The 9½in (24cm) long, half-stocked damascus barrels were engraved Beckwith London for William Andrew Beckwith (fl.1785-1865). The case included a copper and brass three-way flask by Sykes, rosewood cleaning rod, steel bullet mould and turnscrew – with all ements described as clean and unrestored.
Online buyers across the sale included collectors from Poland, Bulgaria, France and Canada, but the Beckwith pair sold to a UK collector at £20,000 (estimate £12,000-18,000). Beckwith was a respected early 19th century maker working in Snow Hill, London, but never as fashionable, nor as prolific, as the likes of his contemporaries, the Mantons and the Nocks.
At Southams both the latter were represented – a 20-bore flintlock double-barrelled sporting gun by J. Manton c.1807 made £6000 and 16- bore flintlock single sporting gun by Henry Nock, £3000.
