An Moorn&Co not Wm Moore&Co

[DFDelozier]

I've got a mystery here, I've googled, binged, yahooed, did a search in these forums, nothing was found on this shotgun. It's a Wm Moorn & Co. London not a Wm Moore & Co. London. It's a 12ga. SxS with a side lever on the right side says laminated steel on barrels center rib. I'm missing the right side hammer and screw. Has anybody ever seen one marked with this name before? Everything I find says
Mm Moore&Co London, could it be a typo in the stamping? Does that happen? You can see in pic it clearly says Wm Moorn&Co. London

 

[Speedo66]

Check and see if the proof marks are Belgian. From what I've read, it wasn't uncommon for Belgian manufacturers to copy English shotguns and come up with a slightly different name, but close to a known brand, to avoid trademark infringement. Generally lesser quality than the original.

 

[Jim Watson]

Like Greenen, Wesley Richard, and Purdy Bros.

 

[DFDelozier]

Check and see if the proof marks are Belgian. From what I've read, it wasn't uncommon for Belgian manufacturers to copy English shotguns and come up with a slightly different name, but close to a known brand, to avoid trademark infringement. Generally lesser quality than the original.

Here are the markings

 

[MacAR]

Those are English proofs, Birmingham Proof House, looks like between 1886 and 1904. See more examples here: https://www.vintageguns.co.uk/articles/technical/514-2/ . Show us the actual barrel flats and we can have a little better idea of when and where it was made.

Mac

 

[Jim Watson]

Birmingham proof, London address?
Easier to slip a Continental copy through Birmingham than London proof house? I have read of such shenanigans.

 

[theotherwaldo]

Check the early Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogs. You'll see a large variety of these faux big name firearms in their listings.

 

[Skoghund]

The Birmingham gun trade was huge when that gun was made. They made guns and stamped the name of the retailer on the rib. So the gun could have been sold by a long forgotten ironmongers Birmingham turned out best quality guns and also cheap farmers and game keepers guns and of course supplied rifles and shot guns to the British Empire
Something in the back of my mind tells me that even famous names like Army and Navy in London, who were only gun retailers, had there guns made in Birminham?
I think in the day Birmingham made many parts for the London gun trade.