This 12-bore Purdey has the distinction of having won the 1903 Monaco Grand Prix live pigeon trap shooting competition.
It also happens to be extremely decorative and quite unusual. The style is that of the engraver Aristede Barre, who engraved just twenty-eight Purdey guns between 1877 and 1914.
The cost of thei type of engraving, which Purdey deemed 'Extra Quality' was significant: £40 or £50 in addition to the cost of the gun, which was £62 in its 'basic' best form.
This one is a side-clipped, top-lever, bar-action hammer gun, with steel barrels and straight-hand stock. It was sold in the United States recently, where it had a price tag of $40,000.
Published by Vintage Guns Ltd on
