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Black Powder Firearms :: Double Rifles :: Percussion Side by Side Rifles :: 1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set
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AuthorTopic: 1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set (Read 505 times)
Colin
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1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set
« Thread Started on Mar 4, 2009, 8:27am »
This cased set is coming up for auction in a few days, but I thought I would preserve it here for everyone to see.

Quote:
TRULY SPECTACULAR PAIR. JAMES PURDEY PERCUSSION DOUBLE RIFLE AND SHOTGUN WITH ORIGINAL CASE AND ACCESSORIES. SN 3311/3897. Cal. 16 Bore. Serial numbers 3311 (1839) and 3897 (1844). The rifle 3311 is engraved "J. Purdey. 314 1/2 Oxford Street. London." on broad flat top rib w/ one standing, 2 folding leaf rear sight, dovetailed transversally. Platinum front sight is set directly in a slot in the top of the rib. Beautifully figured Damascus barrels are rifled w/ 10 deep grooves. Bottoms of bbls are stamped w/ London provisional and view proof marks, as well as, SN and "JP". There are view marks and SN on case colored breech plugs w/ original nipples marked "R" and "L". The breech plugs are fitted w/ vented platinum "blow outs". The plain middle rod pipe has a sling eye. The ebony ram rod has a heavy brass tip w/ groove to engage boss on front bottom of bbls, and has a worm under removable rear brass end, and is marked w/ SN. The lock plates are engraved with typical for the period beautifully executed open scroll, each w/ "Purdey". Typical Purdey style rifle hammers have matching scroll, and stylized dolphin heads and can be locked at half cock w/ front mounted sliding bolts. Breech iron is beautifully engraved w/ shaded openwork scroll. Charcoal blued trigger guard has more open scroll, a checkered pistol grip, and SN on rear tang. Trigger plate ends in stylized pineapple finial as does the front thimble. Beautifully marbled and figured Circassian walnut stock has a double beaded cheek piece for right hand shooter, steel long tang checkered butt plate w/ matching scroll engraving on tang. A very unusual for Purdey large rectangular patch box with pagoda shaped finial, beautifully engraved w/ very large open scroll. There's a large steel button on toe line to attach sling. Checkering is flat topped at about 18 LPI w/ mullered borders. L. Patrick Unsworth, in his book, THE EARLY PURDEYS, lists this rifle as being completed in 1839,and sold for 84 pounds. The shotgun number 3897 is engraved "J. Purdey, 314 1/2 Oxford Street, London" on broad concave top rib. Bottoms of bbls are marked w/ SN, London provisional and view proofs, and "JP". Case hardened breech plugs have view marks, SN, feather burst engraved vented platinum "blow outs", and right breech plug is marked "T. E." (Thomas Evans, barrel maker). Nipples are marked "R" and "L", and have concentric rings to insure anchoring of caps. There is a sling eye on central rod pipe. Ramrod has brass front end, threaded, and there's a worm under brass cap of back end. Lock plates are border line engraved w/ "Purdey" on both sides. Typical percussion hammers also have line border engraving. Case hardened breech iron also has matching line engraving. Bright charcoal blued trigger guard has line engraving and a sling eye at its finial. Front fastening of trigger plate is extended into the checkering for extra strength, and is quite plain w/ just a doll's head finial. Front thimble is also quite plain w/ line engraving. All screw heads have feather burst engraving. Triggers appear to be nickel plated, the front is grooved. Nicely marbled Circassian walnut stock has long tang, plain butt plate, w/ border engraving, and a patch box which matches the rifle in style, but is quite plain, matching the rest of the gun. The checkering is flat topped at about 18 LPI w/ mullered borders. It's interesting that the SN does not appear anywhere except on the bottoms of the barrels. L. Patrick Unsworth lists this gun as completed in 1844, and sold for 30 pounds with an "old gun" put in part exchange. The figured mahogany, two tiered case has inset brass corners, pivoting brass fasteners, and key lock, as well as, an inset "D Ring" handle in the top. Interior is lined in green cloth w/ lift out top barrel tray. Bottom compartment holds the stocks. A very rare small J. Purdey, 314 1/2 Oxford Street label is on the lid. There are 2 covered compartments in the bottom w/ numbers 3579X8 under lids. Accessories include: 2 original leather slings w/ fire blued snap hooks, one with loop for shotgun, the other w/ button hole for rifle, 2 spare ramrods (rifle rod has SN), leather covered tin powder flask marked "Patent" on brass top, 2-pc rosewood cleaning rod, 2 bullet starters, rosewood handled nipple key, "Field" take down nipple key in leather wallet, Steel plate w/ 2 holes (one marked "rifle", the other "shot"), a William Davis improved no. 16 round ball mould engraved "Coghlan, Esq.re", "Double rifle", "3311", and "Purdey", Steel Sprue cutter marked "16", beautifully made but unmarked brass and steel conical ball mould w/ rifling cast in, large patch cutter, Cleaning brushes, and Wad cutter w/ SN "3897". CONDITION: Phenomenal. Bbls retain virtually all of their original brown. Bores are bright and shiny. Virtually all original case color on locks, hammers, and other furniture, except a bit thin on thimble of the rifle. Trigger guards, patch boxes, and butt plates retain virtually all their original bright blue, except butt plate of rifle shows flaking and some abrasion from use on rear bump. Stocks retain virtually all their French polish, again, the rifle showing some use. Case is very fine w/ some scratches and marks from handling. Interior cloth is very good, with slight fading and wear. Some moth damage and patches in lift out top. Accessories are mostly very fine, w/ slings showing some cracking from age, and flask has some deterioration of leather. A World class pair, worthy of the finest collection. 4-37715 MGM11 (60,000-90,000)

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Way out of my price range, I couldn't even get close to opening bid, but they sure are beautiful. And I can always dream.

Enjoy

Colin
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Re: 1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set
« Reply #1 on Mar 23, 2009, 5:44pm »
You can dream AND have the talent to make something similar. The majority of us can only dream (we don't have the $$ to make a serious bid either).
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Re: 1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set
« Reply #2 on Apr 2, 2009, 10:56am »
Man! Now I know why we say something's Purdy!
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Re: 1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set
« Reply #3 on Apr 5, 2009, 5:06pm »
Well, just droooooooooooooled on my keyboard....


Get one of them sets not sure you'd need another longarm ever in yer life.
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Re: 1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set
« Reply #4 on May 7, 2009, 7:26pm »
That rifle is like God's own personal ML'er :D WOW!! Check out how they flattened the inside of the barrels to keep the gun slim. I wonder hwo the regulated them? solder them up, shoot, take them apart and file a tiny bit more and start over again is this only thing that I can figure.
« Last Edit: May 7, 2009, 7:29pm by jmforge »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
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Re: 1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set
« Reply #5 on May 7, 2009, 7:54pm »
Actually it's probably not as complicated as that, I would bet that if you removed the ribs you would see that the mid point of the barrels isn't touching I bet it is only touching at the muzzles and the breeches. In the mid point is probably a wedge. They would have regulated for the horizontal first and then they would have either driven the wedge farther forward or farther back to make the barrel converge on the vertical. Then solder the wedge in place and attache the ribs to cover it up.

Colin
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Re: 1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set
« Reply #6 on May 7, 2009, 9:51pm »
True, but with those flattened barrels, you are committed to a certain degree...lol I wonder hwo they do it on the new doubles? They still make a .600NE. That 16 bore must kick a tad. It looks like it is the same size as the shotgun and I read that the standard load for their 16 bore singles from that era was 6 drams.
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Re: 1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set
« Reply #7 on May 14, 2009, 12:25am »
I just noticed that this rifle and the .40 caliber express rifle from the other post have the safety levers on the locks, but the shotgun doesn't. If my calculations are correct re the relative official gold prices in the US and Britain back then, that rifle may have sold for as much as $500 in American money when it was new!!!!!! 84 pounds was probably over 4 years wages for the average agricultural worker in the 1850's and at least 2 years for the really highly paid workers like cotton spinners. Relatively speaking, Purdey's prices haven't changed much in that last 160 years.....lol. i recall reading somewhere that during the Civil War, a Henry rifle cost about 2 months wages for a Union Army private, which would have been somewhere in the low to mid $30's. Kinda puts things in perspective.
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Re: 1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set
« Reply #8 on Jun 25, 2009, 6:29am »
That Is nice! I was wondering what the eight items in the top row, under the stock, in the last picture are? Some of that used to pull a charge maybe?
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Colin
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Re: 1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set
« Reply #9 on Jun 25, 2009, 7:30am »

Jun 25, 2009, 6:29am, williedee wrote:
That Is nice! I was wondering what the eight items in the top row, under the stock, in the last picture are? Some of that used to pull a charge maybe?

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The item in this picture are, extra lock screws, turn screw, swaging block and rod, ball moulds, sprue cutters, cleaning brush, patch cutters, cleaning jags, ram rods, cleaning rods, powder horn, slings.

Colin
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Re: 1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set
« Reply #10 on Jun 27, 2009, 5:00pm »
Notice the second mould to make the "picket" bullets with the engraved rifling, which are the ones in the picture. ;D The small cutter is for wads. I just noticed in the text that the stock finish is a French polish. Not so great in the elements, I would think, but it sure looks pretty!
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Re: 1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set
« Reply #11 on Jul 2, 2009, 1:41pm »
If only!!!
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Re: 1839/1844 Purdey 16 bore set
« Reply #12 on Jul 3, 2009, 10:01am »
No kidding!!!!! When you see guns like this, you really begin to understand what people are talking about when they say that the Industrial Revolution in Britain created widespread wealth in the "middle" class the likes of which had never been seen before. You can still go to London today and see many of those luxury goods makers that sprung up in the early to mid 1800's. You just can't afford most of their stuff. I settled for a couple of shirts and some after shave. ;D
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