72 cm chopper lump barrels, ejectors, concave rib, third grip, choked 1/4 & 3/4, bright action with traces of colour on the inside, bar-action sidelocks, intercepting sears, blue tempered pins, gas-vent slots on the standing breech, engraved with borders and sparse medium scroll, signed in the trigger guard "Capece", non-automatic sliding tang safety with gold inlaid "S", double triggers with blue tempered blades, articulated front blade, nicely grained walnut stock with drop points, straight diamond hand, fine chequering, hollowed and skip-line chequered butt-end, 35,5 cm, fore-end with Anson push-rod, gold inlaid escutcheon with model designation "The Standard Pigeon Gun" and engraved pigeon, gold stock oval initialised "MJ", 3 kg, in its maker's canvas covered case with trade label, maker's certificate, technically sound, stock with shallow scratches and left sideplate slightly discoloured by corrosion, therefore condition 3. In the year 1939 Charles, Count of Flanders and Prince of Belgium, (1903 – 1983), the brother of the Belgian King Leopold III., appointed the Liege gunmakers Auguste Lebeau-Courally, famous as purveyors for the Imperial Russian court, to build two field guns, intended as a gift. Only a few months passed and Belgium was invaded by German troops, utilising the neutral country to attack France, evading the strongly fortified direct border between those two nations after the French have declared war on Germany. Coming from an unawaited direction, the French were outwitted once more. Belgium remained under German force throughout the war, and the blooming Belgian arms industry in and around Liege had to fulfill other contracts than building luxury sporting arms. Thus, German troops came to know the first class quality of the Belgian makers, but the present of the Royal contractor had to wait. He himself, as opposed to his brother, joined the resistance and lived incognito during the war on a farm near Spa.
Some hard years later, Belgium in the Ardennes became the setting for the last offensive of the former seemingly unvinceable Third Reich. Eventually, the Western Allies could relieve Belgium after its neighbour, France. Charles was installed as Prince Regent in 1945 by the provisional government to replace his exiled brother, and also his gift was finally finished: A pair of fine sidelock ejectors for the French General Charles de Gaulle (1890 – 1970). Much earlier, the recipient would not have much time to honour this present anyway, since he was busy to command the Free French resistance forces from his English exile. Now the time had come to return from there and to thank the Belgian brother in spirit, Charles, for the generous gift: An artisan’s masterpiece, born from blood, sweat and tears, taking a full world war to complete, to fulfill its peaceful destiny: To fill the rare idle time of the great French statesman, whose distinctive bust is worthy to stand next to Napoleon’s in the French Valhalla, stalking the furred and feathered inhibitants of his liberated homeland.
The makers kindly confirmed that the serial number 43041 is the number two of this same pair. Not a gun, but a piece of history.

Category: Shotguns