Early Parker sight?

[Ian]

I picked this sight up today, I'm assuming it's a variant of the Number 9 sight does anyone know exactly which variant and approximately when it was made (I'm guessing pre-WW1). Also, I've never seen that address associated with Parker before.

Information

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[muffett.2008]

OK you've got me, the address is not a problem, several changes of premises were noted for both A.G and A.J over the years. We need more info and pic's.
Are there any pat. dates? and pictures of the windarm would help to put this one into perspective.

[browningautorifle]

Ian, I thought those were called a 5A sight. I had one and it was marked on the windage arm???

[Rumpelhardt]

note to self. read the post while awake before replying.

Service and TArget Rifle Sights ~ Parker-Hale and B.S.A. about half way down. This might be of some help.

[browningautorifle]

I guess mine wasn't a 5A after all. Maybe a 5. Sorry, I'm not going to be any help.

[Patrick Chadwick]

The company naming was:
Afred Parker - company founded in 1890*
A.G. Parker & Company - from 1900
A.G. Parker & Company Ltd. - from 1904

I therefore conclude that the sight was made in the first period - 1890 to 1900.
It must be one of the earliest Parker sights. A precursor of the No. 9? Originally made for the Long Lee.

At present, it does not seem to be assembled correctly. The adapter plate needs to be rotated anticlockwise, so that the tail is at bottom-right, to fit on an SMLE.

Patrick


*Note: some sources will say 1880. But Greenhill has: Company founded in 1890, and A.G. Parker died in 1975. To have founded a company in 1880 (which would require him being adult, i.e. over 21 in those days) would mean that he was at least 116 years old in 1975 ! Either the 1880 or the 1975 appears to be wrong - or the 1975 date refers to Alfred J. Parker! Can someone clarify this with proper source references?

[Patrick Chadwick]

Greenhill also gives the company address (citing English Gunmakers) as:
69 Icknield Field St. from 1894 - 1900.

This seems to push the Cecil St. address back to before 1894, making it truly an extremely early sight - maybe for a Lee-Metford???

Patrick

[browningautorifle]

I think the sight is folded foward. I remember they do that as if to fold them out of the way. Then the windage arm folds up out of the line of sight.

[Peter Laidler]

It never fails to amaze me what you can learn from this site.......... Well done all you subscribers inc BAR, PC, muffer and Rumplehart

[Ian]

Thanks for all of the replies, there are no markings on the windage arm, beyond the windage markings, which are inscribed directly into the arm. The arm itself does fold, so we're on to something there. Additionally the Iris has BSA marked on it and a patent number ending in -03, but I'm not sure the iris is original to the sight. The mount plate is marked only 'Alf Parker' with no trade marks or addresses. I'm thinking the sight as it sits now is in the folded position, and it'll take a screw driver to allow it to rotate. The mounting plate is identical to the one shown in the Parker catalogue to allow the mounting of the Number 9 sight to the SMLE, so I'm guessing that that pretty much confirms it, it's an early Number 9 (designed for the Long Lee) on a conversion plate to allow mounting on the SMLE. Now I'm going to have to get an early SMLE to put it on, my earliest is a 1918 Lithgow.





I have no clue how this fellow ended up on the western edge of the Empire - but as with all of this stuff, I wish it could talk! Many thanks to everyone for your help, I'm pretty sure there's nowhere else that I could get an answer to a question about something so obscure.

The sight does in fact fold:



and deploys: