A recent sale elicited a good question and disinterred an old discussion. The sale concerned a J. Blanch & Son sidelock ejector made in 1903. We know it was made then because the engraver, probably the great Harry Kell, had carved that date, in Roman numerals, on the guard. Toby Barclay, who knows more about Blanch than anyone I know, was certain Blanch only engraved this on his best guns.
The question a customer asked was this: “Is the Blanch actually a best gun? Cyril Adams once wrote that best guns cannot have through lumps, which the Blanch has.”
More recently, while I was shooting with Purdey chairman Dan Jago, he referred to all of Purdey’s current line-up as ‘best guns’. That, of course, covers their much-loved Beesley self-opener and the beautiful Woodward over-and-under. It also claims ‘best’ status for the
