One of the earliest and rarest Purdey percussion guns ever offered: serial number 424, a 14 bore double barrel shotgun with a stunning curly maple stock from the 1820s. The gun was recently inspected by Purdey’s, and they confirmed this gun is the only Purdey gun known to be in private hands that is stocked with a spectacular piece of birdseye maple. The only other example known is a single barrel gun that resides in the Purdey collection in London and features many of the same components with generally similar engraving. Both guns may have been stocked using wood cut from the same maple blank, and the consignor indicated the blank is rumored to have been supplied by Colonel Peter Hawker (1786- 1853), an admirer of Purdey’s guns. Col. Hawker was also an acquaintance of Alexander John Forsyth who patented the percussion cap. The single barrel birdseye maple gun is featured in Patrick Unsworth's "The Early Purdeys" in colour plates 7-12, and the current double barrel gun is listed in "Appendix 3: Shotguns" on page 183 as a double barrel with 'Patent safety, the grip-lever since removed. Percussion cap gun. Maple stock. Now in Australia." The single barrel gun is also shown in plates 9 and 10 of "Purdey Gun & Rifle Makers: The Definitive History" by Donald Dallas. Thomas Boss, Robert Bagnall and Henry Atkin were all stockers for Purdey in the 1820s, and Peter Gumbrell is noted as the shop's engraver in this period. The gun is accompanied by information from past sales of this incredible gun, including a letter from H.G. James, manager for Donald Mackintosh in Melbourne, Australia, writing to a Mr. A. Berry of Victoria Valley, Tasmania, in 1929 about the gun and noting "You could hardly believe the number of shooters that have admired the stock of the gun" while it was on display in a glass case in the shop. Additional handwritten documentation indicates the gun was sold to a Mr. J.A. Wilson by A. Berry (believed to be Alfred Berry) and notes the best loads for the gun. A subsequent letter from 1940 to Wilson from C. Gatenby indicates that he purchased three muzzleloading guns from gunmaker G.E. Lewis of Birmingham, England, c. 1895-1896 and noted that the Purdey "had the prettiest stock of any gun I ever saw, and I have handled a few in my time. It was made of maple, and French polished; when the sunlight was caught on the right angle it was glorious." He later sold the gun to Farquhar McRae of Hartfield-Bothwell. The Damascus barrels have a raised concave rib with a small bead front sight and is signed with the Princes St. Leicester Square address towards the breech end. The barrels were forged by Charles Lancaster and have his "CL" maker's mark on the underside between the London black powder proof marks which are in turn followed by the serial number. The rib on the breech plugs features a vignette of a dog, and the breeches feature platinum bands and pierced platinum plugs. The standing breech has scroll engraving. The locks and hammers are engraved with serpent designs and scrollwork. The locks are each signed "PURDEY" and have the patented automatic half-cock safety sears with "SAFETY" marked on the sears and "PATENT" on the lock plate. The iron furniture also features scroll, foliate, and sunburst engraving, and the trigger guard bow also features a pair of pheasant. The wedge and wrist escutcheons are silver. The beautifully figured birdseye maple straight hand stock has checkering on the forend and wrist and a 14 9/16 inch length of pull. Includes a wooden ramrod with brass tip. Provenance: James Purdey; George E. Lewis; The Christopher Gatenby Collection; The Farquhar McRae Collection; The A. Berry Collection; The J.A. Wilson Collection; Property of a Gentleman