Originally Posted by
Abasmajor
Hello Richard,
You have a lovely example of a pre-war Webley 'Straight Grip' Mk1 and most UK collectors have probably owned a Webley air pistol in their time, but it is not widely known that the first Webley air pistol design dates from 1910. Up until this time Webley had been mainly concerned in manufacturing firearms for both the civil and military markets. In 1910 W.J. Whiting, Chief Designer in Webley’s Revolver and Pistol Department applied for a patent to protect a new type of air pistol. The design incorporated an air cylinder in line with the barrel, the mechanism being cocked by lifting the front of this cylinder away from the barrel until the sear engaged, when it was returned to its original position. Unfortunately, this resulted in the in a pistol with an overall length of more than 15”,which made it very barrel heavy and difficult to shoot with accuracy and comfort. The other factor which may have influenced the decision not to proceed with the project was that the need for a Firearms Certificate had not yet been introduced so live firing pistols were still readily available. The pistol looked remarkably similar to the company’s .22 semi- automatic pistols and would have been constructed to the same high standard. Unfortunately , only a single prototype of the pistol was ever made which is on display at the Birmingham Industrial Museum.
Following the introduction of restrictive legislation regarding the private ownership of firearms in 1920, Webley looked once again at the possibility of producing a commercially acceptable air pistol. In 1923 two senior members of the Weaman Street factory, Douglas Johnstone and John Fearn, working in conjunction with an independent advisor Frank Clarke, provisionally patented the now famous design for a compact “overlever “ air pistol we all recognise today.
The first examples of the design designated the Mk1 appeared in 1924 and were an immediate success. The barrel on these early pistols was retained by a single spring clip which was soon replaced with a double clip to provide better barrel retention. This too was soon replaced with the now familiar sliding latch which was a far more elegant solution. Early “Springclip” Webley air pistols however are extremely rare and fetch very high prices whenever they appear for sale.
The so called “Straight Grip” Mk 1 was made between 1924 and 1935 during which some 50,000 pistols were produced in either .177 or .22 calibre. The pistol was of all steel construction with a rifled barrel and included an trigger adjustment screw together with a handy little safety catch fitted to the side of the frame. The rear sight was only adjustable in the vertical plane but was perfectly adequate for the intended purpose.
These pistols are quite accurate at ranges between 6 -10 yards but are extremely hard to cock until you learn the knack. Current prices vary from between £100 -£200 depending on condition with a significant premium to be added if the pistol is offered together with its original cardboard box.
Your pistol's late Ser No (46810) would indicate that it would probably have been made towards the end of the 'Straight Gip' Mk1 production in 1935 when the 'Slant Grip' models were introduced.
Hope this provides a bit of background to the history and development of your pistol.
Regards
Brian
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