Watson577
.300 member
Reged: 05/03/09
Posts: 132
Loc: Fredericksburg, Virginia USA
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Hello guys,
I am looking for a copy of the Alexander Henry ledger pages that include serial number 5556. I realize that this is a shot in the dark, so to speak, but I figure that someone out there might just have a copy of these two pages. Any leads or help will be greatly appreciated. It's incredibly frustrating to know that the original owner's name is in a ledger book in Edinburgh and that I can't obtain a copy of it...
Best Regards,
Jim
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transvaal
.300 member
Reged: 19/01/13
Posts: 131
Loc: South Carolina
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Sir;
John Dicson & Sons advertise that for a small charge they will supply record of A. Henry rifle. Will they not do that for you?
Transvaal
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StephenCoker
.300 member
Reged: 01/12/11
Posts: 140
Loc: AR, United States of America
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If you have not done so yet, I would start with the official path and contact Dickson & MacNaughton in Edinburgh. Ledger books are often very funny things and this information often takes time to locate. Do let us know how you fair.
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www.stephencokerandco.com
Uniquely superlative rifles in the Scottish tradition.
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TH44
.375 member
Reged: 21/02/09
Posts: 740
Loc: West UK
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Dickson & Sons will no longer provide photocopies of ledger entries because of the fragile condition of the documents
If you have the serial number and it is in their ledgers they will give you the information verbally
Be aware there are serial, action and barrel numbers and some of the ledgers do not have all of them, but the serial number and the barrel number is sometimes the same (as in one of my A/Hs)
The serial number 5556 is probably 1883 but some of the numbers, especially the hammerless, can be some years apart
TH44
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TH44
.375 member
Reged: 21/02/09
Posts: 740
Loc: West UK
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Just had a thought - I assumed you were talking about a falling block single shot, i see this is a double rifle forum so please ignore the second part of the post if necessary
TH44
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AkMike
.416 member
Reged: 19/11/05
Posts: 2576
Loc: Anchorage, Alaska
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I have seen digital pics of the leger sheets. Perhaps they'll just take a picture of the fragile pages and email it to you?
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"When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal not in goods, but in favors; you may know that your society is doomed." Ayn Rand
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buckstix
.400 member
Reged: 07/11/12
Posts: 1372
Loc: Whitetail Country
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Hello Watson577,
Earlier this year I called Dickson to inquire about my Alex Henry singleshot rifle complete with accessories and scope. They gave me the information verbally and emailed me a photo of the ledger sheets for my rifle showing that "all" was original including the scope. Interestingly the photos of the ledger showed the full pages with serial numbers 5806 through 5829.
They indicated to me at the time that they were no longer giving out the name of the purchaser because they have been embarrassed by collectors contacting the families. Therefore, they typically cover the name in the ledger with a piece of paper when it is photographed.
When I offered to give them my "word" as a gentleman, that I would not try to contact the family, and that I only wanted the name to preserve the provenance, they provided me the photos of the ledger with the name uncovered and readable.
They were very professional.
Hope this helps.
Buck Stix
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"You never pay too much for something, you only buy it too early."
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Watson577
.300 member
Reged: 05/03/09
Posts: 132
Loc: Fredericksburg, Virginia USA
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All,
Thank you for all of your responses. I called Dickson & McNaughton before submitting this request on the forum but they would not give me the name of the original owner. I was able to find out that this rifle was completed on March 3, 1888 and that is a best quality 8-bore double rifle with 26" barrels. The completion date is later than I expected (1883) and I can only guess that they made up two or more sets of Damascus 8-bore barrels in 1883, or perhaps a bit earlier. These could have been provisionally proved and then set aside for future use. I will ask for a digital photo of the ledger entry and agree not to contact the family of the original owner. I had expected that my only hope at this point is to find an old photocopy of the relevant page that someone had obtained in the past. Finding this information is important to me because it really helps to tell the story of the rifle and where it was used. I like to research the history of my guns and nowadays, it can be pretty easy with the London Gazette and all of the digitized books that are available for free online.
Best Regards,
Jim
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Dutch44
.275 member
Reged: 23/02/06
Posts: 80
Loc: Missouri
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Funny:
I owned two A. Henry underlever hammerless .450 BPE's. My brother was visiting his son in Edinburgh and stopped in. They were only too happy to accommodate my request as he had them on the phone while I was on the other end. He spent over an hour with them researching my numbers and they took many photos of the ledger entries as well as the shop. It was an older gentleman who brought the books up. They thought it was neat to open the books and look. They were really friendly and I did obtain the names of the owners, photos of the ledgers and dates of manufacture. I researched the names and was able to locate the family of one of the original owners. I researched the other one and it was fascinating to look at the history of these rifles.
Dutch
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Watson577
.300 member
Reged: 05/03/09
Posts: 132
Loc: Fredericksburg, Virginia USA
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Dutch,
How long ago was that? Maybe being there in person makes a difference.
Regards,
Jim
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