Very few of these high end Remington rolling block shotguns are known today. R.L. Wilson described one of them as manufactured in Liege for Samuel Remington (1819-1882) as a showpiece and for his personal use while in Europe. He became president of E. Remington & Sons in 1866 and was in Paris for the World's Fair in 1867 (Exposition Universelle d'Art et d'Industrie de 1867) where the company received a silver medal for firearms and lived mainly in Paris in 1866-1877 while successfully promoting the sales of Remington products abroad. Exhibition and presentation pieces had long been used by various companies to promote their wares, and many were essentially bribes to politicians and other government officials with influence over valuable government contracts. While in France, Remington helped secure massive orders for Remington Rolling Blocks around the world and also acted as France's representative for arms and ammunition purchased from the U.S. during the Franco-Prussian War and thus received a cut of the sales of many surplus arms sold by the U.S. government and others to France. This example bears Liege proofs on the barrel and action. Unlike the other examples in this auction, the Damascus barrel has "REMINGTON. LONDON & NEW-YORK." instead of "E. REMINGTON & SONS ILION NEW-YORK U.S.A." inlaid in gold along the rib suggesting an attempt by Remington to break into the English market. This one also differs from multiple other examples in that instead of having a rendition of the Great Seal of the United States in gold on the receiver ring, it has a gold inlaid pheasant. The sides of the action have a pair of gold inlaid dogs in highly detailed engraved pastoral scenes, and the trigger guard bow has a stag in a detailed scene. There is also scroll and floral engraving on other areas. The upper tang is marked "PATENT," and "459" is on the bottom of the barrel and front of the frame. A cleaning rod is fitted beneath the barrel, and the butt has a compartment for holding two shotshells. "HT HARVEY" is hand-written inside the forearm and stamped on the rib between the gold inlaid address and the breech and on the bottom of the buttstock just behind the lower tang. Precisely who this marking refers to is not known, but they appear to have been an avid shooter given other known late 19th/early 20th century firearms with this name on them, including an inscribed single shot rifle retailed in California. He may have been a secondary owner of this shotgun.

Very fine with 80% original brown finish and distinct Damascus patterns along the barrel, small piece of gold absent from one letter of the barrel address which remains bright, vibrant gold inlays and crisp engraving on the action which exhibits a dark blend of original case colors and deep patina, mostly dark gray on the buttplate along with some mild pitting, and generally only mild age and storage related wear. The wood is fine and has attractive flame figure, light scrapes and dings throughout, some streaks on the comb, and a minor crack at the heel. Mechanically excellent. This is a very scarce and fascinating c. 1870s Remington. You can imagine Samuel Remington engaged in promoting his business, perhaps with a member of the House of Lords who enjoyed wing shooting on his estate, and gifting this shotgun to help secure his company's success.