Description
Westley Richards Cased Set
Westley Richards Cased Set. A very fine cased set containing a pair of Westley Richards percussion belt pistols and accessories. Beautifully cased each pistol has the same serial number and included with the accessories is a fine Sykes 3-Way flask, a ball mould marked WD, a fantastic oil bottle together with ramrod and attachments. The pistols retain virtually all of their original finish.
Westley Richards was founded in Birmingham in 1812 by William Westley Richards at the age of 22. His family background had been in fine jewellery, cutlery and the gun trade. Early in the company’s history, Richards coined the motto, “to be the maker of as good a gun as can be made”, which is still used to this day.
William Westley Richards was an early gun innovator, creating a number of gun-related patents. The two most significant was the patent relating to the use of a new waterproof primer for the ignition of percussion guns and also the first flip-up sight which went on to be used by the British Army. Richards opened a gun store in London in 1815 on New Bond Street. The store was owned and managed by William Bishop, who was known as the Bishop of Bond Street.
In 1865, control of the gunsmith company was inherited by Westley Richards, who was the eldest son of the founder. Richards carried on in a similar vein to his father, innovating various guns and registering patents. In 1862, he was responsible for the innovation of the fastening system used on some rifles. His innovations with rifles continued for the next decade, creating the falling block rifle in 1868 and a solid drawn metallic cartridge case.
