Purdey side-by-side sidelock

Purdey offers chopper-lump barrels with a choice of five rib profiles and individually cut chokes, and stocks of Turkish walnut with a high-gloss oil finish.^{12, 13, 14, 15}

A 1930s pair reviewed by The Field, Nos. 25459 and 25460, has 29-inch barrels, 2½-inch chambers, concave ribs, straight grips and full splinter fore-ends. Each gun weighs just under 6 lb 8 oz, and the chokes are improved cylinder and three-quarters.^{16, 2} An 1890 pair from the same magazine has 30-inch barrels, 2½-inch chambers, concave ribs, brush-polished actions and rose-and-scroll engraving. Each of these guns weighs 6 lb 9 oz, and their shortened stocks measure 14¼ inches.^{17, 18, 19}

The Purdey cocks on closing, unlike the Holland & Holland Royal, which cocks on opening and holds its opening spring in a tube beneath the barrels.⁵ London proof marks sit on the barrel flats and action, and a year mark dates proof or reproof.^{20, 21} Purdey keeps its records by serial number and issues a two-page History Certificate as a PDF.^{22, 23}

Where	Markings
Game ribs of pair 21276 and 21457	J. Purdey & Sons, Audley House, South Audley Street, London, England24, 25
Top levers and ribs of pair 21276 and 21457	1 and 2, numbering the guns in the pair24, 25
Barrel rib of No. 1 in the matched pair	Made of Sir Joseph Whitworth’s Fluid Pressed Steel24, 25
Barrel flats and action	London proof marks20

Proof date

London began marking dates in 1972. LP above 72 denotes 1972, and LP 92 means London proof in 1992.^{26, 27}

Proof date codes

Purdey keeps its records by serial number and issues a two-page History Certificate as a PDF.^{22, 23} Contact the maker