Can anyone give me some idea of the vintage and value of this W.Richards shotgun is ? Thanks in advance Bullet

Bullet:
Take some more photos, including of the proof marks on the water table and the under side of the barrels and post your request hereL
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The British Westley Richards shotguns can be quite valueable. What you probably have, however, is an inexpensive Belgium-made shotgun using a similar name. Look at the underside of the barrels or the frame under the the barrel. If it is Belgian, you will see proofmarks that resemble a pineapple with the letters LGE.

Bob

You have a R. Richards shotgun....not a Westley Richards

It's probably 1890's vintage,,perhaps early 1900's.
'W.Richards' was a somewhat common trade name used on Belgian made shotguns of the time. A twist no doubt on the name of the famous Brit maker. There were some marked with names close to other famous makers of the time too,,,'S.Holt',,T. Barker and so on. Marketing to a Montomergy Wards catalog type audience a century+ ago.

But,,There is a Brit maker named 'W.Richards' who put out some decent SxS's also. Been in business a longtime and started in London.
W Richards Guns

Check the proof marks on the bbl flats and the action flat.

Most likely they'll be Belgian.,,but they could prove to be English.


No 'date code' in the Belgian proof marks till 1922. But sometimes the style of the marks can whittle down the era it was proofed to a few years.
Here's an excellent rundown of Belgian Proofs.
http://damascus-barrels.com/Belgian_All_Proofmarks.html

I hit the link, and this W. Richards is in Liverpool and seems to be a retailer, not a maker. Maybe they once made guns, too? They claim to have been around since the 1780's.

Other firms have certainly traded on the name of the famous Westley Richards, known for their .318 caliber rifles on Mauser actions and superb double rifles and shotguns. That firm competed with Purdey, Holland & Holland, Boss, and other top drawer makers. I think they're still with us, but need to check.

Their guns sell for many thousands of dollars. Don't sell one to a dealer or to a pawn broker. You'll get taken to the cleaners, royally! Hmmm... no, that isn't a pun about them supplying guns to the Royals, although they had a Royal Warrant from HM King Edward VII and probably, from other Royals. I think they (Rigby, too) presented a rifle to HM Queen Elizabeth II on her ascension to the throne in 1953. The Rigby was in their renowned .275 caliber. Not sure about the Westley Richards if they also made such a presentation. BTW, Westley Richards is not a hyphenated name. I sometimes see it in print that way.

Our member Capt. Curl bought a Westley Richards .303 double rifle and was kind enough to share photos with us recently. That particular rifle was made the year (1902) that Edward VII ascended the throne, and the rifle was already made under his Royal Warrant, attesting that His Majesty was a customer of the firm and that it had his approval. He may well have been a customer for years, as Prince of Wales. The Prince of Wales, the heir- in- waiting to the throne, also issues Royal Warrants for products that he personally uses. For instance, Prince Charles has so honored the Taylor's of Harrogate tea company.

Real Westley Richards guns are exceptional items, as one might suppose. I plan to buy several if I ever win a major sweepstakes. It'd take that kind of money.

Don't fire that old W. Richards gun. It's probably unsafe, especially if it has Damascus barrels.

"...Maybe they once made guns, too? They claim to have been around since the 1780's."...

They did make and still do make guns to order.
Maybe they just farm out some or all of the work,,but that's not at all uncommon in the English gun trade anyway,,never was.

The original 'W.Richards-Liverpool' was William Richards.
The business was handed down through son, grandson and great grandson.
The Great Grandson was named Westley (Richards).
Westley managed the biz from the turn of the 20th Century till the early 40's when he died.
Been in various owners hands since.
The other Great Grandson (William?) had a gunshop of his own in Preston in the years just before and after WW1. He died in the early 1920's and the W.Richards-Liverpool firm (his brother Westley) took the Preston shop over and operated it for a time.
The better grade guns of that period are sometimes marked 'W.Richards-Liverpool & Preston'

They were a retailer also, as were most all of the other 'makers'. So you can find their name on just about anything.

The simple 'W.Richards' mark w/o address is usually a Belgian made edition taking advantage of the Brit name.
Sometimes 'London (Fine) Twist' or some such colorful term is added to the bbl rib to enhance the gun.
Check the proofs for clues to origin and date/era of mfg.

Good advise not to fire it,,at least not w/o someone knowledgable checking it out first. Then you have to decide wether you want to play w/damascus/twist steel bbls,, or not,, regardless of wether they're pronounced sound.

I had a Belgian made W. Richards double years ago. Twelve gauge with hammers and fluid steel barrels, NOT Damascus. I shot it quite a bit.

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