Original British Victorian Webley-Pryse Style Top Break Double Action Revolver by F. Barnes & Co. of London – Serial 4880 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a most interesting EARLY 6 shot .450 Caliber revolver probably made circa 1870, and marked on the top of the cylinder strap by maker F. BARNES & CO LONDON. Frederick Barnes & Co. are a known Victorian Era gunmaker, recorded in London at 3 Union Row between 1851 and 1856, 109 Fenchurch Street between 1851 and 1904, and at 67 Minories between 1851 and 1855. The Company also had premises in Birmingham between 1831 and 1903, and in Sheffield between 1839 and 1904.

This revolver is a very nice Webley-Pryse style design, top break with a built in ejector, and works in both double and single action. However, it has a single sided release to break open the frame, probably to avoid infringing on the Pryse patent, which had a double sided release. It is marked with the the CROWN / CROSSED SCEPTERS proof of Birmingham. These proofs are seen on the side of every chamber on the cylinder, as well as twice on the underside of the barrel, which have the V “Viewed” and BPC Birmingham Gun Company abbreviations, respectively. The left side of the barrel is marked with serial number 4880. There is also a DN stamped onto the recoil shield, visible when the frame is open.

There is no caliber marking that we could find on the revolver, but the bore measures about .440″ land to land at both the muzzle and the breech end, with the cylinder chambers measuring about .460″ at the muzzle and .486″ at the breech ends. The cylinder is only 1.315 inches long, which is too short for both .476 Enfield or .455 Webley, so we assume this is for .45 Adams / Boxer.

The revolver still shows lots of the original deep blue/purple blued finish on the barrel, cylinder, and frame, with a more worn patina on the trigger guard and some other areas, which may have originally been case hardened. It has lovely bag shaped checkered walnut grips, showing very little wear from use, just a bit from storage. This is most likely an Officer’s Private Purchase item which has seen little or no use. Gently aging showing very little wear of any type.

The revolver functions perfectly in both single and double action, with accurate indexing and a solid cylinder lockup. There is just a bit of wobble in the cylinder at full cock, not uncommon on a revolver of this age. The frame breaks open correctly with the ejector presenting correctly. The design is slightly different, so it does not “snap back” when fully opened, instead the hinge closes a bit to return the extractor to the closed position. The bore is in excellent condition, showing a bright finish with crisp lands and grooves and very little sign of wear.

This wonderful revolver would have been appropriate for the South African ZULU WAR of 1879, the EGYPTIAN WAR of 1884 followed by the SUDANESE WARS and those throughout BRITISH INDIA. Probably in as close to mint condition as they get! Definitely extremely rare, ready to research and display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: circa 1870
Caliber: .45 Adams / Boxer
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Overall Length: 10 5/8 inches
Barrel Length: 5 3/4 inches
Action: External Hammer Double/Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver