My friend sbs470 alerted me to this fabulous rifle up for auction TODAY!

Superb James Purdey Underlever Double Rifle built for the Marahajah of Odeypoor

Serial #16167, .577-500, 28" barrels with bright excellent bores. This is a spectacular rifle which boasts not only exceptional and unusual game scene engraving but it remains in extremely fine original condition. The rifle features back action island locks, rebounding hammers, sliding safeties and snap closing underlever. The engraving is wonderful featuring tight relief English scroll engraving with game scenes consisting of one standing and one lying deer in a pasture scene with mountains in the distance, the right side of the action shows an antlered deer in foreground with mother and fawn in pasture scene. The left lock shows a standing antlered deer with a female lying down and the left side of the action shows two lying female deer and a standing antlered deer. The top tang shows a lying boar and the underlever has deep relief scroll engraving not only for decoration but for added grip. As mentioned before, the condition is fabulous. The barrels retain 95% plus original brown finish with strong pattern their entire length. The action and locks retain 90% plus strong original color case-hardened finish with most loss on top right side action where there is an area of gray patina. The checkered pistol grip buttstock and forend are of highly figured French walnut and rate excellent plus retaining nearly all of their original finish. The stocks are finely checkered and feature a wonderful shadowline cheekpiece. The rifle weighs 10 1/4 pounds and has a 14 3/8" length of pull over checkered steel shotgun buttplate. The heel of buttplate is engraved with loading data "CHARGE / 5 1/2 DRMS No. 6 POWDER" and the buttplate and steel grip cap both retain 95% plus original blue finish. The rifle is housed in its original brass trimmed leather trunk style case which is also in excellent condition. The interior lid of case has its original makers label and loading data label. The rifle comes with its complete compliment of accessories including brass bullet mold, powder measure, turnscrew nipple wrench, oiler, extra set of gold plated firing pins, cleaning rod, key etc. The escutcheon plate on toeline of stock bears the Maharajah's initials in Hindi characters. These initials are also found on the disc on top of case and all of the accessories. This rifle was the subject of an article by Sherman Bell in the Spring 2000 issue of Double Gun Journal. Bell's enthusiasm and fondness for this rifle is glaringly evident throughout his entire description. He states toward the end of the article "I feel privileged to be able to inspect this rifle…", this writer feels much the same as Mr. Bell. Factory records confirm the configuration of the rifle and for whom it was built and indicate that it was completed in October of 1898. A truly superb, investment quality rifle by one of the world's most prestigious makers. (3510-1) {ANTIQUE} (30,000/50,000)

http://www.amoskeag-auction.com/76/32.html

And now, of course, the photos of this beauty.

Above scan is from Hoyem, George A., The History and Development of Small Arms Ammunition, Vol. 3, Armory Publications 2005, p. 68.

Scans above from Bell, Sherman, British Doubles From A to Z, Part X, Double Gun Journal, Vol. 11, Issue 1, Spring 2000, pp. 12-18.