Early BSA air rifle / army shooting real photo postcard

[edbear2]

Great find, haven't seen a pic like that before. I wonder if it is one of the venues named on the Bsa Prize Rifles. Overbury Court perhaps ?
What part of the country was the vender from ?

He was a postcard dealer from Yorkshire, who sells a lot of stuff, so his location probably is unconnected, really annoying that there is zero information on the un-posted card itself on the reverse it just has; "Post-Card" and "communication" on one side, and "the address only to be written here" opposite, no makers name etc. Maybe it was a private commission by the photographer or organiser as a souvenir as seems a specialist hard to sell subject otherwise.

On closer examination the gun on the seat looks to be a spade grip, can anyone shed any light on the era (I would imagine the uniform to be a clue)...and how many and what type of guns have anyone spotted yet! (not all are obvious at first).

I had a mare of a time uploading it, had to re-size and convert to rgb format, but in original download size it is around 40meg I believe, so may be worth downloading and printing onto photo paper, have not tried this myself yet, and may be able to improve on the scanning as I am a bit of an amateur (used reflective setting, 16 bit greyscale and 3200 d.p.i. resolution (the max the memory would allow), I am sure it will come up better when I can get the missus to have a gander.

[Binners]

I think you can rule out Bisley going by the girth of that Oak tree. Mind you there are few there now that sport those dodgey 'Freddie Fudgepacker' moustaches

[inproved]

Hi Ed..

Superb Find Ed..These are great bit's of the past, that relate to a time when Great Britain was Great...not like now...we shall never see the likes again..As a poet once wrote "Each a glimpse and gone forever"


Regard's

Inproved...Steve..

[Binners]

Hi Ed..

Superb Find Ed..These are great bit's of the past, that relate to a time when Great Britain was Great...not like now...we shall never see the likes again..As a poet once wrote "Each a glimpse and gone forever"


Regard's

Inproved...Steve..

How very true Sir...

[Garvin]

Great find, Ed! Interesting, the suggestion that the smartly-dressed gent on the right is GLJ himself. The only pic I can find of him is from John Knibbs' book.

I've Photoshopped the two side by side and Ed's pic could certainly show an older GLJ - perhaps 15 or 20 years older.

Pic HERE.

[Binners]

Great find, Ed! Interesting, the suggestion that the smartly-dressed gent on the right is GLJ himself. The only pic I can find of him is from John Knibbs' book.

I've Photoshopped the two side by side and Ed's pic could certainly show an older GLJ - perhaps 15 or 20 years older.

Pic HERE.

See what I mean about the 'Freddie Fudgepacker' snoshes

[edbear2]

See what I mean about the 'Freddie Fudgepacker' snoshes

Notwithstanding the trends in San Francisco / New York Village in the 70's and later, and the front man (now expired) who sported this style, at the time of the photo it was a bit different;

"However, the moustache was, in this socially-conscious society, the prerogative of the gentleman. Menservants were required to be clean-shaven, and in contrast to the ornate beards and moustaches worn by the officers of the day, which complemented their rank and age, subalterns and lesser ranks made do with much simpler styles."

"For an officer to shave his moustache would be treated like a breach of discipline and in the gentlemen’s clubs of St James’s, to appear with a naked upper lip was as unacceptable as forgetting to put on your trousers! The moustache also had its attractions for ladies. In the 1880s, Rudyard Kipling wrote of a woman who complained that being kissed by a man who did not wax his moustache was like eating an egg without salt. But a few men skirted this unspoken social edict, whether out of a preference for a clean-shaven face or an inability to grow the coveted thick, luxurious whiskers–as was the case of Winston Churchill, who gave up his struggle to grow one while Second Lieutenant in the Queen’s Own Hussars"

If you get access to a time machine Pete, best maybe not try to explain "fudgepacker" to these guys

[edbear2]

Great find, Ed! Interesting, the suggestion that the smartly-dressed gent on the right is GLJ himself. The only pic I can find of him is from John Knibbs' book.

I've Photoshopped the two side by side and Ed's pic could certainly show an older GLJ - perhaps 15 or 20 years older.

Pic HERE.

Hi Garvin, I had wondered why the photographer had made this pair the main point of focus, but the thought had not occurred to me I recall seeing another photo in a book of him (in earlier times) at possibly Bisley with some army types testing the underlevers, will go and have a mooch. I wonder if the family have anything from that period in his life as a reference.

Anyway, thanks for all the replies / input...the upload is free from copyright if anyone wants to have a go at printing it

[Binners]

Hi Garvin, I had wondered why the photographer had made this pair the main point of focus, but the thought had not occurred to me I recall seeing another photo in a book of him (in earlier times) at possibly Bisley with some army types testing the underlevers, will go and have a mooch. I wonder if the family have anything from that period in his life as a reference.

Anyway, thanks for all the replies / input...the upload is free from copyright if anyone wants to have a go at printing it

Glad to have been of help

[ccdjg]

Great find, Ed! Interesting, the suggestion that the smartly-dressed gent on the right is GLJ himself. The only pic I can find of him is from John Knibbs' book.

I've Photoshopped the two side by side and Ed's pic could certainly show an older GLJ - perhaps 15 or 20 years older.

Pic HERE.

Here's a pic of Lincoln Jeffries Senior in his later years alongside the other two. http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...djg/LJPics.jpg
Judging from the tash, hippy hair style, high forehead and cheek bones the unknown guy in the middle picture has to be LJ. If he was in his 60's at the time this would place the picture just before WW1.

[silva]

I thought it was Lincoln Jeffries to begin with, but then modified the post, as didn't LJ move to New Zealand and die in the early 20's, which would not tally with the timeline. Though aren't there are some protoype LJ rifles and pistols from the 1920's, so could be mistaken.
I wonder if they are regular soldiers or territorials/ militia.
Only a hunch but the picture seems pre WW1 to me.

[ccdjg]

Here's a pic of Lincoln Jeffries Senior in his later years alongside the other two. http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...djg/LJPics.jpg
Judging from the tash, hippy hair style, high forehead and cheek bones the unknown guy in the middle picture has to be LJ. If he was in his 60's at the time this would place the picture just before WW1.

Or maybe not - I thought I had put WW2 instead if WW1 when I read your comment, but in fact I did put WW1. So I am in complete accord with you. Given that LJ Sr was born in 1847 he would have been in his mid 60's just before the start of the first world war, in say about 1912-1914. The guy in the photo looks about that age.