How common is this variant of the post war Webley Junior box

A place to discuss all things Webley. As this is probably the most collected airgun maker we felt it deserved a section of its own.
Leonardj
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How common is this variant of the post war Webley Junior box

Post by Leonardj » Fri Nov 28, 2014 10:39 pm

I've seen a lot of boxed Juniors over the past few decades, but this is the first that I have seen with a light gray textured covering. A picture of a Junior box lid, with what appears to have the same, very light colored covering can be seen in the Webley Air Pistols book, by Gordon Bruce, on page 98. Unfortunately, no specifics are given as to where this variant falls chronologically.

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In comparing two other Junior boxes in my collection, both of which have the more common, brown, alligator skin patterned covering, a possible chronological order of these boxes appears to unfold, by following the progression of the instructions on the underside of the box lid.

The light gray box has the following label applied to its lid. Thankfully, it isn't shot up too badly.
Note that "No. 1" oil is specified on this label under the "OILING" heading, but that little detail has been dropped on subsequent labels.

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What I believe to be the next iteration of the label has a few changes.
The border has been reduced to a single line, from the double line seen above.
The statement "This Air Pistol is dismantled from the MUZZLE end." has been added under the Instructions for Replacement of Component Parts heading.
The statement "A complete Repair Service is available for all Webley products." has been added to the bottom of the label.

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The next label in progression has even more information added.
The underline for the "CAUTION" heading now extends right to the left edge of the text, now highlighting the caution heading, as well as the text that follows.
Further detail is added under the "CAUTION" heading with the statement, "Damage will be caused to pistol if it is cocked and fired without a pellet".
Along the bottom of the label, the address is added, "WEBLEY & SCOTT LTD., BIRMINGHAM 4.", as well as the notation, "Printed in England".

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Oddly, all three labels bear the same identification notation in the lower LH corner, "C.42". There is nothing to indicate a revision has been made.

I'd be most interested in knowing if there are more than these three variations of the post war instruction label, so if anyone has one of the later plain cardboard boxes with the green and black label, I would request that you compare it to the pics above, and if it differs, please add a pic to this thread.

As well, if anyone has a pre-war Junior box, a picture of the instructions on the underside of that box would be an excellent addition to this thread as well.

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