A few Webley Juniors ....

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.
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Leonardj
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A few Webley Juniors ....

Post by Leonardj » Wed Nov 20, 2013 5:30 pm

My modest collection of Webley Junior pistols. Still seeking one or two sub-variants, but a reasonably well represented group.

I'd be most interested to learn a bit more about the provenance of this pre-war wood gripped Junior. Back when I purchased it, upon my arrival home, I began pulling out my reference materials to review the details on these early variants, and what I found was a bit of a pleasant surprise, the very gun that I now held in my hand was the exact gun referred to by M. H. Newcomer, in Part III of his article on Webley Air Pistols, back in the June 1978 issue of Guns Review. Yes indeed, this Junior bears the SN of "J121". Another reference to this same Junior can be found in the 3rd Edition of the book Airpistols, by Dennis Hiller. Thus, it would appear that this little fellow has a degree of "celebrity status" over the rest of the Juniors to follow. The box is one that I made up to protect the gun.

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Next up, a pre-war tin plate grip. This particular gun has the fixed rear sight. Again, the box is one of my home made ones.

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This is a very nice specimen of an early post-war Junior with the extended grips. It is in it's original box, complete with the original bill of sale from Simpson's Sears, Canada.
Unfortunately, the date on the bill of sale is not legible, but the total amount of the bill, for the gun, a box of pellets, and a package of darts, was $13.60.

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A very nicely maintained post-war Junior, with the standard grips, also still in it's original box. The box tray has been repaired along one edge.

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This post-war Junior came with a very nice set of finely crafted wood grips. The gun was described to me as being a "salesmen's sample", and thus the "fancy" wood grips. I have found no documentation to verify the authenticity of the grips, but they are very precisely made, and extremely close dimensionally to the usual bakelite grips. The box is again, one of my home made ones.

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This is a very nice specimen of a Junior with the "Suncorite" finish. A significant percentage of the white paint applied to the lettering from the factory remains. The box is again, one of mine.

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And finally, the Mark II Junior. The gun is in remarkably well preserved condition, but the original box is quite faded. As with most of the Mark II versions, it has a rifled barrel.

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pmh
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Re: A few Webley Juniors ....

Post by pmh » Wed Nov 20, 2013 5:37 pm

Another excellent post.

I do like the art work on the boxes. The photo of the youth shooting the pistol always reminds me of the film Kes, the most familiar picture for this film being where the young lad gives the "two fingered salute".

I do like sales receipts too. I have the original sales receipt for my Original Model 10, and this is just as important as the gun itself.

Kind regards,



Phil
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I now have so many airguns I've had to make a list, which is >>HERE<<
>>North Manchester Target Club<<

Certus
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Re: A few Webley Juniors ....

Post by Certus » Thu Nov 21, 2013 11:58 am

Hello Leonard,

A really nice collection of 'Juniors' especially the very early pre-war wood gripped example. It's always nice to establish a bit of provenance associated with a particular pistol. I have a Westley Richards 'Highest Possible Concentric' which has appeared in quite a few magazines and books over the years.

Although original boxes are obviously preferable, I have bought quite a few reproduction Webley boxes from David Clyde to store the pistols which came without boxes. I much prefer to store the pistols in boxes rather than boring old pistol sleeves.

Regards

Brian

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