John Knubley began his career as a gunmaker in the county of Yorkshire in the 1760s before moving his business to London where he is recorded at two addresses on Charing Cross between 1786 and 1794. He became gunmaker to the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Clarence and Prince Edward, and was a contractor to the Board of Ordnance between 1790 and 1794. Upon his death in 1795 his business was taken over by Samuel Brunn and continued as Knubley & Co. or Knubley & Brunn until 1797. Norman R. Blank's collection notes indicates he received this gun from W. Keith Neal in November 1959. In an included description by Blank, he notes: "This is a very elaborate English gun. The English are usually quite conservative in their use of gold and silver, and this one shows quite a lot of it. I tried to shoot some clay birds from a hand trap with this but without much success." A certificate of authenticity for Mr. Blank from F. Theodore Dexter is also included. The browned stub twist barrel has a gold front sight with flush mounted gold "spider" base, chiseled girdles along with engraved gold bands, engraved burst patterns, "KNUBLEY LONDON" signed in gold inlay on the octagonal breech section, and a gold paneled breech. The standing breech is deep relief engraved with a dog and bird scene along with scroll and foliate patterns. The flat beveled lock has a stepped tail with a hound scene, a burst pattern engraved on the sliding safety plate behind the bird and foliate pattern engraved gooseneck cock, "KNUBLEY" signed in a gold oval surrounded by another bird and dog accented by foliage, a gold lined priming pan, gold lining on the underside of the frizzen, a frizzen roller, and a corresponding ramp on the frizzen spring. The buttplate and trigger guard are blued steel. The latter has a silver inlaid oval inscribed with the initials "JV". The forend cap, wedge escutcheons, inlay on the left at the breech, and the "TG" inscribed oval on the left stock flat are all engraved silver. The half-stock has a checkered wrist and an approximately 13 1/2 inch length of pull. The ramrod has a horn tip. Provenance: W. Keith Neal; The Norman R. Blank Collection

Very fine overall as restored with 95% plus of the high quality re-browned finish on the barrel along with distinct twist patterns and bright gold, strong fire blue on the top jaw, bright gold panel on the lock, superb engraved and fire blued lock mechanism, gray and brown patina on the balance of the lock, attractively aged patina on the silver mounts, 90% plus of the re-blued finish on the trigger guard and buttplate, replacement ramrod, and crisp checkering and some scratches and dings on the stock. Mechanically excellent. Overall, a stunning example of a fancy English sporting gun from the late 18th century.