A. CORDY & FILS, LIEGE

If  you talk about Best Belgian Guns, you should not forget A. Cordy. It was a family of gunmakers and they certainly made some of the finest guns in Liège.

A. Cordy & Fils Liège on the barrels of a fine 12G Side by Side Double Gun. © Hunting-Heritage/Wolfgang von Brauchitsch

A short history

Antoine Albert CORDY was born in Liège on January 22, 1884, died in Liège on December 4, 1957. He was an actioner and started his career working with Wilmart. Soon he became self-employed and got assignements from Verney-Carron, working as a finisher for their guns. During World War I he emigrated with his family to England. Like many other gunsmiths, he worked in Erith (south-east of London) probably with  “Vickers Company”, an important provider of arms and ammunition. After the war he returned to Liège. His first workshop was at Cauberg Court, Lamarck Street. His brother Jean Joseph Cordy had his workshop next door and finished the stocks. Around 1921, Antoine set up his workshop at Vivegnis Square. In 1923, he bought the house on Lamarck Street and permanently installed his workshop there. From 1925, he introduced his son Arthur Antoine Edouard Cordy to the manufacture of guns. The young man was very talented and after some months of visiting the Gunmaker School of Liège, he was bored with the slow learning there – and so he finally joined his fathers workshop. Being an apt mechanic, he invented a new single trigger when he was only twenty years old. The firm then had become A. Cordy &Fils. In 1934 Arthur designed a new Over and Under with a very slim and low profile. He made about fifty of these  elegant beauties during his long life (1910 – 2003). These guns certainly belong to the best Over/Unders ever made in Belgium or even elsewhere. If you ever will have the chance to buy one, do not hesitate!

The gun on this site is a nice sideplated 12 Gauge with a special stock in Monte Carlo style (original!). It is one of the best-balanced and pointable guns I ever had in my hands and only wished, I could shoot it once!

A. Cordy & Fils Liège: A fine 12G Side by Side Double Gun with special stock. © Hunting-Heritage/Wolfgang von Brauchitsch

 

A. Cordy & Fils Liège: A fine 12 G Side by Side Double Gun with special stock. © Hunting-Heritage/Wolfgang von Brauchitsch
A. Cordy & Fils Liège: A fine 12 G Side by Side Double Gun with special stock. © Hunting-Heritage/Wolfgang von Brauchitsch
A. Cordy & Fils Liège: A fine 12 G Side by Side Double Gun with special stock. © Hunting-Heritage/Wolfgang von Brauchitsch
A. Cordy & Fils Liège: A fine 12 G Side by Side Double Gun with special stock. © Hunting-Heritage/Wolfgang von Brauchitsch
A. Cordy & Fils Liège on the barrels of a fine 12G Side by Side Double Gun. © Hunting-Heritage/Wolfgang von Brauchitsch
A. Cordy & Fils Liège: A fine 12 G Side by Side Double Gun with special stock. © Hunting-Heritage/Wolfgang von Brauchitsch

The engraving is clear and not overloaded and it’s made and signed by a famous Belgian engraver, Lyson Corombelle. The Corombelle family has a very long history in the art of gun engraving. Hyppolite Corombelle (1871-1943) engraved many of the highest grade Belgium guns to come out of that country. His daughter, Lyson Corombelle (1894-1971), literally grew up with a chisel in her hand. She worked with one of Browning’s most famous engravers, Felix Funken.

A. Cordy & Fils Liège: A fine 12 G Side by Side Double Gun with special stock. Engraved and signed by famous Belgian engraver Lyson Corombelle © Hunting-Heritage/Wolfgang von Brauchitsch
A. Cordy & Fils Liège: A fine 12 G Side by Side Double Gun with special stock. Engraved and signed by famous Belgian engraver Lyson Corombelle © Hunting-Heritage/Wolfgang von Brauchitsch

2 Comments

  1. Very much enjoyed the Cordy article. I did not know of the English connection. A friend had his group of guns for sale, and among them was a beautifully made Cordy. It had little engraving on the sidelock gun, but was of the highest quality .

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