Lot Essay
The 'Superbritte' over-and-under action, patented in 1931, was the invention of Théophile Britte of Ets Britte S.A. of Vevegnis, near Liège. This firm specialised in the manufacture of unfinished arms for sale to the trade and is said to have produced only 250 'Superbritte' guns. An example in the Musée d'Armes, Liège (Ao/a2-8367), is illustrated by C. Gaier, Four Centuries of Liège Gunmaking, colour plate 85. It was built by Britte for C. Masquelier and appears very similar to the present gun. See also G. Boothroyd, Shooting Times, 30th December, 1968
The basic principle of the 'Superbritte' is that of a side-by-side barrelled-action turned on its right side so that the hinge-pin is vertical and the barrels pivot open to the left, rather than downwards. In practice, the gun can be opened for loading as a drop-down side-by-side, simply by rolling it to the left. The vertical-hinge principle was not new in 1931, however: Greener claimed to have built several and illustrates a hammer version in The Gun and Its Development (1910), p. 507; and Dickson's of Edinburgh claim a late 19th century prototype (patent untraced) for their round-action version (cf. Christie's, 12th March, 1975, lot 106)
The mechanics of the 'Superbritte' are distinctive. The action is double-bolted: at the 'top', by a turret engaging a barrel-extension; and at the 'bottom', by an action-bolt engaging the rear barrel-lump. A rearward extension of the action-bolt cocks the locks, which are mounted on a bracket attached to the action-body and the top-strap. The right lock is inverted to align with the under-barrel. Helical springs are used throughout and each main-sear has an extension that trips the appropriate ejector-rod as the trigger is pulled
The basic principle of the 'Superbritte' is that of a side-by-side barrelled-action turned on its right side so that the hinge-pin is vertical and the barrels pivot open to the left, rather than downwards. In practice, the gun can be opened for loading as a drop-down side-by-side, simply by rolling it to the left. The vertical-hinge principle was not new in 1931, however: Greener claimed to have built several and illustrates a hammer version in The Gun and Its Development (1910), p. 507; and Dickson's of Edinburgh claim a late 19th century prototype (patent untraced) for their round-action version (cf. Christie's, 12th March, 1975, lot 106)
The mechanics of the 'Superbritte' are distinctive. The action is double-bolted: at the 'top', by a turret engaging a barrel-extension; and at the 'bottom', by an action-bolt engaging the rear barrel-lump. A rearward extension of the action-bolt cocks the locks, which are mounted on a bracket attached to the action-body and the top-strap. The right lock is inverted to align with the under-barrel. Helical springs are used throughout and each main-sear has an extension that trips the appropriate ejector-rod as the trigger is pulled