LONDON.- Gavin Gardiner Ltd’s auction of Modern & Vintage Sporting Guns at the prestigious Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Perthshire on Monday, August 27, 2018 at 5pm will include the wonderful "Phoenix” Gun, which was completed in 2012 by world-renowned Scottish engraver Malcolm Appleby MBE. The 12-bore side lock ejector gun has an estimate upon request.

Gavin Gardiner said: ”I am delighted to be offering this gun by Malcolm Appleby, who is so highly respected by the gun trade. Many people will remember the “Crocodile” gun, which was a magnificent Malcolm Appleby-engraved 12-bore round-action ejector gun by David McKay Brown, that sold for £48,000 in my auction at Gleneagles in 2009.”

Highly acclaimed Goldsmith and foremost Gun Engraver Malcolm Appleby (b. 1946). Appleby, who lives in Perthshire - just 40 miles from Gleneagles has had many prestigious commissions including the Scottish Lace Gun; the Woodcock Gun; the Raven Gun (for the Royal Armories) and the Pike Gun (which sold at Sotheby’s Gleneagles in 1994) which were all inspired by nature. In addition to this, he has had many important commissions include the engraving of the orb on the Prince of Wales Coronet, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes Trophy for De Beers, the 500th anniversary silver cup for the London Assay Office; a major silver cmmn (cup and cover) for the Royal Museum of Scotland; the seal for the Victoria and Albert Museum and the silver centrepiece for the New Scottish Parliament. He also has examples of his work in many collections throughout the world. He was awarded the MBE in the 2014 New Year Honours for his engraving skills.

The catalogue is now available for years sale at the Gleneagles Hotel, which is in the 51st year, will include around 200 lots of Fine Modern and Vintage Sporting Guns, Rifles and Accessories from 1860 to the present day. It is held two weeks into the Grouse Shooting Season.

Other fascinating items include a 12-bore single trigger self-opening sidelock ejector gun by J. Purdey & Sons, which was built as the No.1 of a pair for Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey in 1887, which is estimated at £5,000-7,000. Payne- Gallwey was the cousin of Lord Walsingham, perhaps the best shot of his era. This particular gun was subsequently converted to ejector by Boss & Co. and also fitted with their single trigger. It is well documented that Payne-Gallwey had a disagreement with Purdey over a game counter he invented, so it is likely that when it was time to re-barrel the gun he chose to approach Boss instead. Likewise Boss were well known for their single trigger and ejector conversions at this time. Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey was born in 1843, and like his cousin, he kept company with the most accomplished shots of the day an had been a keen shot from and early age. His grandfather had published "Cautions to Young Sportsmen" in 1800, one of the first manuals on safe gun handling. He inherited the Thirkelby Estate at the age of 43, which was on of the very best sporting estates in Victorian Britain. An accomplished author, he is probably best remembered for his three volumes of "Letters to Young Shooters" published between 1891 and 1896. A prolific inventor, his name is still known for the many shooting accessories that he designed, including Payne-Gallwey pattern cartridge bags, cleaning rods and brushes, shooting sticks and game counters. Many of these items remain in production to this day. As a renowned wildfowler, he invented a double barrel punt gun that was built by Holland & Holland and was the first president of WAGBI, which is today known to shooters as BASC. His last work was "High Pheasants in Theory and Practice". He died in 1916.

Elsewhere, a fine pair of 12-bore self-opening sidelock ejector guns by J. Purdey & Sons that were built in 1937 for William S. Paley carry an estimate of £30,000-40,000. William S. Paley was the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) from a small radio network to one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States. Born in 1901, he was the son of a cigar manufacturer. In 1927, as their business expanded, they bought a struggling Philadelphia radio network, Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System, primarily for use as an advertising medium for the family cigar business. Within a year sales had doubled and within a decade the original network of 16 stations had expanded to one 116. Paley quickly grasped te potential advertising earnings and that a mixture of good programming was the key to attracting advertising revenue. Expanding in to records and television brought further growth and the company boomed in the post war years, remaining one of the largest of its type. Other interests included owning a racing stable, as well as building a significant collection of modern art. At one point, he owned the New York Yankees baseball team. He died in 1990.