Searching for info on Robbins & Martin rifles

[Rhaevin]

Greetings,

Normally not a place you'd find me posting, however I've his desperate in my quest to find any info I can on a rifle that has been handed down for generations. No record has been kept as to how we came to aquire this item, and I'm not sure how far back up the family tree it goes; the problem when items aren't documented.

I have a Robbins & Martin percussion cap, double barrel rifle. "London" has been engraved at the top along the site. One barrel is round, but the other barrel is a heptagon (7-sided). This is a beautiful old weapon with brass plates accenting the end, and it also has a brass stag on the side.

Every search I've done has turned up nothing. Only one antique firearms auction company has been able to tell me anything, and all they told me was it was roughly worth $700-$1200. Not sure how accurate that is, and it still doesn't give me much info about the rifle itself.

If anyone here is able to help I greatly appreciate it. I'm looking for any sort of info on the maker, a time period the rifle might have been produced, if it was made for someone special (even if it was only for like noble men, not necissarly a specific person) and approximate value. I'm debating parting with it, but I don't want to be insulted and taken advantage of becaus of my ignorance.

Please contact me via email: ladyfiona@hotmail.com

[mr. no gold]

Please post some photos of your nice gun. Sounds like a dandy. There are many folks here who can give you some information, I am sure. By the way, welcome to the Forum and we hope to hear more from you.
Dick

[Rhaevin]

Here are the photos that my family took some time back. Not the greatest pics, now that I look at them. If more detail is needed, ask. I haven't cleaned it up at all, so as not to ruin it's current patina.








I haven't taken it to anyone yet either, till a few days ago. Due to not being able to find any info on it the family has been guarded about it's exsistance.

Hope these images help somewhat.

[Longknife]

Rhaevin, Its very hard to pinpoint a date on a gun like this, maybe get within a decade or two. The back action percussion locks on you gun became very popular about 1840. You need to know though that at this time most gun builders were purchasing commercial  parts to build guns. If the locks are marked "Robbins and Martin" that only signifies that they made the locks or possibly they only purchased the locks for resale and had them made with their name on them. My list of American lock makers/retailers does not have them listed. The "London" on the barrels signify that the barrels were made in London but on the bottom side there should be English proof marks to verify this. They could have been made elsewhere, possibly Belgium, and marked London to enhance their value. If Belgium made barrels then Belgium proof marks will be on the bottom of the barrels. I don't believe this gun was made "special" for anyone as it is pretty plain and of commom style. So in a nut shell your gun could have been made any time after 1840 (give or take a decade) by just about anyone, but I would lean toward English or American made (my opinion).  I think the appraisal was maybe a little high. Here is a link to ID the barrel proof marks....Ed


http://www.phoenixinvestmentarms.com/archives/Proofmarks.pdf

[oakridge]

Your gun appears to be a combination rifle/shotgun. I have two American made half-stock rifles with the exact same reclining deer inlay on the cheekpiece. Both have back-action locks and were made in the 1850's. Inlays like this were commercially available to gunsmiths by the 1840's. Can't help you on a maker though.

[Rhaevin]

Longknife and Oakridge thank you both so much for the information! You two have been very helpful, and I appreciate it alot.

Oakridge - Is it common for the other barrel to be a heptagon though?

Longknife - Short of taking the barrel completely off the rest of the gun I can find no maker marks on the underside. The wooden pin holding the barrel to the rest of the gun is in poor condition and I'm hesitant to remove it.

Yes, both percussion locks have the piece down the side that is inscribed with Robbins and Martin, but after scouring the rest of the gun I can find no other marks. Under the brass butt-cap, or any of the other brass it has?

Now I'm highly intrigued to learn more about the weapons of that time period, and how it might have fit into the family history.
--Kristi

[T*O*F]

Short of taking the barrel completely off the rest of the gun I can find no maker marks on the underside. The wooden pin holding the barrel to the rest of the gun is in poor condition and I'm hesitant to remove it.

The barrels are held in with a metal key.  Obviously it has been lost over time and someone stuck a piece of wood in it to hold it together.  Metal replacements are available from suppliers or you can carve one from a popsicle stick or slab of hardwood. 

To remove, cock both locks,  push the wood out with a wide bladed screw driver, and lift the barrels up from their hooks.  You will then be able to examine the underside of the barrels for markings.

[T*O*F]

I find the following listing for them under Hardware Dealers (guns) in "New York as it is 1833-35."
Robbins & Martin, (Birmingham, England,) 14 Plait.