*If you are unfamiliar with the term "Island Lock" take a look at the right hand or left-hand lock on this shotgun and you will note that the stock wood goes all the way around the lock, thus making the lock an "island" of steel in wood. Purdey is well known with this feature, but I have seen other English makers do this also, possibly copying Purdey.

The shotgun is tight and in super condition.

*Did you know that John Wayne was a big fan of Greener shotguns and featured them in some of his movies?

Charles Harbord, 5th Baron Suffield was appointed Lord of the Bedchamber to Edward, Prince of Wales (to become King Edward VII), to whom he was a close friend. Lord of the bedchamber??? Is that for real??? He later was chief of staff to the Prince of Wales during the Prince's expedition to India in 1875–1876. The 3-feather insignia of the Prince of Wales is engraved between the hammers of the rifle. The inscription on the rib helps us to place the year of manufacture to 1873 or 1874, so the rifle was no doubt ordered for this trip. The Oval is engraved with the family crest and motto.

*Lord of the Bedchamber is an ancient appointment to the Monarch, basically in modern speak, he would be a confidante of the Monarch , A trusted friend, and his role originally was to help dress the Monarch, guarding access to his bedchamber ,generally waiting on him. The main role was to be a friend. Lord Suffield was Master of the Robes at the coronation of Edward V11 in 1902. He married firstly Cecilia Annetta Baring (of the banking family) in 1854. in 1911 following her death he married again. He owned 12000 acres in Norfolk (Gunton Park). Lord Suffield 5th Baron died in 1914 The family crest was a shield with ermine crown on top and the family motto was Aequanimiter ..obviously Latin …for "Even Minded" The bores are extremely good (excellent) with very strong rifling. Some pitting around the breach and extractor. The wide rear V-notch sight is inlaid with a platinum pointer. Along with the expected stocking safeties there is an unusual lever safety which locks the trigger. We haven't seen this before.

The gun has had some stock work done over the years. There is a rather obvious but vintage and effective stock repair to a very old split in front of the sling swivel. The leather cheek piece could very well be original. The vintage horn and Silvers recoil pad may one day require some more attention.

The case itself retains its original case label, charge label, and contains an excellent array of tools and accessories including the proper bullet mold. These also include a chamber brush and oil bottle by Hawksley, a priming tool by W. Bartram, and powder measure among others.

A fine piece of British history that would make an excellent addition to any collection.

*The Lord of the bedchamber is a very old title first used in 1718. This involved assisting the monarch in dressing, waiting on him while he ate, and guarding access to his bed chamber. Holders of this position were considered to be extremely close and trusted confidants. In the later 1800s this position evolved to mean more as the position evolved to become quite powerful.

Rigby Records give us:

No.15072 was sold to the Marquis of (covered by ink stain) on 20 November 1880 per the Dublin records.

Best double rifle (from London)

.400

26" barrels

Sighting - 150 & 250

7 lbs 6oz Drop @ comb - 1 3/4" Drop @ heel - 2 3/8" Stock length - 14 11/16" Attached are pages from the London serial number book. You'll note that the rifle was sent from London to Dublin in the early 1870's.

The number '4' inlaid in gold on the top lever and forend. Someone had a set of 4 Boss guns made?! They must have shot very fast or had some lucky friends.

The bores are clean and shiny, the ejectors are strong. A Best London gun ready for yet another lifetime in the field.

Some history of Lord Savile:

John Lumley-Savile, 2nd Baron Savile Savile-Lumley was the son of the Rev. Frederick Savile-Lumley, Rector of Bilsthorpe, and nephew of John Savile (1818–1896). The latter was raised to the peerage in 1888 as Baron Savile, of Rufford in the County of Nottingham, with remainder to his nephew John Savile-Lumley (later Lumley-Savile). Lord Savile died in November 1896, aged 78 and was succeeded in the Barony, according to the special remainder, by his nephew John Savile Lumley-Savile, 2nd Baron Savile, who in 1898 assumed by royal license the name of Savile after Lumley.[1] After education at Eton, Savile-Lumley joined Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service. He was nominated Attaché at Brussels in 1874, became 2nd Secretary in Athens in 1879, exchanged into the Foreign Office in 1881, and retired in 1889. In the early 1900s he owned about 33,900 acres, comprising the family estates in Nottinghamshire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. He enjoyed shooting, fishing, and golf,[4] and often entertained Edward VII at his principal seat, Rufford Abbey.[5] He was a Justice of the Peace for Nottinghamshire and in 1904 was made KCVO.[4] He married in 1894 but his first wife died in 1912 without issue. He married for the second time in 1916; the marriage produced George Halifax Lumley-Savile, heir to the title.[6] Henry Lumley-Savile (1923–2001) was the younger son from the marriage.[7] He died on 3 April 1931 at Rufford Abbey.

Competed in 1891. A very nice pair for a great price. Only $11,250 each!

What strikes me about this immediately is the beauty, almost overwhelming. I am certainly attracted to the smokey and mysterious dark and elegant wood. When I pull my eyes away from the wood the perfect proportions present themselves to only be pulled into the fine and stunning engraving.

*The dimensions are great for many Americans being near what we all grew up with , 1.5" at comb, and 2.5" at heel. The dimensions almost all American double guns were built too so this gun will automatically feel familiar to many of us and are likely to shoot very well.

We have priced this Purdey extremely attractively and if you see one of our competitors has one for 10K more know there is a 90% chance ours is as good a gun or better than theirs.

*The photo's for some reason (the bright harsh lights I think) make the sidelocks look polished and super bright. In person they are not that way at all. We will attempt so new pictures soon.

Records show the barrels were reduced to 26" in the Purdey shop and choked for close game shooting. Light and well balanced this one you will never let go of once you get your hands on it.

*If the stock extension is not to your style, we can easily remove it replace it with a best English style leather covered pad. This takes three to four weeks is all and allows one to adjust the gun to their favorite length of pull in the process.

The choking is Ben's preferred constrictions, by coincidence (or maybe not as Ben has had a huge influence on my hunting )the same as mine for upland!

My esteemed close friend and helper Jason Bartel at the Great Northern shoot a few weeks ago picked this gun off the table there and shot the main event, putting over a case and a half shells through it. He proclaimed it did not even have one hickup and gave him a very high score. He would like to have the gun but alas he has four children which are not even near college age yet so is not a place to purchase it. If you would like to buy this for Jason, I am sure he would forever be in your debt or perhaps if you purchase you could let him use it once in a while.

All kidding aside, this is a very nice vintage Purdey with great providence and proof of present and excellent reference for future reliability in the field. There is a story from a past issue of Covey Rise which features this fine double. I am in the process of getting a copy.

*In the interest in disclosing all information on this gun, when we got it there was a hairline crack going with the grain on the left side mid-stock. It stopped after about 3". We successfully invisibly repaired it and it obviously is holding up as with Jasons 300 plus shells through it, it is holding strong.

In its original makers case this fine shotgun would make a superb upland gun. I personally would open the right barrel to skeet and it would be ready to go! We can get this done for only $85.00 and quickly.

*See the gold crown on the bottom of the receiver. This indicates the gun is their high "Imperial" grade.

This LOP may be to long for some but we can easily arrange for a pad or checkered butt to your LOP.

The gun is tight in excellent condition and needs nothing.

*Note the choking which will put many birds in your game bag. This is almost the exact choking I use in my favorite game gun and gets excellent results and to be honest, I am a mediocre shot at best.

*Note the great dimensions for many

If a longer length of pull is needed we can arrange for a leather covered pad to be installed for up to an inch increase in LOP.

Normally this gun would be in the 6-8K range but due to some very minor surface pitting in places on the action (see the pictures, super minor) we can offer this beauty for only 4600.00. A super London high grade sidelock at almost a boxlock price. For the hunter that wants a high-quality gun that he or she is not afraid to take in the field this is a super opportunity. The gun is super tight and field ready.

After seeing my write up on this gun received this email from our famous hunting/naturalist gun writer friend concerning this gun:

"Wow Kirby, What a beautiful gun. I love Lang guns. You forgot to mention in the write up that it is stocked to the fences and has absolutely perfect chokes for a game gun. Cheers, George"

*At the recent Great Northern SxS event in WI, Travis, our gun photographer used this gun in the main event. He fired 375 rounds through the gun with out even the slightest hiccup. He said the gun felt deceptively light for its weight due to its exceptional balance and shot extremely well.

The leather cheek piece is authentic and in very good condition. No,10183. - John Brigg 11 December 1896

*This gun has excellent dimensions and balance for many. Expertly sleeved in the UK and the mystery of the lack of engraving or name allows an opportunity for one to shoot a top-level gun at a very attractive price. And yes, the gun is tight and field ready!

This gun being near 100 years old and still retain over 50% original case color is remarkable. It handles well and is tight on face with excellent bores.

*Note the excellent choking for upland birds which I will guarantee will put more birds in your bag!

This gun is tight on face and field ready. A great value in an English sidelock with good stock dimensions and super wall thickness.

*You know this old girl has seen plenty of service and she does show some scars in handling marks in the wood and blue thinning in places. She would be a great candidate for a light restoration or used and appreciated as is. This gun I noted when first operated did not have auto ejectors. I really like this as having auto ejectors is really one more thing to go wrong and truly in the upland field unnecessary. I will get some flack over this, I am sure! I will agree to disagree.

*Note the great stock dimensions!

*Check out the very nice wood!

This gun dates from 1907.