Anyone able to ID this revolver? Poss Unwin & Rogers

[Mrs. H]

Hi folks,

I've recently added this little chap to my collection but am unsure exactly who it is...... Its a 5-shot percussion cap revolver with nice proof marks all over the barrel and chamber but no makers details. The only thing resembling a serial number is a '52' stamped to the front part immediately underneath the barrel.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l9...1/revolver.jpg


Anyone seen anything like it before?

Having spent an inordinate amount of time trawling through antique gun sites the only things I've found remotely resembling it are some Unwins & Rogers (Sheffield) revolvers; they all have this rather distinct shape with back swept grip and rounded hammer. Trouble is... they were all signed!
Any pointers gratefully recieved!

[robinghewitt]

That's a Webley Bentley, gotta love the hand spring

[Mrs. H]

Aha! Ta for that!
Always easier to find summit once you know what it is.....!!
I can't believe I've been scouring websites for nigh on 6 months to no avail and within 5 minutes of posting on here its been ID'd!

What might amuse (or horrify!) is that I picked this up an antique auction where the weapons / militaria 'expert' had supposedly worked for the Tower Armories and was held in muchas reverence for his knowledge on all things that go phut and bang. It was catalogued as being an old revolver probably of continental origin.... yep, I can see why they hired him.....
I left a bid on a hunch that there was something about it... and picked it up for little more than a tank or two of petrol. My day job involves a lot of auction visiting and my business colleague is always concerned as to what we might be coming back with that he's not aware of.... Remington... Snider rolling block...... !! Its usually safer for him to just not ask whats in the boot and why I'm grinning like a loon.
Many thanks again for the ID!!

[robinghewitt]

It was catalogued as being an old revolver probably of continental origin.... yep, I can see why they hired him.....

You'd think the proof marks might give it away as English

[RichardH]

Here are a couple of links

http://antiques-emporium.com/

They are advertising one albeit cased at £550

http://www.mlagb.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/Y...num=1137519644

Lots more info including some from our very own Robin and the very clever Mr Hallam

HTH

Richard

[robinghewitt]

The fun bit is the hand spring. You get the impression that Bentley had a complete revolver design but no hand spring. The spring just got longer and longer as he desperately tried to find somewhere he could screw it to the frame

I've just been bitten by a wheelock, released the mainspring and it got me good - OUCH- Looks like someone tried to convert a fowler lock to fit a musq't by remaking the bridle and tilting the axle

Probably done back in the civil war. If I could just figure out where the bridle was originally I'd fix it. I have a CW barrel that would go well with this lock. The lock has a wonderful spouting whale on the bit that holds the pyrites