Hello DoubleD,

Thanks for the reply.

When I submitted my request for information, I included the same pictures as those shown above in my opening post. Some time later I got a phone call from Mr. Baker himself asking about the barrel address. I told him there was none. It was his opinion that the barrel address was likely lost from several re-blackenings over the years, as evidenced by the thinning top edges of the Birmingham Proof and 450 caliber marking on the barrel, just ahead of the receiver. It was common practice to re-blacken rifles every time the hunter returned from Safari, which in some cases lasted one or more years. In addition, the barrel shows a later sight upgrade which may also account for the lost address.

As far as the T.BLAND stamping goes, this was an early "no-frills" gun, likely rushed (as recorded) for an upcoming 1886 Safari. Since it was specifically documented as "no engraving" it did not go to the engraver, who would have been the one that added the Bland identifier on the receiver. In addition, since the barrel address would have been hand engraved on the barrel by the engraver, there is also the possibility that for this reason the barrel address was never applied because it was not sent to the engraver. All this was discussed and concluded that it is hard to second-guess the reasoning of Thomas Bland from 133 years earlier. Anything is possible.

However, with the matching serial numbers and assembly numbers on all the individual parts, and because the configuration exactly matches the 1886 records, it was determined that it was an original Thomas Bland creation.