenal in the early 1920s. Frankford Arsenal machine shop foreman James Howe, who later formed the rifle-making firm of Griffin & Howe, assisted Whelen modifying the .30-06 case to fire bullets of different calibers. Whelen was particularly interested in creating a cartridge to fire heavier bullets from M1903 rifle actions available from the Civilian Marksmanship Program.[5] Townsend Whelen's great passion was the great outdoors and hunting, and he undertook many expeditions into the wilderness of both North and South America, living off the land, hunting and exploring. Apart from his professional interest in the rifle as a military weapon and competitive target shooting, he also experimented with rifles and cartridges in survival and wilderness applications, using the different loads in his hunting rifles to take both small and large game while on long hunting excursions in the wilds. The comprehensive knowledge and experience reflected in Whelen's writing covered the black powder era at the end of the 1800s and spanned the transitional period into smokeless arms, resulting in the modern high velocity rifles of the 20th century.