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The ebony straight comb, straight grip stock features beautiful
full-coverage vine and leaf carving. Inhabiting the leaves on
the sides of the butt are two carved birds, and at the buttplate
there are four carved putti holding hunted game. The ebony takedown
case coordinates with the stock and the metalwork of the shotgun and has wide steel bands, monogrammed initial plate and hardware, all featuring carved foliate pattern. The initial plate on the lid has an engraved “MG” monogram. The case is lined with blue velvet, and the inside of the lid has padded lining with traces of gold lettering from the original maker’s label. A suite of loading and maintenance equipment is included with the case and decorated in coordination with the shotgun and case. Among the equipment is a nicely figured wooden cleaning rod, a screwdriver, wad cutter, and two wooden cylindrical containers.
This incredible shotgun was once part of the Harolds Club Museum of the Old West and is
described and photographed in a booklet published in 1958 by the museum. The museum describes the gun as “One of the most valuable weapons in the world, this shotgun was presented in 1879 by M. Paul Jules Grevy, President of France, to Don Manuel Gonzales, President of Mexico.” The gun was examined by San Francisco jewelers Shreve & Company who stated, “there is no person living today capable of executing such metal carving. If such a person could be found, it would unquestionably take him 5 to 10 years to complete such as job.”
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