James Purdey & Sons, or simply Purdey, is a British gunmaker based in London, England. It specialises in high-end bespoke sporting shotguns and rifles.[1][2] Purdey holds Royal Warrants of appointment as gun and rifle makers to the British and other European royal families.
History
James Purdey was born in Whitechapel in 1784 and apprenticed to his brother-in-law, Thomas Keck Hutchinson. After completing his training, he worked for both Joseph Manton and the Rev. Alexander Forsyth before establishing his own company in London in 1814. He located his business on Princes Street, now Wardour Street, near Leicester Square.
In 1826, the company moved from Princes Street to Manton's former premises at 314-315 Oxford Street. Due to a conflict of numbering, the business used the address ‘314½ Oxford Street’ from 1827.
The founder's son, James Purdey the Younger, took over the company's running from his father in 1858. James the Younger saw rapid change in the development and design of guns and rifles during his lifetime, essentially moving from muzzle loading flintlocks in the 1820s to breech loading