Research & Gun Provenance
You can now trace the provenance of your Rigby gun with our historical research service. We can confirm for you when your gun was made, to whom it was first sold, and its action and serial numbers. With many guns, we can also provide information on its style and finish. For those considering selling a gun, this service also provides proof of authenticity.
Send us the serial number of your Rigby rifle or shotgun and our in-house historian will search the relevant ledgers to find its provenance and other information. Rigby’s 87 history-filled ledgers, which are kept at our purpose-built London showroom, include entries that date to 1780.
With Rigby you don’t just own a gun you also own a slice of history and we are very happy to be able to share this information with our clients. This service means those who already own a Rigby can take pride in its history and enjoy owning a certificate stating its provenance taken direct from our ledgers.
Provenance details and certificates are available in the following formats:
Information by email:
£45 (incl. VAT)
Certificate by email:
£60 (incl. VAT)
Printed certificate:
£100 (incl. VAT) + standard shipping
Please note there may be instances where we are unable to retrieve specific details about your gun. In such cases, we will get in touch to promptly issue a refund.
Here at Pensbury Place, we have a large number of Rigby’s historical records, transactions and accounts, some of which go back to 1780. They are housed in Accounts Ledgers, Day Books and Serial Number Books.
To research a gun or rifle for a Rigby owner, we rely on the searchable records in five surviving serial number books. Serial number records pre-dating 1871 are very brittle and dis-ordered. These are currently undergoing restoration and cannot be accessed.
The books we do have are:
Book 1
Date: 1871 to 1883.
Serial Nos. 13700 – 15463 (Dublin).
Book 2
Date: 1872 to 1895.
Serial Nos. 13793 – 16298 (London).
Book 3
Date: 1883 to 1897.
Serial Nos. 15464 – 16554.
This book also contains Rigby-Mauser records from Serial No. 1000-1999.
Book 4
Date: 1892 to 1912.
Serial Nos. 16299 – 17765.
Book 5
Dates: 1905 to 1906.
Serial Nos. 2400 – 5028. Content is mostly additional production details on revolvers and Mauser rifles.
Mauser Book
Dates: 1902 to 1986.
Contains Rigby-Mausers from Serial No. 2000 – 6848.
Details from the late 1960s onwards are not always fully recorded.
We have no records relating to the period during which Rigby was owned and operated from California (1996-2013).
From: £ 45.00