London, UK -(FirearmsGuide.com)- Celebrating a long-standing relationship. Purdey has a long and important relationship with the American shooting market, which we have been supplying since the early 1800s. However, it was not until April 1922 that we visited for the first time, when Athol Purdey boarded RMS Olympic to spend three weeks in New York. This was to be the first of the trips we still continue to run a century later.

A Unique Piece. To mark both the anniversary and the wider relationship, we have produced a special gun. For the action, we chose a 20-bore over & under, a design and calibre combination that has been very popular with our American clients, and a perfect all-round gun for North America. Indeed, we introduced our first over & under design following interest expressed on Athol's trip in 1922.

Historic Scenes. To execute the unique engraving design, we worked with the renowned engraver, Phil Coggan. The action is engraved with our Large Scroll pattern, surrounding images of the RMS Olympic, which Athol travelled on, and the Commodore Hotel, where he stayed for the duration of his trip. The underside of the action has an image of Athol himself, based on a photograph taken in Manhattan during his trip, and the pistolgrip-cap bears the dates of the visit.

Cased to Travel. To create a case suitable for such a gun, there was only one option; Vincent Rickards, who has been making the finest exhibition grade cases for over twenty years. Rather than a flat guncase we selected a motorcase, as the Purdey 'Lightweight' motorcase design is also celebrating its centenary, making it the perfect match. The case is lined throughout with Purdey red goatskin leather and all of the accessories are French-fitted including the Teague multi-chokes, each of which has its own marked slot.

Now a century after Athol's first trip, we are finally back on the road in the US, having attended the Dallas Safari Club convention in January and recently returned from Griffin & Howe. Our next trip is provisionally scheduled for May, and if you would like to join us in continuing this tradition, please contact us.