Scarce Benjamin Bigelow of Marysville, California damascus double-barreled 8 gauge shotgun in remarkable condition. The gun has outside hammers, and was almost certainly made for Bigelow by J.P. Clabrough. The barrels have Birmingham proofs, and are serial numbered 1776! The gun has very fine engraving on the action, the trigger guard, and the locks and hammers. The stock has a beautiful relatively straight grain with especially nice checkering at the wrist and on the forend. There is a silver colored escutcheon plate on the underside of the butt. The butt plate is steel. The damascus pattern is particularly strong and fine, and the rib between the barrels is also damascus. The lock plates are both engraved "B. Bigelow," and the rib is engraved "B. Bigelow, Marysville, Cal. Fine Damascus." This is a remarkable piece from the collection of Mr. Shelton, representing as it does two of his great interests: a California gun, and a Clabrough gun. Benjamin Berry Bigelow was born in Nova Scotia, in 1824 of American parents. He worked in the Billinghurst Factory in Rochester, New York from 1845 to 1849, where he learned the gun maker's trade making the famed Billinghurst revolving rifles. He then left for the California gold fields, returning to Rochester in 1852, again working for Billinghurst. When his wife died in 1857 he again returned to California, establishing his own shop in Marysville. He both made guns and retailed guns from other makers, eventually including Clabrough. Bigelow died in 1888. Size: 47 inches long overall, with 30 inch barrels. Processing and shipping within the continental U.S. $65.00 plus 1.5% replacement cost insurance. Discounts given on combined lot shipping. Generally excellent overall, with clean, bright bores, and a crisp, tight action. There are minor dents on the edges of the forend. There is a very small dent in the right hand barrel about 5 inches from the muzzle.