Holt's

On account of its extraordinary appearance, the Nock seven-barrelled flintlock volley gun has become something of an icon of warfare in the Age of Sail.

A premium-inclusive total of £1.5m was achieved at Holts’ (25/20% buyer’s premium) summer auction in Norfolk, the third consecutive sale held with no one bidding in the room because of Covid restrictions.

Provenance can count for a lot when it comes to gun collecting and two names with quite different connotations came up at Holts (25/20% buyer’s premium).

The random selection of a place in the line is one of the long-established rituals of English driven game shooting and novel methods continue to emerge.

This 12-bore self-opening sidelock ejector by James Purdey & Sons sold for £14,000 at the Gavin Gardiner (25% buyer’s premium) sale in Pulborough on September 2.

Norfolk auction house sells 11 guns with provenance to one of the most renowned enthusiasts

December 10 marked a significant step in the history of specialist sporting and antique gun auction house Holts (25-20% buyer’s premium).

Fine sets of pistols, preferably nicely cased, have long been the mainstay of London arms and armour sales. This season’s crop were not as plentiful nor so eagerly contested as we sometimes see, but there were some gems on offer and a selection of them are illustrated here.

Once breech-loading guns became the norm, the gun itself was only one part of the equation. Ammunition was the great variable, as demonstrated by the advertising display boards produced in large numbers for the gun shops and ironmongers of the United Kingdom.

While it was probably pleasing for a buyer at Holts (25% buyer’s premium) to know a pair of Purdey shotguns had previously been owned by ‘God’, or Eric Clapton as less passionate fans of the great guitarist know him, it did not materially affect the £160,000 winning bid.

The classic English sporting gun is a sidelock, but for many the ‘round-action’ shotguns perfected by John Dickson of Edinburgh in the 1870s are the most elegant of all.

After more than a decade of holding auctions in west London, Holts Auctioneers is relocating to a new saleroom to the south-east of the capital this March.

Holt’s (25/20% buyer’s premium) sale in London on December 14 included two prime examples of weapons designed to get their owners out of a tight corner.

A trio of shotgun sales in the spotlight.

ATG’s weekly selection of items on sale at auctions and dealerships.

Sporting guns are a little different from other areas of the arms and armour market in that many that are well over 100 years old are still in use today.

Guns made for the hands of an illustrious owner have added allure for collectors of antique firearms – particularly if those hands are royal.