by Josh Loewensteiner, Consultant & Sales Representative
Julia’s Fall 2017 Extraordinary Firearms auction will include a selection of some of the finest guns in the world. Strangely enough, the most important marketing piece ever used by the A.H. Fox Gun Company was from President Teddy Roosevelt, who was quoted as saying his Fox FE Grade shotgun was “The Finest Gun In the World.”
Julia’s was honored to market Teddy’s Fox in our Fall 2010 sale and sold the gun for an astounding world record price which still stands today of $865,000! And while no one would argue the historic importance of Teddy’s Fox, there are other Fox shotguns that easily equal or even trump the gun for artistic beauty and workmanship. Several of the guns that Julia’s is presenting in it’s October 31st, November 1st and 2nd auction from the prestigious Dana Tauber Estate Collection would achieve this title.
The A.H. Fox shotgun is easily the most simple mechanism of any of the major American makers. The gun has the fewest moving parts and the action and design are solid with virtually no known flaws. So much so, that perhaps aside from the Parker Reproduction (offered at a much lower price point and built in Japan), the A.H. Fox shotgun was the most successfully produced reproduction in American shotgun history.
Julia’s October auction includes the Dana J. Tauber Estate collection which is unquestionably the finest collection of A.H. Fox shotguns ever to come to auction. Dana started collecting in the late 1980s and was careful and persistent, and became extremely knowledgeable on Fox Guns. He studied the guns and passionately pursued the finest conditioned examples he could obtain, in many instances “stepping up” to purchase the very best. He pursued quality over price and the final collection, which will be offered in its entirety in Julia’s Fall 2017 sale, shows just how refined and exceptional the grouping is.
The collection itself is approximately 40 exceptional Fox shotguns and includes 3 of the finest FE Grades known, including the finest FE grade 20 ga known. The 20 ga is offered with a pre-sale estimate of $150,000-225,000. The only known 12 ga FE with factory original double gold dogs, which Dana considered as a mate to the 20 ga is offered with a pre-sale estimate of $75,000-125,000, and it is well known that this gun was a special factory show gun. The third FE 12 ga is a near mint gun in more traditional FE grade styling (still fancier than Teddy’s gun with gold lightning bolts on the barrels) is offered with a pre-sale estimate of $60,000-90,000.
To give a sense as to the depth of the collection, Dana collected 5 A.H. Fox guns that are near mint with original boxes. Included in the grouping are Fox A grades in 12 ga, 16 ga, and 20 ga which are all near mint with original boxes. These three guns could be a collection all their own! There is also an early CE Grade 12 ga that is near mint with its original box (offered with a pre-sale estimate of $6,500-9,500), and a Sterlingworth 12 ga two barrel set (a true rarity) that is virtually mint with its original box!
Fox lovers will likely never again have an opportunity like the one we will see in the Julia’s sales room this fall. The Tauber Collection is a landmark collection for lovers of Foxes and American Sporting Shotguns alike. Having known Dana since about 1990, I can say unequivocally it is the single finest grouping of A.H. Fox shotguns I have ever seen. Dana preferred quality over quantity and condition over any other factor. This collection represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to see and collect some of the very finest A.H. Fox guns extant. No doubt, in years to come, guns from the Tauber collection will carry a certain monetary premium because of their provenance. Indeed, they are some of the “finest” in the world…
About the author:
Josh Loewensteiner, Julia’s regional Sales Agent, is a lifelong firearms enthusiast who began studying, collecting and shooting guns with his father and brother when he was just eight years old- he has been studying firearms for nearly 30 years! He particularly enjoys the classic American sporting guns. Josh is a Life member of the Parker Gun Collectors Association, currently serving on the Board of Directors as well as Secretary, Life Member of the NRA, a member of the Lefever Arms Collectors Association, the L.C. Smith Collectors Association, the Colt Collectors Association, the A.H. Fox Gun Collectors Association, and the Winchester Arms Collectors Association. Josh has a proven track record in delivering outstanding customer service, as well as sales and marketing success. He has been a part of the Julia’s Team since 2013 and represents clients throughout the country counseling them on their treasured firearms and has become a trusted expert in helping clients to achieve success in the monetization of firearms at auction. Josh can be reached at firearms@jamesdjulia.com and 207-453-7125.