SPLASH THE CASH

If you have £20,000 to £25,000 to spend, you could be in with a chance of becoming the proud owner of a rare single-trigger Holland & Holland .500/.465 double rifle, which was completed for the Maharaja of Orchha, Pratap Singh, in 1908. Holts Auctioneers’ Chris Beaumont said that this is considered one of the best big game rifles of all time: “Developed in around 1906, the calibre was Holland & Holland’s response to the outlawing in India of the ubiquitous .450 calibre, following the insurrection in India and the Sudan. This example is particularly rare, being made with a single trigger – a very unusual feature on a heavycalibre double rifle, and, according to the makers, was just the second example they had built.” If you want to be in with a chance of owning this rifle of such remarkable provenance you need to attend the next Holts auction in London tomorrow

(22 June).