I've recently aquired a beautiful Bayard shotgun about which I'm
trying to learn a bit of history.  Bayards are difficult enough to
trace, but this particular gun is truly enigmatic.  My only clue to
its origin is an inscription on the barrel which reads "Grand Prize
Paris exhibition, 1889".  My question is;  Was such a firearm created
as a prize and are there any lists which might describe this beautiful
old shotgun?

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Request for Question Clarification by scriptor-ga on 28 Aug 2004 16:39 PDT

I can't offer an answer, but some information that might be
interesting for yoi and useful for my colleagues who try to solve
this:

"Grand Prize Paris Exhibition, 1889" does not mean that the gun was
the prize trophy - it means that the gun was awarded the Grand Prix
for being a product of extraordinary quality and perfection. It was a
custom at the old World Exhibitions that official juries inspected
products from all exhibiting countries and categories and awarded
prizes for the best items.

Please note that this does not necissarily mean that the very gun you
own received the Grand Prize but rather the model - though it's not
impossible, especially if it was an individual item.

Regards,
Scriptor