Purdey was established in London in 1814, the year before the battle of
Waterloo. The founder, James Purdey, had previously worked as head stocker for
Joseph Manton, the foremost gunmaker of his time. Purdey set up his gun making
business in Princes Street and soon moved to Manton’s former premises in Oxford
Street in 1826. As early as 1838, Queen Victoria is recorded as having bought a
pair of Purdey pistols.

James Purdey the Younger took over the running of the company from his father
in 1858. Over his lifetime there was rapid change and development in the design
of guns and rifles, essentially moving from muzzle loading flintlocks in the
1820’s to breech loading hammerless ejectors by the 1880’s. James the Younger
was always at the forefront of advances in the design and building of his guns
and rifles, and took out several patents for technical innovations over the
years, many of which were adopted by other gunmakers. E04