2026 will mark Dr. Nicholas Harlow’s tenth year at Purdey, having joined in September 2016 as the Gunroom Manager. From his office, the storied Long Room at Audley House, Harlow fields technical questions about Purdey guns and rifles, takes orders for bespoke commissions, and manages the voluminous Purdey archives – a treasure trove of heritage and historical artefacts that dates back over 200 years.
Here, Harlow shares the details and delights of managing the Purdey archive, plus a few of his personal highlights.
Where does your love for and interest in history stem from?
I’ve always been interested in history, and particularly military history, after growing up hearing stories of my grandfathers. I particularly enjoy telling stories from unusual perspectives, and unexpected connections. I moved to London to study it as an undergraduate, and have worked in history-related jobs ever since.
What experience does one need to qualify as the official Purdey archivist?
As I’m the first person to manage Purdey’s records as an archive, there wasn’t really a job description when I joined. My predecessors had inherited the records and knowledge over time, and in some ways I was trained by the previous Gunroom Manager. I was lucky that I already had some understanding of the company through my first job as a cataloguer for an auctioneer. I had also studied history at university, which helped me organise and also understand the wider context of the records.
Before you stepped into the role, who maintained the archive?
I took on records from a number of colleagues throughout the business. While Purdey has a large number of records, they had often been maintained by individual teams within the company, so my first order of business was to centralise and record what has survived.
Do you get many requests to mine the archive for historical treasures?
The most common requests we get are for History Certificates, which record the history of a client’s gun or guns. We have done the occasional deep dive for some of these, where someone may be researching for an article. Internally, the archives support not only our design team, but also the factory when they are looking to understand the developmental history of our designs.
Is there anything in particular that surprised or delighted you when you first came across it in the archive?
There are so many great stories in the archive, not to mention amazing personal artefacts from the Purdey family, that it’s hard to pick one. The Woodward accounts ledgers were a particularly interesting find, as they were not previously known to have survived. They cover purchases made by clients from 1919 until 1948, and even include an entry relating to the company’s sale to Purdey. Client accounts are always fascinating, as they provide an extra dimension to the records contained in the Dimension Books.
Has the archive thrown up any conundrums, or investigations that are as yet unresolved?
There are certainly some which are harder to answer. The one that springs to mind is Timothy Hutchinson, who owned Egglestone Hall near Barnard Castle. Over 50 years he purchased over 200 guns and rifles from Purdey alone, most of which were returned within six months for credit against another gun. He remains one of our most prolific and enigmatic clients.
What is the most challenging part of working with an archive that dates back over two centuries? And the most rewarding?
The most challenging will always be balancing access to the records while ensuring their conservation – particularly the paper ones. The most rewarding aspect has been bringing pieces together to tell stories that people felt they knew in unexpected ways.
What is your favourite piece or story from the Purdey archives?
The pieces that spring to mind are a set of barrel makers’ gauges which were gifted back to the archive earlier this year. These are rectangular pieces of steel, with semi-circular cuts made along their edges. They are used by a barrel maker when assembling a set of barrels, so that they match the profile and weight of a previous gun. They are both tactile yet somehow ephemeral, and relate to an aspect of our history that is otherwise unrecorded.
How would you describe the archive to someone who hasn't been lucky enough to see it in person?
The Purdey archive is an amazing mix of manufacturing records combined with a very personal family history of the people who made the company what it is today.
I think what might surprise people is the sheer breadth of what we hold in our archive, as it includes items that relate to historical events beyond the company’s own history. The best known of these is the photograph of General Walter Bedell Smith, but there are also records of other meetings in the Long Room about arming the Home Guard, and correspondence from clients around the world.