A treasure trove of World War I combat shotguns turns up out of nowhere, expanding knowledge in the collector market and sparking hopes for future finds.
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Many of us have, at one time or another, heard stories about guns or other desirable collectibles offered for sale that were “found in an old warehouse” or “in storage for 80 years” or some similar intriguing provenance. All too often, unfortunately, such claims turn out to be apocryphal tales with little or no basis in fact. On rare occasions, however, such stories turn out to be true.
A great example occurred in the fall of 2004 with an advertisement in the venerable Shotgun News classified firearms publication. The ad stated that the firm of Ivanhoe Warehouse Outlet in Nutting Lake, Mass., had just acquired a “small quantity” of genuine World War I-vintage Winchester Model 1897 “trench guns” that had been in storage for most of the last 80 years. Although not stated in the ad, the lot consisted of 74 guns. They were offered in three grades based on condition:
