A trio of under-and-over single trigger sporting guns by Watson Brothers which topped Holt’s (25/20% buyer’s premium) December sale in London at £150,000.
Rarest of the antique sporting weapons in James D Julia’s (15% buyer’s premium) October 31-November 2 Extraordinary Firearms Auction in Fairfield, Maine, was probably this Purdey 8-bore underlever double rifle of 1886.
Weighing in at just under 17lbs, this impressive and very rare big game gun, in a case with accessories, sold for $60,000 (£45,455). Julia also notched up an impressive $135,000 (£102,270) for a classic pair of cased 16-bore Boss light game guns dating from the 1920s and in untouched, original condition.