QUALITY MAKER**Late 1700’s – Early 1800’s English Ezekial Baker (London) Single Barrel 25 Bore Muzzle Loading Flintlock Sporting Shotgun. Sn 23700 flintlock Muzzleloader Various

**QUALITY MAKER**Late 1700’s – Early 1800’s English Ezekial Baker (London) Single Barrel 25 Bore Muzzle Loading Flintlock Sporting Shotgun. Sn 23700 - 23700

Ezekiel Baker (1758-1836) was apprentice to the famous English Gun Smith Henry Nock of Wilkinson Sword fame before establishing himself as a quality gunmaker in his own right with various premises in London. Between 1823-1854 Baker is recorded operating as E.Baker & Son at Size Yard, Whitechapel Road , 49 Tenter Street & 7 Union Street, London (his son Ezekiel John Baker died in 1841). Baker was the inventor of the ‘Baker Rifle’ which was adopted by the British Army in 1800 and made quality firearms for Royalty (see page 139 of the book British Gunmakers Volume 1 London by Nigel Brown).This is a very good, English form Flintlock sporting shotgun made sometime in the late 18th century or early 19th century by Ezekial Baker (we can find no other E. Baker working in the flintlock era). It has a 36” Damascus steel barrel (51 ½” overall). The barrel has a small German silver blade foresight and grooved action rear sight. The barrel’s smooth bore is clean. It has a walnut stock with chequered wrist & brass fittings. The wood work has just the bumps and bruises to be expected with age. The wood is inlaid with a void silver roundel. The lock plate is signed ‘E. Baker’. The action and parts of the barrel have quality tooled foliate decoration. The fore stock has a polished horn end cap. The brass butt plate tang has engraved game birds in the field and the trigger guard with extended tang has engraved decoration and Pineapple finial. The piece is complete with ebonised wood ramrod which has a brass end cap and brass tip which unscrews to reveal a worm. The price includes UK delivery. NB As an antique flintlock firearm no licence is required to own this item in the UK if retained as part of collection or display. Sn 23700

£975.00