Got these two wallhangers today
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14,286 Posts
I found these two post in another forum.
"The Hamilton Arms shotgun is a trade name of the Wiebusch and Hilger Co of New York. The Hamilton falls into the catgory of a "Hardware Gun" in that it was probably made by another company for Wiebusch and Hilger. Many of these shotguns were made or imported by Crescent Arms. Although the Hamilton is not specifically mentioned in the Crescent Cross Over, the shotgun could have been made by a company in Europe, (Belgium,) especially for Hamilton, a situation similar to the Crescent Company."
and
"According to Side by Sides of the World by Charles E. Carder; Hamilton, W.H.: Belgium proof marks, circa 1870-1880, lower quality, history unknown, 12ga, sidelock, outside hammers, Damascus barrels, pistolgrip, splinter forearm, rib extension, steel buttplate, top lever opener."
Hope this helps. If it is Belguim you can tell from the proof marks on the watertable.
"The Hamilton Arms shotgun is a trade name of the Wiebusch and Hilger Co of New York. The Hamilton falls into the catgory of a "Hardware Gun" in that it was probably made by another company for Wiebusch and Hilger. Many of these shotguns were made or imported by Crescent Arms. Although the Hamilton is not specifically mentioned in the Crescent Cross Over, the shotgun could have been made by a company in Europe, (Belgium,) especially for Hamilton, a situation similar to the Crescent Company."
and
"According to Side by Sides of the World by Charles E. Carder; Hamilton, W.H.: Belgium proof marks, circa 1870-1880, lower quality, history unknown, 12ga, sidelock, outside hammers, Damascus barrels, pistolgrip, splinter forearm, rib extension, steel buttplate, top lever opener."
Hope this helps. If it is Belguim you can tell from the proof marks on the watertable.
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14,286 Posts
Here is some more info I just found.
"I have two,actually three references to the name W. W. Hamilton and yes the gun is old. The gun is what I call a "Trade Brand Name" shotgun. That is a shotgun made by a major maker for and sold by a wholesaler or retailer who chose the name to go on the gun. In this case the gun was made in Belgium by a maker named F. Dumoulin of Liege, Belgium and imported by a dealer and importer named Thomas Leary of New York City who was in business until 1904. The second reference is to a marking used on guns made by Torrison & Son of Liege Belgium. That marking reads W.H. HAMILTON N.Y. N.Y. The third reference is to another importer named W.H. Hamilton who was also located in New York City from 1875 to 1885. This was before the big importation of Belgian made shotguns which was from about 1880 to 1914. You can confirm that the gun was made in Belgium by looking for proof marks on the bottom of the barrels under the forearm. These will consist of the letters "ELG" in am oval with a crown over that. Belgian made shotguns of this time period have damascus barrels, were designed for the ammunition in use at the time which was black powder and have short chambers. They were not designed for smokeless powder of any kind and certainly not three inch magnum shells or steel shot. DON"T ATTEMPT TO SHOOT THE GUN!"
Looks like this one is definitely a wall hanger. Is the Hamilton the one on the left or right?
"I have two,actually three references to the name W. W. Hamilton and yes the gun is old. The gun is what I call a "Trade Brand Name" shotgun. That is a shotgun made by a major maker for and sold by a wholesaler or retailer who chose the name to go on the gun. In this case the gun was made in Belgium by a maker named F. Dumoulin of Liege, Belgium and imported by a dealer and importer named Thomas Leary of New York City who was in business until 1904. The second reference is to a marking used on guns made by Torrison & Son of Liege Belgium. That marking reads W.H. HAMILTON N.Y. N.Y. The third reference is to another importer named W.H. Hamilton who was also located in New York City from 1875 to 1885. This was before the big importation of Belgian made shotguns which was from about 1880 to 1914. You can confirm that the gun was made in Belgium by looking for proof marks on the bottom of the barrels under the forearm. These will consist of the letters "ELG" in am oval with a crown over that. Belgian made shotguns of this time period have damascus barrels, were designed for the ammunition in use at the time which was black powder and have short chambers. They were not designed for smokeless powder of any kind and certainly not three inch magnum shells or steel shot. DON"T ATTEMPT TO SHOOT THE GUN!"
Looks like this one is definitely a wall hanger. Is the Hamilton the one on the left or right?
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