Lot 238S2
A rare 28-bore single-barrelled lightweight child's hammer gun by J. Purdey, no. 9691, Made for Prince Duleep Singh
Amended
3 December 2020, 14:00 GMT
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £25,250 inc. premium
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A rare 28-bore single-barrelled lightweight child's hammer gun by J. Purdey, no. 9691, Made for Prince Duleep Singh
Jones patent rotary-underlever, rebounding backlock, percussion fence, best foliate-scroll engraving, well-figured stock, carved horn-capped forend, the barrel engraved 'J. Purdey, 314½ Oxford Street, London'
Weight 3lb., 13in. stock, 14¼in. barrel, approx. ½ choke, 2¾in. chamber, London nitro reproof
Weight 3lb., 13in. stock, 14¼in. barrel, approx. ½ choke, 2¾in. chamber, London nitro reproof
Footnotes
The makers have kindly confirmed that the gun was completed in 1877 for Prince Duleep Singh. It appears to have been bought in as a barrelled action from W. & C. Scott of Birmingham, and then finished at Purdeys.
Prince Duleep Singh was the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire and became ruler at the age of five. He was brought to the UK when he was 15 and quickly became very close with Queen Victoria.
He purchased a country estate at Elveden on the Norfolk, Suffolk border, and it was here he gained his reputation as the fourth best shot in England. Subsequently his two oldest sons Victor and Frederick became two of the best shots in England. On one remarkable day they bagged 846 partridges before lunch, at Elveden in the early 1890s. In Lord Carnarvon's game book for 1895, both brothers are recorded shooting grouse alongside him at Delnadamph throughout August, before returning to Carnarvon's estate, Highclere, to start shooting on September 2nd, with fifty-one days of partridge shooting over the next three months and many of the parties consisting only of Carnarvon and Duleep Singh, accompanied by Lord Ashburton. An all-time record three-day bag was recorded in late November, with a total bag of 10,807, including 5,671 pheasant, 16 partridges, 43 hares, 4 woodcock, 5,033 rabbits, and 40 various. The guns were Lord Carnarvon, both Victor and Frederick Duleep Singh, Earl de Grey, Lord Ashburton and Harry Chaplin, who was replaced by J. Rutherford on the final day.
This gun appears to have been bought for either of his sons, when it was completed Victor was 11 and Frederick 9 years old. In August 1924, the gun was proofed for nitro on behalf of Hon. Henry Coventry, who was the brother-in-law of Prince Victor.
The family estate of Elveden, having played host to many shooting parties and some of the best shots of the day, was sold to the 1st Earl of Iveagh in 1894 after the death of Prince Victor's father. It remains in the possession of the Guinness family to this day
Prince Victor's Purdey 12-bore hammer gun, no. 10914, sold in these Rooms, Modern Sporting Guns, Rifles & Vintage Firearms, 4 April 2012, lot 79 (£11,875 including premium)
Prince Frederick's Purdey 12-bore self-opening sidelock ejector gun, no. 15212 was also sold in these rooms, Modern Sporting Guns, 30 April 2015 lot 132 (£13,650 including premium)
The third of this set of game guns (no. 15353) was sold at Sotheby's, Fine Modern and Vintage Sporting Guns, 19 December 2002, lot 87 (£23,500 including premium)
Saleroom notices
Please note that the barrel length is 24¼in. and not as catalogued