white powder wonder

B

Blueliner15

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looking for mfg. date and location, value ?...White Powder Wonder, 20 ga., single barrel, hammer cock, 28" barrel, 397 KQ EED on 3 pieces
 
The White Powder Wonder was a Sears brand, made for them by Crescent, Davenport, Meridien, and Stevens over the period 1900-1925. I don't know how to tell which contractor and just when. They cost $4 - $5 before WW I.
 
The name was a reference to a kind of early smokeless powder, which was a sort of fluffy white and looked a bit like large grained washing powder. They were among the first shotguns to have bored barrels rather than built-up barrels, like Damascus twist or laminated.

Given the increased power of modern loads, the likely chambering for older shorter shells, and the age of the gun, I would not fire it even if it looks to be in good condition.

Jim
 
"The name was a reference to a kind of early smokeless powder..."

Yep. Major brand was Shultz's White Powder. It was a nitrated wood pulp that was suitable only for use in shotshells, and predated nitrocellulose powders by some years.
 
And IIRC, those guns sold for all of $2.50. It is a bit ironic that the barrels were drilled and were probably stronger than the Damascus barrel "quality" guns selling for $60 or more.

Jim
 
Yep. People didn't realize the inherent strength of the new fluid steel barrels, but they did recognize the "craftsmanship" that went into damascus barrels.

I say "craftsmanship" because by the time the White Powder Wonder came out virtually all damascus barrels were being machine forged and finished, not done by hand.
 
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