William Rochester Pape

William Rochester Pape (1831 - 1923) was an English gunsmith who is often credited with inventing and patenting the choke boring system for shotguns[1][2][3], which W. W. Greener went on to develop. He also patented several extractors, and invented draught excluders for railway carriage doors and windows.[4]

William Rochester Pape
Born1831
Amble, Northumberland, UK.
Died1923
Cause of deathRoad traffic accident
Resting placeSt John’s Cemetery Elswick, Tyne and Wear
OccupationGunsmith
AwardsLondon Field Trials (1858, 1859 and 1866)

History

Pape was born in Amble, Northumberland, England in 1831, the son of James and Dorothy Pape[5]. He opened in first shop in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1858, expanding his family's game dealership[6], and produced his first shotgun in 1857. In the 1860s, he expanded his business, buying another premises at 29 Collingwood Street, Newcastle. In 1866, he invented the choke boring system for shotguns (British Patent No. 1501), and went on to patent a system of mechanically retracting firing pins, improving on this system later that year, and again in 1870.[7].

In 1875, he won a prize of ten guineas as 'the original inventor' of choke boring, a prize intended to settle disputes over the origins of choke boring.[7]. Other people who have been credited with the invention of choke boring include Jeremiah Smith of Southfield, Rhode Island in 1827, Fred Kimble, who used choke boring to win the Illinois State Championship in 1868, and Sylvester H. Roper who applied for a patent in 1866, six months before Pape[1]. His company supplied guns to the Japanese during the First Sino-Japanese War.[8]

Pape won the London Field Trials in 1858, 1859 and 1866, and came second and third in class 1 for choke border guns and first in class 2 for cylinders in 1875.[8] He won a prize medal at the Royal Mining Engineering and Industrial Exhibition in 1887, and received a diploma of merit at the Glasgow exhibition in 1889.[7].

On 28/29 June 1859, Pape, along with Messrs John Shorthose, a brewer's agent, organised the first dog show in Great Britain, held at the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Corn Exchange[8][9], offering Pape shotguns as prizes.[7].

Pape retired in 1889, leaving his business to his son, Victor, and died in 1923 after a road traffic accident[7]. He is buried in St John’s Cemetery in Elswick in Newcastle’s West End[4].

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References
  1. "The history of Shotgun chokes". Boxall & Edmiston. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  2. "Choke". Shotguns.se. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  3. McIntosh, Michael (1 January 1999). Best Guns. Down East Books.
  4. "Focus on shameful state of Elswick Cemetery". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  5. Blakely, Peter F. Successful Shotgunning: How to Build Skill in the Field and Take More Birds in Competition. p. 129. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  6. Michalowski, Kevin (24 April 2005). The Gun Digest Book of Cowboy Action Shooting: Guns Gear Tactics. Gun Digest Books. pp. 88. william rochester pape.
  7. "Our History". Bagnall and Kirkwood. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  8. Moores, Bill. "Here's to the next 150 years". Our Dogs.co.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  9. Gordon, Nicky. "Newsletter". Golden Retriever Breed Council. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
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