I recently viewed an auction item on gunbroker.com which listed a beautiful double 20 Ga which was described as being a Henry Atkin by Purdeys. There was comment that Purdy later had Henry Atkin remove the wording "by Purdeys" from the guns. I was skeptical of this description as I could not imagine Purdy making a gun for a lesser seller.
Does anyone know if Purdy actually made guns for Henry Atkin?
It probably read "Henry Atkin, From Purdey's", not "by Purdey's". William Evans, another former Purdey employee, did the same thing. "From Purdey" meant that the maker was formerly a Purdey employee, and had thus learned gunmaking from the best. Since the statement was true, Purdey couldn't do anything about it. Purdey's sued Evans over it, and lost.
Atkin was a fine gunmaker, and no, Purdey didn't make his guns.