A royal flourish
Charles Smith-Jones says this Barella hammer shotgun has a distinguished heritage
Nestled among the modern guns on the used racks of your gunshop, or perhaps offered for sale at a small county auction, you will occasionally come across a gem from the more distant past.
Superficially, such a gun might stand out as little more than an antique, but closer examination would reveal levels of craftsmanship and attention to detail that are rare among recent mass-produced guns. I do not dispute that many of these are built to highly exacting standards, but they tend to involve more modern manufacturing techniques and a greater degree of mechanisation in their production.
This is such a gun, made by Heinrich Barella probably around the turn of the last century. Barella was born in Soest, Germany, in 1819, the grandson of well-to-do Italian immigrants. In his late teens, he commenced a four-year apprenticeship with the royal foundry in Magdeburg and by the age of 24 had already achieved the title of master gunsmith. In 1844, he founded H Barella Gewehrfabrik with a gunshop in Magdeburg, and by the mid-1860s he had been appointed gunmaker to the Prussian royal court and opened a second shop in Berlin.
Reputation
Barella quickly developed a reputation for high-quality products and in 1871 he became the gunmaker to the royal court in Berlin. His other clients by this time included the kings of Italy and Romania as well as the Tsar of Russia. Although he died in 1893 without any children, the business remained within the family and continued to trade until 1931 when it was closed due to bankruptcy.
Earlier models of Barella guns included muzzle-loaders and pinfires, and by the time the company stopped trading it was producing pistols, hammerless sidelock shotguns, double rifles and drillings. Barella was certainly innovative and is notable for having developed a ‘quick loading’ conversion of muzzle-loaders to breechloaders using a combustible paper cartridge. By 1868, he had embraced the self-contained cartridge and developed a break action or kipplauf gun with an underlever and single bite lock-up.
The example pictured is probably typical of Barella’s late-19th-century general
output. Chambered for 16-bore, a more popular cartridge then than it is today, it has browned rather than blued damascus barrels. Browning as a process was originally called russetting, and in simple terms involves deliberately rusting the exterior of the barrels with chemical agents before rubbing them down and oiling, usually in several stages. The final result is surprisingly resistant to further rusting and corrosion, though it still demands care.
Although the engraving work is elaborate and beautifully executed, the work on the gun pictured is relatively restrained when compared with some of Barella’s luxury guns, which often featured gold inlay on the sideplates and around the breeches. Guns made specifically for royalty might also have included gold inlaid crowns as part of the decoration. Some earlier stocks also reflected a fashion in the late 19th century for elaborately carved hunting or nature scenes that take up much of the woodwork.
Specific
This gun features and ¼ fixed-choke barrels, and the double triggers permit barrel selection. There is, of course, no safety catch, the hammers having two positions – half-cock for a safer state of readiness, and full cock, which permits trigger operation. The modern user would probably have difficulty sourcing appropriate 2½in 16-bore loads for it, and even then would need to take special care about the pressures generated by modern propellants.
This is not a gun that belongs in the cabinet of someone who wants something that will stand up to the demands of a driven day, or indeed the rigours of walked-up sport. It was made for a discerning client at a time before the popularity of highervolume battue shooting. Today, it represents an important example of the gunmaker’s art and would have a special value to the serious collector.
A usable example such as the one featured is certainly no wall hanger, though you could probably pick up something similar that is no longer in functional condition for as little as £200 at auction. However, a quality Barella in fine condition, and especially one with a back story that links it to the European nobility who favoured this gunmaker, might attract bids up to £30,000 at auction. It may not be the right gun for you, but it may be difficult to resist at least picking it up, admiring the craftsmanship and balance, and no doubt trying a practice swing or two.
Many thanks to R&B Sporting, Ross-on-Wye for its help with this article. Tel: 01989 763859 or visit: rbsporting.co.uk