Lot 654*,S2
A fine and extremely rare 12-bore side-opening over-and-under round-action ejector gun by J. Dickson & Son, no. 4178, The first of only four ever made
12 May 2016, 14:00 BST
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £57,500 inc. premium
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A fine and extremely rare 12-bore side-opening over-and-under round-action ejector gun by J. Dickson & Son, no. 4178, The first of only four ever made
Incorporating John Dickson & Son's patent number 215, sidelever-opening, the treble-grip action-body with the makers name in a scrolling banner surrounded by best foliate-scroll engraving, the highly-figured stock with pistolgrip and horn pistolgrip-cap, the barrels engraved John Dickson & Son, 63 Princes Street, Edinburgh with matt top-rib and horn-tipped wooden side-fillets, the right with lever-latch release
Weight 7lb. 4oz., 14¾in. stock, 30in. barrels, approx. cyl. & ⅜ choke, 2¾in. chambers, recent London nitro reproof
Weight 7lb. 4oz., 14¾in. stock, 30in. barrels, approx. cyl. & ⅜ choke, 2¾in. chambers, recent London nitro reproof
Footnotes
The makers have kindly confirmed that the gun was completed in 1888 for Schomberg Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian
Literature:
Donald Dallas, John Dickson & Son, The Round Action Gunmaker, 2014, p.
Schomberg Henry Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian (1833 – 1900)
He was educated at Trinity College Perth, and thereafter New College, Oxford.
He entered the Diplomatic Service, and was Attaché at Lisbon and later Tehran, both in 1854. During the following decade he was posted to numerous important and widespread cultural centres notably Baghdad, Athens, Frankfurt, Madrid and finally Vienna in 1865. In 1870 he succeeded to the marquessate on the early death of his childless elder brother, and took his place in the House of Lords.
In 1886 he was sworn on the Privy Council and the following year succeeded Arthur Balfour as Secretary for Scotland and Vice-President of the Scottish Education Department in Lord Salisbury's Conservative administration. He remained head of the Scotland Office until the government fell in 1892
Apart from his political career Kerr was Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland from 1874, a post he held until his death 26 years later, and was also Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland while Secretary of State. In 1878 he was created a Knight of the Thistle and in 1882 he received an honorary degree from the University of Edinburgh and was elected Rector serving between 1887 and 1890. He was Captain-General of the Royal Company of Archers, President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (1876-1890) and Royal Scottish Geographical Society (1894-1898), and a Knight of Grace of the Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. From 1878 to 1889 he was Colonel Commanding the 3rd Battalion Royal Scots, of which he later became Honorary Colonel.