James Woodward & Sons, gun and rifle manufacturers [catalogue].

London: 64 St. James’s St., Pall Mall, [Printed by George Pulman & Sons, Ltd.], [1920]. Oblong 8vo. 8.5 x 5.5 in. 20 pp. With several colour-tinted plates of shotguns & rifles. Light-gray printed softcovers, cover art lettering & borders in green, Fine copy, w/ printed price list on lightly tinted laid “ClassicFold” paper w/ watermark, 1 price changed from £10 to £5. First edition of this exceedingly scarce Jazz Age gun and shotgun catalogue issued by prestigious firm of James Woodward & Sons, considered by many as having built the finest guns of all time. The price list included with these superbly manufactured guns ranged from base Hammerless Ejector Single-Barrel Special Trap Guns at £100 ($ 15,000 in 2023) to £150 ($ 25,000 in 2023) Hammerless 12-20 gauge “Under and Over” Ejector Double Guns, which could also be fitted with 22-ct. gold plates in the stock and engraved, and additional silver anti-recoil pad. The catalogue also makes special note of the growing interest of women in sport shooting, by offering a special “Ladies’ Gun” a 16-bore “Under and Over” ideally suited with less recoil. The Woodward “Over & Under” gun is still considered one of the best ever developed, and was later adopted by Purdey when they acquired Woodward & Sons in 1948. Although James Woodward originally apprenticed to the trade with Charles Moore around 1827, and eventually established the firm at 64 St. James’s St., Pall Mall in 1844, the firm continually claimed in their trade literature, advertising, and promotions that they had been founded originally in 1800, possibly referring to the business Charles Moore himself had purchased around 1800. Although difficult to date accurately as the catalogues were infrequent and intended for a select clientele, with last specific date of 1918 internally here, the firm did move the business later to 29 Bury St. in 1937. No copies in Worldcat.