The Holland & Holland Story.
No sidelock (оружейный замок) has been more copied than Holland & Holland Royal over the past 100 years. It has inspired gunmakers worldwide. The Holland's lock is the most famous ever invented.
How did Holland & Holland conquer hearts of its customers globally?
Where competitors offer complexity, the locks, ejectors and self-opening system of the Holland & Holland Royal are simple.
Holland & Holland began with Harris Holland, who initially offered muzzle-loaders (ружья, заряжаемые с дула) but breech-loaders (ружья, заряжаемые с казённой или тыльной части) naturally followed.
Both were high quality and engraved “H Holland” or “HJ Holland” on their guns.
Holland was unique among London’s gunmakers.
Unlike his immediate competitors – Purdey, Boss, Grant and Lancaster – Harris Holland claimed no lineage to the King of the Gunmakers. He was a tobacconist with a background in musical-instrument retailing when began trading guns. But he wouldn’t succeeded until his nephew joined the company.
In the winter of 1876 Harris Holland informed his friends and customers that having taken his nephew, Henry Holland, into partnership, in future the business will be carried on by and under the joint names of Holland & Holland.
Henry Holland fathered 47 firearms-related patents but his ability to spot simplicity in the design shot Holland & Holland to prominence.
The crowning achievement of their partnership was, and still is, the Royal side-by-side sidelock. Later, Holland & Holland further simplified the Royal.
The two-lever cocking system was replaced with a simpler arrangement in which a single lever extends through each side of the action bar into the lock cavity of the frame.
This is the now classic Holland & Holland system, copied worldwide. It is wonderfully simple, as efficient and durable as any cocking system ever devised.
When Theodore Roosevelt took Holland & Holland rifle on safari in 1909, he said: “I do not think there exists a better weapon for heavy game.”
In 1908, Holland & Holland patented the detachable lock feature with a small lever, for sidelock shotguns.
The last major development in the evolution of the sidelock side-by-side gun occurred in 1922, when the Holland & Holland assisted-opening mechanism was patented. This gun, the self-opening Royal side-by-side, has been hugely influential in gun-making throughout the world.
Holland & Holland has built, and continues to build, guns on many designs but it is the simplicity, strength and safety of the Royal mechanism that has vaulted the company to global renown. However, no discussion of its merits would be complete without a look at the physical beauty of the gun, the allure of appearance that extends beyond mechanics.
Today we confuse “simple” with “facile” or even “easy to do” but when a fine gunmaker uses the term it can mean “takes a lifetime to learn”.
In the 1990s, demand arose for a modern over-and-under gun for both clay and game shooting. To meet this demand, Holland & Holland introduced the Sporting over-and-under gun.
Today Holland & Holland brand belongs to Beretta - the company, which has been around since 1526.
Price tag for their guns starts from £30500 (US$38125). An average rifle would cost £70000+ (US$87500+).
