Isaac Hollis & Sons Cape gun Side by Side 12 Gauge & 16 Gauge Muzzleloader 12 Bore/gauge Rifle

I. Hollis & Sons London percussion cape rifle — a handsome Victorian combination gun pairing a 12-gauge smoothbore barrel with a 16-gauge rifled barrel, built for versatility in the field and typical of the combination guns produced for the colonial sporting market during the mid-to-late 19th century.

Isaac Hollis & Sons were active as gun, rifle, and pistol makers from 1861, producing arms across a wide range of grades and purposes, including sporting rifles for the African and Indian markets as well as firearms supplied to Her Majesty's War Department. The "I. Hollis & Sons London" inscription on the rib is characteristic of the firm's retailed output.

The 32-inch barrels are twist damascus, retaining an attractive original brown finish. Caplock percussion ignition with twin sidelocks carrying border engraving. A two-leaf folding rear sight is fitted to the rib, one leaf regulated at 100 yards and one at 300 yards, reflecting the rifle's intended dual role as a game and hunting piece at extended range. The cape gun configuration — one rifled or smoothbore barrel paired with a shotgun barrel — gave the Victorian sportsman the flexibility to engage birds, small game, and larger quarry without carrying two guns.