Designed and manufactured by machinist and gunsmith Harry McKay of Warrenton, Missouri sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s. Blue barrel with a milled, ventilated rib with dual white bead sights, 3 inch chamber with an ejector, "H.M. McKAY" in gold inlay on the left side of the barrel, and full choke. The action itself is unique with a lever forward of the trigger guard to release the barrels. The receiver is fully engraved with tight flowing scroll and gold inlaid game bird scenes of grouse on the right, ducks on the left, and a single woodcock on the underside. The water table is marked "J. LOVE, ENG" on the right and "H.McKAY MAKER/WARRENTON, MO" on the left. The underside of the receiver is marked "MONOMAC/#12". Nicely figured, checkered beavertail forearm and pistol grip stock with fancy fleur-de-lis borders, and engraved blue steel grip cap with a gold inlaid "G" monogram and several spacers to a solid Old English recoil pad. According to the consignor, this gun was once owned by famed pulp magazine artist Graves Gladney, a native of St. Louis, Missouri. Gladney painted 70 covers for the popular pulp magazine "The Shadow" from 1939 to 1941, was a professor of fine art at Washington University in St. Louis, avid sport shooter, and was the son of the founder of the 7-UP soft drink company. Gladney's service during WWII is as storied as the publications he painted for, enlisting in 1942 and serving first as a gunnery instructor at Fort Sam Houston before being transferred to the 82nd Airborne where he was deployed in both the D-Day landing and Operation Market Garden via combat glider, and eventually as a First Lieutenant, leading his combat division into Berlin in 1945. Graves' exploits in WWII were also an inspiration for the fictional character, Max Collins, in the popular 2nd Amendment novel "Unintended Consequences" written by Graves nephew, John Ross. Lot comes with written documentation by the consignor regarding the military service and family history of Graves Gladney. Bore and stock measurements: chamber measured at 3 inches; bore 9 inches from the breech measuring at .735; choke measured at .042; minimum wall thickness .029; drop at comb 1 9/16 inches; drop at heel 1 9/16 inches; length of pull 14 5/8 inches; weight 8 lbs. 12 oz. From the John Ross collection, author of the bestselling novel "Unintended Consequences".

Excellent. 95% plus original blue finish remains on the barrel with some light plum patina on the left side of the chamber, and a trace of muzzle wear. The receiver engraving is crisp with some light handling marks mostly on the trigger. The wood is also excellent with attractive figure, crisp checkering and some small scattered dings. Mechanically very good. A very unique, highly decorative trap gun!