Certificate Of Origin
Cogswell & Harrison, and particularly Edgar Harrison, always prided themselves on maintaining meticulous records of the thousands of guns that have found their way to every corner of the globe. When they return for regulation or restoration as they regularly do, their history can be retold from the stock books. Most of the archive record books giving details of the handmade shotguns and rifles have, amazingly survived to the present day.
The Cogswell & Harrison records are accessed via four index volumes indicating on which page of which archive book the original records are to be found. The archive books consist of fifteen huge volumes each containing over 1000 handwritten pages. Some of the books are fragile and in a distressed condition. The information is partially coded but once deciphered is very comprehensive and can usually tell the date of completion, the model specifications & dimensions of craftsmanship, to whom it was sold and for how much.
The archives show that on June 14th 1933 the Duke of York, whom in 1936 ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions as King George VI, collected his custom built Cogswell & Harrison from our shop at 168 Piccadilly, London. Today Cogswell & Harrison continue to produce bespoke shotguns at its Hatfield workshop which is just 20 miles North from 168 Piccadilly, London.
Owners of all Cogswell & Harrison guns are welcome to apply for “Certificates of Origins” by completing the form below. Over 90% of the time information is available. The applicant will be advised, and a certificate is issued for an administration fee of £50.00.
For Cogswell & Harrison gun produced after 2012 please see “Certificate of Authenticity”.