If he has a letter from Thomas Bland and Sons that shows WDM Bell took delivery of this rifle, then it's likely good. The old English gunmakers kept very good records. When W. J. Jeffery's was acquired by Holland and Holland, I asked H & H to research my Jeffery's. Not only did they oblige, but they produced the orginaly build ledger complete with the craftman's signature and gave me a copy of it. If they have something similar for the Bland, I'd be good with it.
The "$100k if restored" statement I'm sure was just a casual observation, as in "if this gun were built new today it would be a $100k gun". That's a bit inflated, but the price of H & H Royals and Purdy's aren't that far off.
On the other hand, $10k for ANY classic English double rifle in an over .30 caliber is a good price.
