Page 310 - 4095-BOOK1

308
Most of the fowling-pieces and rifles, complete in workmanship and
exquisite in finish, exhibited by Messrs. Purdey, who are gun-makers to
the Queen and the Prince of Wales, have been purchased by Royal and
noble personages...” Harlow indicates most of the remaining firearms
were sold within two years of the exhibition. Sala continues later stating,
“The extra Purdey exhibit consists of four guns, elaborately chased in the
champ-leve style, two of which have been embellished by the talented
artist Aristido Barri [sic], who was arrested at Vienna as a Communist, but
was subsequently released, and is now occupied in executing a champ-
leve for the Emperor of Austria.”
In his second article, Harlow notes that the exhibition guns discussed
by Sala from 1878 exhibition are recorded as: “No. 9563 – 12-bore bar-
in-wood sidelock hammer gun (£94 10s); No. 9568 - .450 (BPE) hammer
double rifle (£120); Nos. 10,140/1 –20-bore island backlock hammer guns
(£210). The gold-inlaid pair with maple stocks: Nos. 10,110/1 –16-bore
bar-in-wood sidelock hammer guns (£200). The pair of Ladies’ guns with
ebonised stocks: Nos. 10,103/4 –28-bore bar-in-wood sidelock hammer
guns (£140).” This rifle is the second on the list, and he notes that it and
9563 “were the only two guns known to be exhibited twice, traveling to
Sydney for a trade exhibition in 1879, priced at £100 (net £90) and £125
(net £112 10s) respectively. They may also have gone onto Melbourne in
1880, but no list for that exhibition survives. Both were eventually sold to
Keane, but at different times and possibly without his knowing they had
been prize-winning guns. He purchased No. 9568 first, in July 1884 for
£110, followed by No. 9563 in December 1885 for £93 4s 6d. Given their
relative age, and the distances they had traveled, he received remarkably
little discount from the prices they first had in 1878. One hundred and
forty-three years after the exhibition, these guns are still considered to be
some of the finest examples of Purdey guns as works of art. Their rarity
means that they have always had something of a collector’s following,
and therefore are generally a source of
interest when they do reappear on the
market.” In the third article he also notes,
“Keane’s will, combined with his accounts,
leaves one rifle unaccounted for. No.
9568, the 60-bore double rifle, was never
mentioned again after its purchase in 1884,
and was apparently not included in the
bequest to the Prince of Wales in 1901.
Although it may be coincidental, it was also
the only one not to be purchased under
the ‘Separate Account’.” Thus, this incredible
double rifle remains one of the few
extravagant Purdey sporting guns owned
by Keane that are not currently part of the
Royal Gunroom at Sandringham.
In addition to being part of the gold medal
winning display by Purdey in 1878, the
included 2004 article “Guns of the Concours: Purdey Double Rifle No.
9568” by Roger Sanger and Steve Helsley discusses this extraordinary
Purdey double rifle from the Norman R. Blank Collection receiving the
Best in Show award at the first Gold Medal Concours d’Elegance of Fine
Guns in January 2001 (award trophy included). They note that the judges
were in rare unanimous agreement that this rifle was the “first best” at the
show “despite the fact that the collectors had brought out their best for
display and competition.” They note the 7th Gold Medal Concours in April
2004 was dedicated to Blank’s memory and that at subsequent shows,
the top gun would receive the Norman R. Blank Best in Show Award.