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There are few better books for travelling than Gene Hill. Wieland has forgiven him for having his James Woodward fitted with choke tubes. The gun is a Purdey, circa 1880.

Road Lit

Wingshooters are truly blessed in that we have at our fingertips a wealth of literature.…
Calm on the East African Plains (1918) by John G. Millais

What’s in a Name?

I miss bookstores. Not mall bookstores with 50 shades of the same thing, but independent…
"Still Life with Pheasants and Plovers" by Claude Monet

Janis Gave Me a Pheasant

I opt to make a version called Braised Pheasant with Sauerkraut Alsatian Style. Our county…
rifle
A top-quality rook rifle from Joseph Harkom, one of Edinburgh’s finest makers (later absorbed by Dickson’s). In all likelihood, it was made by W&C Scott to a design by Holland & Holland and (perhaps) finished at Harkom’s shop at 30 George Street. It’s chambered for the .300 Rook.

Rooked

A “rook,” as in “rook & rabbit” rifle, is a black bird, found in England,…
shooting
The author in his element. The rifle is a Snider-Enfield.

Learning the Ropes

When I was but a boy, when dragons roamed the Earth amid smoky tendrils from…
The Melton Hunt Going to Draw the Ram’s Head Cover, Sir Francis Grant. Image courtesy Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Fine Arts & Flowers, Galas & Gowns – and Mellon

by Brooke Chilvers Around the time I bought my first pair of bellbottoms, my mother…
franz marc deer
Franz Marc, Deer in the Snow (2011)

From the Clairière de l’Armistice to Franz Marc

Virtually every French king, and two self-proclaimed emperors, hunted stag, roe deer and wild boar…
october caddis
October caddis

October Caddis

I recall selling a piece to Gray’s years ago, and then being told by the…
This J. Braddell & Son combination gun from the 1870s is a marvel of good taste and a testament to the skill of the anonymous Birmingham craftsmen who created it.

Ruminations of a Scroll Guy

Would that I had a dollar for every time someone has picked up a gun…
H.J. Hussey pigeon gun from around 1912, restocked in 2008. H.J. himself was a noted pigeon shooter, gambler, and all-around rogue, but his “best” guns were truly best.

Understanding Pigeon Guns

As a teenager, poring longingly over the Browning catalogue, I was puzzled. Why, I wondered,…
Bar-in-wood guns, like this 1880 James Purdey, have the steel action bar enclosed by the walnut of the buttstock, which extends past the trigger guard. Stylistically, they represent a bridge from late percussion guns.

And the Madness of Crowds

Every time I go to the Rock Island auction, I learn something new. Sometimes the…
Poret’s Hermès scarf, “les Biches,” goes for $625 on the internet.

Xavier de Poret and the Hermès Scarf

The beloved 90 x 90 cm (approximately 35 x 35 inches) piece of twill de…