antique arms, armour & militaria - Thomas Del Mar Ltd

558
A RARE 16 BORE PERCUSSION CHILLINGHAM MUSKET
RIFLE BY PURDEY, BIRMINGHAM PROOF MARKS, NO. 16,
CIRCA 1832-33
with browned twist sighted barrel rifled with ten deep
grooves, fitted with folding leaf back sight calibrated to
200 yards, case-hardened numbered breech and breech
tang, the former with pierced platinum plug covered with
a steel protective oval, signed flush-fitting lock, figured
walnut full stock with raised cheek-piece, brass mounts of
regulation type, comprising trigger-guard, butt-plate,
three large moulded ramrod-pipes, and fore-end cap,
original horn-tipped hickory ramrod, and retaining some
original finish throughout (the sling swivels missing, one
barrel bolt replaced, the stock with light bruising)
87cm; 34Din barrel
558
During the unrest of the third decade of the 19th Century
the Earl of Tankerville commissioned 35 rifled muskets
from Purdey to arm a small yeomanry to protect his
estate at Chillingham Castle, Northumberland. It would
appear that they were all finished by Purdey though many
were made from component parts bought in ‘in the
white’, such as the present example with its Birmingham
proof marks. They were delivered in batches between two
and eleven between February 1832 and June 1833 for a
cost of £10 each. They are serial numbered in a different
range from other Purdey firearms. See L. Patrick
Unsworth 1996, pp. 106-7.
‡ £3000-4000
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