Purdey 16 Bore – 1889, FULLY DOCUMENTED, 30” WHITWORTH

What an amazing piece of history we have here in this untouched, wholly original, Purdey 16 bore game gun fully documented with a Purdey letter noting the gun was made for a French royal.  This gun has been thoroughly reviewed by a renowned British gun expert that hailed from Trevallions.  This is what he had to say about the gun:

This 16 bore side by side shotgun was completed on the 6th December 1889. It is the second gun of a pair of hammerless game guns on the Beesley action built for the Vicomte de Montrieux. A vicomte’s coronet is engraved in the toe line silver oval. Little is known about the Vicomte but Montrieux is an area in the western Loire valley, more or less equidistant from Le Mans, Tours and Orleans. It is a wine growing area, producing some notable wines. There is much bird hunting locally and even more just to the south. Most of this hunting is walked up over dogs, driven shoots being rare, and the favored gauge is 16 bore. The cylinder and modified chokes suit this style of hunting, as does the lack of ejectors, which were available at the time the gun was built. The locks, however, are fitted with intercepting safety sears, which was an option at the time.

The gun’s measurements remain exactly as it was built and it is clear that no other changes have been made to the gun. It has clearly seen a great deal of use over its long life but remains in excellent mechanical condition being tight on face and showing no signs of excessive drop. The latter is common 12 bore guns but the lighter weight of the 16 bore barrels has, no doubt, helped prevent the problem developing on this gun. The wood of the stock and forend does show definite signs of use but both parts are solid and present well. The standard pattern flat top checkering is very fine, unusually so for a Purdey, and shows some wear but this is not excessive.

The Whitworth steel barrels are in very good condition, though the blacking does show considerable wear. The barrel maker was E. Hodges, whose weekly wage was £2 10s 6d, making him the third highest paid barrel maker. The actioner was Tysall, who was earning £4 13s 0d, which was the highest pay for his trade. The stocker, H. Dean, earned £3 10s 6d and was the senior stocker under the head stocker, James Lumsden. The Deans were stockers at Purdey’s for several generations until the 1960’s. The finisher was J. Apted, who had worked at Purdey from at least 1863 and earned £2 15s 6d, two shillings a week less than he had earned in 1863. It is worth noting that inflation was just about zero in that period. Apted’s son Jack worked as a stocker into the late 1930’s. The gun was beautifully engraved by J. Lucas in the Purdey house style. In common with most Purdey guns of the time the locks were made to the highest standard by John Stanton’s Wolverhampton based company.

The gun is currently fitted in a period leather case, which is not original to the gun. The case is in good condition and fits the gun very well.
Purdey gun No. 13449 is a fine example of a fairly early Beesley pattern gun and is in good, shootable condition. It is hard to envision a better gun for the walked up shooting it was built for and should give many more years of excellent service.

Vintage Firearms has closely documented the specifications of this gun and find the 90% fading case color is factory original as the engraving still has the raised engraver’s cuts showing no signs of being restored.  The 95% factory barrel blue has the expected handling marks, ribs are tight, bores are bright, engraved barrel labels are still clear.  The exhibition walnut is extraordinary and is solid throughout.  If you want the checkering freshened, or any other work on the gun, our 5 gunsmiths can make your desired alterations with no waiting in line!  You can see the specifications below.  This is the perfect gun for upland birds behind a great dog and a great value for such an original, documented Purdey 16b gun.  They made very few 16 bore guns.  We have plenty of 2 ½” shells for all your shooting needs.   Don’t miss out on this London Best gun…she won’t last long!  Thanks for looking.