Tam has discovered the ultimate military collectible: “..the official rifle of the Papal States from 1867 to their demise in 1870: The M1868 Remington (Pontificio)”
This is a Remington rolling block, in a very similar cartridge to the classic bufflo hunter ones also chambered in this action– and one of the makers was Westley Richards of England! May be one of the coolest old guns I have ever heard of, for all the above reasons.
She also posts a thoughful lament for the old Brit gun culture here.
Sorry, this isn’t about rifles…!
I weighed in on the topic of novels and Kids Today earlier, but you might check what I wrote today at my place. It’s basically about intelligence…and differentness…and goofiness…