My own interest began more than sixty years ago when I was a National Service soldier, and picked up a vintage Webley Mark 1 from a shop in the Strand. I have been a steady collector since those days, and now have (in addition to many others) a complete set of Mark 1 Webleys from 1924 onwards. I'm not limited to Webleys, of course, and I don't expect to find mint examples, just honest ones, and I prefer that they should all be shootable - though I don't get much shooting nowadays. My interest is mainly in pistols, for the two reasons that a) they are more easily portable, and b) much more easily stored, than long guns of any kind. I will buy any specimen that takes my fancy (and that I can afford) and I don't worry about it being re-finished, if it's the genuine article; and I have to confess that I am not a collector of boxes!

John