LONDON.- Gavin Gardiner’s April sale at Sotheby’s New Bond Street, London W1A 2AA on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 will include a major private collection of Royal and Noble owned Victorian Sporting Guns and rifles.

The collection comprises 15 guns built for the best known and finest shots of the Victorian age including guns for both the first and second Duke of Cambridge, a gun built for King Edward VII, two hammer Purdey's built for shooting legend Lord Ripon, a Purdey built for Lord Walsingham as well as a pair of guns built for Prince Albert, Prince Consort, and ordered as a present from Queen Victoria.

A J. Purdey & Sons 12-bore hammer gun, built in 1871 for HRH Prince George, the Duke of Cambridge - the grandson of King George III and a cousin of Queen Victoria is estimated at £5,000-£6,000, while another example by J. Purdey & Sons - 12-bore bar-in wood hammer gun, built for Lord Walsingham in 1882, one of the greatest shots of his age is expected to fetch £6,000-£8,000.

Two guns by J. Purdey & Sons built for Lord Ripon, renowned as the greatest gameshot of all time include a 20-bore lever-cocking bar-in-wood hammer gun, built in 1880 (Est: £10,000-£15,000) and a 12-bore top-lever hammer gun, built in 1868 which is estimated at £6,000-£8,000.

Other Royal guns include a 12-bore bar-in wood patent hammer gun, built by Westley Richards for Queen Victoria in 1869 as a present for her son, HRH the Prince of Wales, later King George VII, that carries an estimate of £10,000-£15,000, and a pair of 12-bore percussion hammer guns by Charles Lancaster, built for Prince Albert, Prince Consort and ordered by Queen Victoria as a present. The estimate is upon request.

Also included is a rare 8-bore hammer gun by John Dickson & Sons ordered by the eccentric Victorian collector Charles Gordon in 1886, and remaining in it's case with all original tools and accessories, which is estimated at £15,000-£20,000.

Gavin Gardiner says: “I am delighted to be selling this collection, which has been amassed over a lifetime’s collecting, and includes examples owned by some of the most renowned and famous shots of the golden era of game shooting. The names Ripon, Walsingham and Edward, Prince of Wales conjure up images of the legendary shooting parties of Victorian England, these shots were well known to each other, and were responsible for some of the best shooting ever seen. I am honored to be selling such an important part of our shooting heritage.”

The auction of more than 200 lots of vintage sporting guns, rifles and shooting accessories, is the only sale of Sporting Guns to be held in the heart of London’s Mayfair and will have a strong section of 12-bore Sporting Guns by England and Scotland’s finest makers as well as a good selection of accessories and more curious items.