"BEATTIE 223/REGENT ST LONDON" engraved on top of the action. James Beattie was active from 1832-1893 and was listed alone at 205 Regent Street in 1848-1863 and then with his son at the same starting in 1864. Air guns of this style were used primarily for hunting, with this high quality engraved example being of the type used by an individual with wealth and status. "Wind guns" had several advantages over conventional firearms including that they were quieter, smokeless, quicker to reload, and relatively unaffected by rain. It is chambered in approximately .43 caliber/11 mm and features an octagon barrel, German silver blade front sight and dovetailed notch rear sight, a rotating faucet breech that loads from the top, walnut forend and a shagreen (shark or stingray skin) wrapped iron stock air reservoir. Features high quality floral engraving on the action, hammer, trigger guard and sides of the faucet breech. Circular brass collection tag "R.D. BEEMAN/PRIVATE/COLLECTION/2038" hanging from the guard. Provenance: The Dr. Robert D. Beeman Collection

Very fine, retains 75% original brown twist finish on the barrel, 60% plus original casehardened finish on the action with smooth gray patina and some scattered light freckling on the balance, 85% original high polish blue finish on the trigger guard, and absolutely sharp engraving, edges and markings in the metal overall. The walnut forend is also very fine with some scattered light handling marks. Mechanically excellent.