LOT #52548 |
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Beautiful Stephen Grant & Sons Double Barrel Shotgun Presented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to General Walter Bedell Smi...
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Sold on Jun 25, 2011 for:
$11,950.00
Bid Source: Internet bidder
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Description
Presented by President Franklin Roosevelt to General Walter Bedell Smith
Beautiful Stephen Grant & Sons Double Barrel Shotgun Presented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to General Walter Bedell Smith. 12 gauge. Serial number 6603 (1890 production date). Walter Bedell Smith (1895-1961) served as Dwight Eisenhower's chief of staff at Allied Forces Headquarters during the Tunisia Campaign and Allied invasion of Italy, later serving as Eisenhower's chief of staff at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). This high-grade English shotgun is sold with a copy of General Smith's will in which he bequeaths the gun to A. F. Wechsler, as well as an affidavit from Wechsler's granddaughter attesting to the lineage of provenance. With or without provenance, it remains an exceptional shotgun weighing in at approximately 6¾ pounds and having 26" blued barrels with a slightly concave rib. Gen. Smith states in his will that this gun was originally one of a pair owned by FDR, and that while in his (Gen. Smith's) possession he had the barrels professionally shortened to 26". The action is ornately engraved and the stock is finely figured English walnut with a checkered wrist and fore end and with an oval gold escutcheon on the underside of the stock. Mounted on the left side of the butt is an oval brass plaque of more recent vintage on which is inscribed: "Presented by/ President Franklin D. Roosevelt/ to/ General Walker Bedell Smith/ Who Bequeathed it to/ A. F. Wechsler/ 1962". The area around the plaque appears to have been refinished after it was mounted. The overall length of the shotgun is 42¾", with a LOP of 14¼", DAC 1¾", DAH 3". This is a fine shotgun with a historic lineage displaying minimal use and in exceptional condition.Auction Info
2011 June Dallas Signature Arms & Militaria Auction #6055 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
June, 2011
25th
Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 1
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 2,726
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
19.5% of the successful bid per lot.
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