Set before the king
Robert Morgan admires a dainty Holland & Holland rook rifle with a royal pedigree
Gracing these pages this month is a stunning double rifle by the famous London maker Holland & Holland. Normally, double rifles conjure up images of big-game hunting in Africa or shooting tigers from the back of elephants in India in the 1900s. However, this double rifle is actually a rook and rabbit rifle and is chambered in the diminutive calibre of .295 Rook.
The concept for a rook rifle, as they are commonly known, is hard to grasp in today’s hunting scene, but they flourished between around 1870-1910 and were usually inexpensive, single-barrelled, break-open guns with external hammers chambered in low-powered, centrefire calibres such as .297-.250, .295, .300 and even .360. The rimfire calibre .22 Long Rifle was still viewed as a practice or target round and not up to the job, even for rabbits. This was possibly due to its black powder loading and quite fragile case. Of course, no one in their right mind would dream of firing a centrefire rifle into the branches of a tree in this day and age, but these were different times (and estates tended to be much larger).
So who would spend around 50 times more than they needed to on what most hunter’s at the time would consider a ‘toy’? Well, the maker’s records tell us that this rifle was made for HM The King of Italy and, I quote, “.295 Double H’less rifle, Royal AB ejector, top lever, top safety” and that it was “shot and regulated with our ordinary .295 cartridge, sights 50 100 150 yards” on 8 March 1900, that it was “finally shot” on 10 May 1900 and “‘Finished Factory” (that is, left the factory) on 14 May 1900. It has been suggested that this could actually be the only .295 double royal grade rook rifle
Hollands ever produced and would have cost in the region of 50 guineas when one of its single-barrelled cousins from a lesser maker could be had for around a guinea. Sadly, the story does not end well.
Popular king
The future king of Italy, Umberto I, was born on 14 March 1844. Educated in the military, as the crown prince, he fought in the war against Austria with great aplomb and earned much popularity at a time when a prevailing antimonarchist sentiment was growing in Italy.
His accession to the throne in 1878 further increased his popularity with his attempts to reconcile the various political and regional elements within Italy and he successfully led the country out of isolation by joining in a triple alliance with Austria-Hungary and Germany. He was a firm advocate of expanding Italy’s colonial reach, albeit with mixed results. A disastrous defeat at the hands of the Ethiopians at the battle of Adwa in 1896, combined with a tariff war with France, led to increased social unrest that, in turn, resulted in him imposing martial law in 1898. The repression that followed exacerbated social tensions to new heights, giving rise to an ever-increasing socialist party (including among its ranks a young Benito Mussolini). The socialists and communists became active in protesting against the crackdown on civil liberties and carried with them a strong anti-colonial and antimonarchist sentiment.
Massacre
Things came to a head following the massacre of demonstrators protesting about the price of bread by the military under
General Beccaris in Milan, who ordered both rifles and, incredibly, artillery fire upon them. Official sources said 80 demonstrators were killed and around 450 injured for the loss of two soldiers. The Socialists said the figures were nearer 400 dead with 2,000 injured, whereas the New York Times reported 300 and 1,000 respectively.
Umberto I compounded the unrest after the atrocity by awarding General Beccaris The Great Cross of the Order of Savoy, one of Italy’s highest honours and publicly thanking him for his loyal services to his country. Civil disturbances increased and many people were imprisoned, mostly on false charges. Then, in 1900, a young Italian-American, Gaetano Bresci, bought a cheap .38 revolver in New-York and got on a ship destined for Italy. On 29 July 1900, Bresci assassinated the king, shooting him four times and declaring that his motivation was to avenge the deaths of those who died in Milan.
Umberto I had owned the aforementioned rifle for about 2½ months. Unfortunate for the king, but it does mean that this perhaps unique rifle remains in outstanding condition for us to admire today.
“This could be the only .295 double Royal grade rook rifle Hollands ever produced”