An American firm named H&D Folsome, who owned Crescent Firearms Co imported W. Richards shotguns for hardware stores from Belgium. They used the English name to help their gun sales. The price was about 1/3 of the price of a cheaper American made shotgun to the consumer. They were proofed with black powder shells and had laminate barrels. Shooting dove loads in them today would be way over pressure and could eventually cause problems. Low pressure shells are still made today for the old shotguns.
If there is an ELG or SF proof mark under the barrels it was a copy made in Belgium. They were a cottage industry produced gun, where the barrel was made one place, the wood another, the locks another and assembled somewhere else. There are also American made knock offs of the Belgium knock offs. The strength and quality are lower than English made. They make good wall hangers and fine hunting guns as long as reduced pressure loads are used.
The English W Richards (not Westley Richards) will have W Richards (Gunmakers) Liverpool Ltd (or Preston/London etc) stamped on the rib between/above the barrels. And usually a crown and crossed halibrand proof mark. If yours has that, you can contact W Richards and they can track down if it was one of theirs. They usually don't bring as much as a Westly Richards, but the price is still pretty high.
