A battery of Holland & Holland Royal Doubles made at the turn of the 20th century for Boston tycoon Nathaniel C. Nash
From the prestigious personal collection of 4-time Oscar-winning Visual Effects Icon, Richard Edlund comes “The Miracle Six”, an extraordinary battery of cased Holland & Holland Royal Models, made to order between 1905 to 1909 for prominent Cambridge, Mass capitalist and sportsman Nathaniel Cushing Nash.
Comprised of four Double Rifles (.577NE, .375NE, .360NE, .303 Brit) and a true pair of 12 bore heavy proof game guns, these remarkable specimens were in cold storage by Nash as indicated by the Metropolitan Storage Warehouse Co manila tags attached to each item and subsequently curated by Nathaniel C. Nash Jr. after his father’s passing in 1915. The group have remained under lock and key in Cambridge, MA until their probated liberation in 1986 following Nash Jr’s death!
These stunning reference examples remain in original time capsule condition and represent a true once in a lifetime opportunity for the most discriminating collector of English best quality arms!! Each lot is accompanied by copy of a comprehensive biography of Nash from The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, April 1916.
Nathaniel Cushing Nash was born in Boston on April 4, 1862. He was the son of Nathaniel Cushing Nash, formerly of the firm of Nash, Spaulding & Co, sugar merchants of Boston. He graduated from Harvard College with the class of 1884. At that time, he married Nellie Munro Fessenden of Arlington, and lived in Cambridge thereafter. As sole heir of the family estate, he was engaged in no active business and turned his attention to many other interests.
Nash was deeply interested in rifle shooting, yachting, photography, fishing and hunting, and in the pursuit of these pastimes made many trips along the seacoasts of New England. Into the woods of Maine and New Brunswick, and even as far south as Florida. He was consumed with the outdoor pursuits in foreign lands, especially Africa, and amassed a prodigious library of sporting books. He was commodore of the Corinthian Yacht Club and president of the Massachusetts Rifle Association.
In Cambridge, his business activities were principally centered In the Cambridge Trust Company, of which he was a director, and of which he had formerly been president for several years. He was a member of the Union Club, Algonquin Club, and Oakley Country Club. In 1911, a short time before his death he was credited with a record Caribou for the province of New Brunswick which by all accounts was the heaviest and had the most points of any ever seen in the east!
Nash’s son, Nathaniel C. Nash, Jr., was educated at Noble & Greenough School, Harvard University (1907), and Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1911). He practiced law in Boston, Massachusetts, and served in the Ordnance Department of the Massachusetts National Guard, achieving the rank of Lt. Colonel in 1930. He served as President of the National Rifle Association from 1941 to 1942.
Other great sporting arms highlights from this auction include a magnificent pair of contemporary Holland & Holland 28 gauge gold engraved game guns, and more fabulous American sporting arms from the estate collection of Daryl Middlebrook which features rare Parker shotguns and big bore fowling pieces. As Julia’s buyers have come to expect, we will have a host of best quality English and Continental guns that will be sure to please!