This attractive over/under double rifle has an interesting grip safety on the upper tang that retracts cross bars that prevent the hammers from reaching the nipples unless it is depressed. The tang is also engraved with "PATENT" slight more forward and then has a count's nine pointed coronet over the gothic letters "EB." It is marked "NOWOTNY" on the right lock and "IN WIEN" on the left indication they were manufactured by Bohemian gunmaker Mathais Nowotny after he moved to Vienna in 1836 where he became a gunmaker to the courts and before his suicide in 1857 due to emotional distress relating to an apparent love triangle. The extensive and highly detailed engraving may have been executed by Johann Springer who was married to Nowotny's sister, was known as a master of engraving aristocratic coat of arms, and worked in Nowotny's shops. After the suicide, Springer purchased the business from Nowotny's widow and ran the business himself. The firm still exists today as Johann Springer's Erben. The upper barrel has "F WEILAND IN CASSEL" inlaid in gold among the swirling Damascus patterns, and both barrels have dual gold bands at the breech. Friedrich Weiland was active in Cassel (now spelled Kassel) in northern Hesse in the mid-19th century. The German town has been occupied since ancient Roman times. The rifle has a dovetailed front sight with a German silver blade and a dovetailed notch rear sight with a folding leaf. The trigger for the right barrel is a set trigger while the other is plain. The stock has checkering on the wrist, a cheekpiece on the left, and a wooden patch box with stag pieces on the right that contains a wrench that is used to remove the takedown bolt on the bottom at the breech. The barrel then dismounts easily. A wooden ramrod with German silver and brass fittings is fitted along the right side of the barrels.

Good. The barrels retain strong Damascus patterns and more than half of the gold inlay. The locks and most of the other components display gray and brown patina. There are traces of gilding in the engraving on the buttplate, breech, and upper tang. The sanded, refinished wood is also good and has crisp recut checkering and only minor handling and storage marks. The locks and triggers function very well, but the safety mechanism currently needs some adjustments as it does not fully retract the cross bar on the right.