PURDEY by Matthew Fairhurst
Looking Down The Barrel - Matthew Fairhurst visits Purdy
Making the sport of shooting into an art form is a tradition founded by Purdey. Head of Gun Sales, Ian Andrews tells Target Shooter why the historic gun makers have spent almost two centuries on top of the shooting world.
In 1814, Napoleon was rapidly loosing his stronghold on Europe; Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice was the subject to great coffee house debate and monarch George III was in the late stages of madness. In the same era and of similar historical importance to collectors, James Purdey and Sons opened their London doors for the first time, producing the finest quality guns, rifles and accessories and supplying many of the world’s most distinguished and discerning people.
Now, almost two centuries later, Purdey is one of the world’s leading bespoke gun and rifle makers, priding them self with a legion of respected collectors, none more so than generations of the British Royal Family – an accolade which is only fitting to the Purdey reputation.
Speaking from the original London factory, which is still working today, is Head of Gun Sales Ian Andrews. “What distinguishes Purdey is that we are streets ahead of our competitors in terms of attention to detail and, historically, Purdeys retain their value far better than any other gun maker. The name of Purdey is a very strong tool and as one of the most desired brands, people very much believe in that name.”
Some famed royal clients over the ages include Queen Victoria, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and HRH the Prince of Wales. Andrews states “If a gun was personalised by royalty it would very much add to the value. Provenance, especially royal provenance, is always a huge benefit in terms of selling.”
One such royal to commission his own styling of Purdey guns was the Maharaja of India in the 1920s. Ordering a reported 18 separate Purdey pieces to be made, decorated with his own choice of elaborate large scroll and gold engravings, the Maharaja’s very own bespoke collection would probably have a 40 – 50 per cent premium added on to their value. However, the price of a Purdey gun does not only relate to the previous owners good name. The sheer quality of craftsmanship involved in making just one gun would take expert gunsmiths around 18 months to two years to finish.
Andrews says “The time taken is basically down to the number of man hours involved in the process. It starts with the initial machining of parts to finishing the gun, barrel making, trigger making and so on. Engraving certainly adds time to the process and, for multi-coloured gold, the process can be stretched to two years.”
In the mid 1850s, Purdey adopted as standard their now traditional fine rose and scroll bouquet engraving and colour case-hardening on all shotguns and rifles.
When it comes to engravings, we will work through 20
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