I have this feeling that the camera isn't doing that beautiful peacock-blue finish any justice, and it looks even better in-person.

@sundoga4961

4 ай бұрын

Almost certainly. I've seen that "peacock" bluing up close in other cases (not as dramatic as this one!), and it can be absolutely spectacular in the light.

@jonathanferguson1211

4 ай бұрын

Possibly not - you can find some really nice photography of it on our online collection page - I can't link to it but if you Google Royal Armouries collection you can search art deco Baby Browning and you should find it in the first page of results.

@sheogorath2657

4 ай бұрын

It’s the “what’s the dress’ color“ type of color. It’s so beautiful

@danpatterson8009

4 ай бұрын

For metal objects I like to use polarizers on the lights and a cross-polarizer on the camera lens to block the specular highlights. Takes a bit of fiddling but works pretty well.

@xxxy9928

22 күн бұрын

always filming under low light

Art Deco needs a major comeback.

@funestis

4 ай бұрын

Yay Fallout era

@thebreadbringer9522

4 ай бұрын

@@funestis Not quite. Art Deco was at its height in the 1920s. Whilst Fallout does borrow some of its elements, it is primarily mid-century modern.

@samholdsworth420

4 ай бұрын

Yeah nah mate

@oldesertguy9616

4 ай бұрын

I agree wholeheartedly.

@molochi

4 ай бұрын

@@thebreadbringer9522 While I'd agree that the Fallout aesthetic is MCM it does also dip into Deco for it's "high class" style. In particular I think the cars look like some melding of deco applied style rather than a 50s-60s car.

My Dad's been carrying a 100% all-original Baby Browning in his pocket since bought brand new in 1966, just before the 1968 import ban. Originals are still around, but 100% factory original 1-owner examples are rare as hen's teeth. Its tiny leather holster is just about worn to death from 6 decades of rubbing against denim! About 15 years ago he was lucky enough to buy some of the last original spare pre-'68 FN magazines from the guy that took over PSA who maintains the licensing rights to produce present-day reproductions (Precision Small Arms; the other PSA!). When it's passed onto me it's going straight into the vault, it'll be one of my most prized possessions from a sentiment standpoint

This thing's even more beautiful in person, but I did enjoy how giant the display case was in comparison to the size of the gun

@jonathanferguson1211

4 ай бұрын

We were trying a few new things with that display, and giving one object its own case was one of them. I have mixed feelings on the results - I think a small case on a pedestal would be better.

I would not consider the gun itself a work of art, but the artwork on the gun itself is very much art, which makes the gun a piece of art. 🤔

The fact that Browning at the time was pretty much a synonym for a self loading pistol in Europe...the man really was brilliant

These are still manufactured in the US by Precision Small Arms (PSA). I came across them when I was pondering adding a suppressor to my Colt 1908 Vest Pocket Pistol a while back. The generic gun is called the PSA-25 BABY (including the book) and runs about $1,000. There is a Renaissance model which comes in Gold, Red Gold and Stainless Steel (and a few other variations) and runs around $4,000. There are “Grand Exhibition” models for $4,500-$7,000 and “Master Class Engravers” models for $5,000-$9,000. For another $200 there are two different internally threaded barrels available and for $800 there is a suppressor.

@Getpojke

4 ай бұрын

WOW!, the Precision Small Arms (PSA) website has some very, very pretty toys on it. Well worth a look, even if only to drool.

Art, Shmart! It was an effective firearm in 1965. My Baby Browning hideout gun was riding comfortably in my right front trouser pocket when three men armed with table legs attacked me from hiding. The melee ended with three shots finding their mark-one dead and two sufficiently wounded to change their minds. No, it wasn't engraved. I stupidly sold it to a school bus driver for $25 when I left the force. (Kansas City Star, 19 April, 1965).

No words, only guns. Based

The maker's name on the Art Deco piece has a lot to be said for it. After deciding they were going to put on their name, they went big and made it a feature. The typeface is really interesting--of its era, but with a hint of the handmade and irregular, and they've kept it dignified with no abbreviations at all. I guess they were thinking of this gun staying in a family for a long time, and with old weapons, we're really glad when they're properly signed. Overall decoration would have been good, too, but I kind of like they way they've gone loud and proud--"We are the Famous Fabrique Nationale, from Herstal, in Belgium. Remember Us".

Engraving by hand is just an amazing skill.Those people were artists in my book.Unfortunately,none of my books have a beautiful little Browning in.

That belongs in a museum ✨️

Ah sweet skin for that gun, DLC case too I see~ Definitely a work of art right there!

I have to give a big thank you to Jonathan Ferguson and the Royal Armouries for presenting these "Baby" Browning pistols by FN! I like the metallic and "plated" look of these "custom" decorated hand guns so much. As a young teen nearly 40 years ago, I bought an Edison Giocattoli cap gun. It was the Falcon or Falconmatic (as on the packaging) and I used metallic tinted paint markers to give that little Italian cap gun a "custom" "metal" finish and some details. lol good times man, good times 😊

During my career with the Victoria Police in Australia, the old Women Police Division had .25 calibre Browning auto pistols for Policewomen ... My first Uniform Branch at Maidstone, had .32 Browning auto pistols on issue as the .38 Special revolver was just being introduced .... Fascinating firearm

i'm going Wednesday to the Royal Armouries in Leeds to see the new exhibition

@williestyle35

4 ай бұрын

Congratulations! Hope you have a smashing good time!

I have a Baby Browning from 1966, in fairly good condition. My grandfather bought it, of course having no idea that importation would be outlawed 2 years later.

The art deco look is amazing, I'd love to see it on something more modern on the market.

@P4brotagonist

4 ай бұрын

It's hard to do honestly. These weren't exactly mass produced back then. You can still get one of these made, you just have to pay someone/a company for it.

@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge

4 ай бұрын

You can. It'll cost you a fortune though, just like this did. I guess the only real difference is that almost 100 years ago manufacturers would have a handful of engraved models commissioned for presentation.

What a beautiful firearm! Art Deco seriously needs to come back into style.

Great. Now I have to waste an inordinate amount of time researching this peacock blue business. Thing is beautiful.

Felix Funken did a number of art deco designs at FN as primarily presentation and exposition pieces. All of the example guns stored at FN were lost to the Germans in WWII.

There are old buildings in San Francisco that have artwork like that throughout. Beautiful

This is absolutely beautiful. I collect a lot of things and art deco is always my favourite style. Seems like such a bold simple optimistic time full of everything larger than life. They the world went all institutional solid soft colours.

I personally think the Mauser C96 in a standard blue finish is a work of art so you don't have to work hard to convince me. Anything that moves you is art.

@mpow3r972

4 ай бұрын

Same. Inherited an unfired C96 with serial number matching shoulder stock, still with the packing grease from the 1930s in the barrel and action, from my great grandfather, to my great uncle, then me, in a safe deposit box after my great aunt died. I bought ammo for it, but to this day, 7 years later... I don't want to fire it. I can't bring myself to fire such a pristine firearm of yore. Meanwhile, I put 500 rounds through my HK P30 on the day I bought it though 😂

@JunkyardBashSteve

4 ай бұрын

@@mpow3r972 that's probably worth a pretty penny!

THE BABY

I really want to visist the reloaded exhibition however it is a bit far, maybe on my birthday.

Damn I would be terrified of firing that Art Deco gun. Which just once again makes me question such highly decorative weapons.

It’s gorgeous. Art Deco, was a high point in design.

I wish Art-deco would have had a more lasting impact in design. Something about it so complex and substantial whilst also being minimalist and understated. It has an angelic quality that feels hopeful of the future and respects the drive of mankind. Instead of modern designs that seem to belittle humanity and it's dreams.

They're just simply gorgeous guns! Art? Absolutely.

I absolutely do not understand art but I know it when I see it and I’m seeing it right now. That’s beautiful pistol is absolutely a work of art!

The Art Deco period was pretty phenomenal and has not been repeated - a very recognisable artistic decorative movement where the decorations and designs were universally and practically incorporated into all fields from architecture, to crockery, clothing, graphic design, machinery, tools, trains, everything! That level of universal integration has never been matched for any design movement.

That is some gorgeous finishing. I also think anything can be art if it makes you think, and I consider design to be technical art, or art with a less abstract and more practical purpose

Old: Want a fancy gun? Spend a lot and get a work of art. New: I put a sticker on it.

In regards to the heel magazine release (mentioned at 8:08), it should noted that one of the finest service pistols the SIG P210 still had it. So it stuck around for quite some time even after the 1911.

@derekp2674

4 ай бұрын

Heel releases are a better choice, if an army is only going to issue two magazines per pistol and does not want its soldiers to ever lose any. Super fast reloads are more of a competition or Hollywood thing these days.

@donjones4719

4 ай бұрын

@@derekp2674 Yes, and to my limited understanding armies and police forces in Europe were worried about a magazine being accidentally dropped when the user squeezed the button mounted up so close to the grip. The user *probably* wouldn't do this but probably isn't good enough when equipping large numbers of troops.

@JunkyardBashSteve

4 ай бұрын

heck, some versions of Ruger's .22 pistols still have them.

@onii-chandaisuki5710

4 ай бұрын

​@@donjones4719I've actually seen a few (maybe four) videos of law enforcement and private citizens accidentally hitting the mag release, in a firefight. So it's not as rare as you might think. Under stress, you might very well 'over' grip your pistol and press the release.

@steves2664

3 ай бұрын

@@JunkyardBashSteve lol, I have a cheapo Jimenez ja22 that has a heal release.

I have had a Baby Browning clone by the company PSP for many years. When I was young and could see the tiny sights I found that it could be fired accurately at longer ranges just like a full sized 9mm pistol. It is an amazing little gun.

Hello, from Georgia. No, not that one, the other one across the pond. Too bad provenance could not be established on the Art Deco. I trust your Scooby Gang will eventually figure it out. Beautiful examples all around. Thanks for another great video!

That Art-Deco Browning reminds me of Prey (2017)/Mooncrash, which has an option to decorate your weapons in a lovely art deco coating! 😇

Stunner!!!

3:32 Beautiful design! It looks simply incredible ☀

I'm glad it was you that mentioned the Fabrique Nationale cartouche. I was sitting thinking "Wow either the owner slapped that on themselves or an apprentice did it in the factory." It seems so incongruous when compared to the rest of the finish. All three are lovely pieces though, you must pinch yourself every day at work knowing that its your job to be the keeper/curator of such a wonderful collection.

This is the gun I was looking for when I was discussing a gun in a tv series. I was discussing with my mom about the TV series "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" and the main character has a Smith and Wesson snub-nosed revolver that is gold plated and with ivory grips, and I pointing out that that style (gold plating) does not fit the character. This is more the roaring 20s feel I would say fits the Miss Fisher character. It is probably a case of it being easier to get a gold plated revolver for a tv series then a very rare art deco decorated gun.

In Finland, old folks still refer to any pocket-size handgun as "Rauninki", meaning a Browning.

Another great video from the Royal Armouries. Well worth a trip to see their fantastic collections!

You got the best job ever

@weswolever7477

4 ай бұрын

The colabs with Ian are great

good evening to thee, may it be known when will be an Episode on the channel about the "Beretta Model 1918" moschetto, that would be a brilliant piece of documentary to watch! I know Frederick Clifford, he wrote quite some about this self loading carbine (modestly speaking, so I did) Brilliant piece of weaponry in this video, I used to see as well Beretta pistols of this similar reduced size and caliber at their Private Museum

@jonathanferguson1211

4 ай бұрын

There is every chance that it will appear in future :)

@vittoriovaglio2031

4 ай бұрын

@@jonathanferguson1211 what a pleasure, thank you plenty for the information

This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen

That's the kind 😆 3 stooges reference: "Stick em up or I'm gonna let ya have it!" In all seriousness though, that's a gorgeous job done on there.

could you do a series on the evolution of firearms in the British Army, perhaps starting with the War Of The Three Kingdoms, would love to know about The New Model Army and how that lead to the various places where the British Army has led the way in infantry tactics, the development of modern light infantry doctrine during the peninsula campain and how the Brown Bess and the Baker rifle were used by the light companies and then how the P51 came about, the evolution from flint to precussion, smooth bore to rifled... god theres SO MUCH I WANT TO LEARN!

Beautiful '' Great Video 💯💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

The European Reload & Magazine lever trivia bit got me.

Thanks for the video. That's a beautiful pistol.

Beautiful

Incredible piece Jonathan! The blue really speaks to me. Amazing

That is just beautiful!

Work of art. The colors are beautiful.

Excellent video , as always 👍

Love it.

excellent video - such an interest piece!

Thats absurdly lovely

Wonderful. Since I was a small boy, I have had a fascination with small pocket pistols. These truly are spectacular!!

Outstanding! I have some non-firearm Art Deco pieces like that (jewelry boxes and cigar boxes mostly) so I can just imagine what that looks, feels and even smells like (lol) in real life. What an awesome piece of art! The colors were amazing, even on camera. Thanks for the look, Jonathan. Cheers!

thank you

You have the best job ever!!

OMG... THAT Is a BEAUTIFUL pistol!

Ok Jonathan i subscribed. For the first time in my life, askinf for my subscription worked. I just love you guys and want to support what you do. I wish i could get across the pond and check out your exhibits.

@RoyalArmouries

4 ай бұрын

You're one of us now. 🙃Hopefully you'll be able to come one day. We'll be waiting!

It is artwork.

I have a 1950's edition, non-engraved, of course. Choke up on the grip when firing, and you will get a nasty slide bite on the web of your hand. It is a 2 finger pistol for close range self defense, mag-drop & re-load is totally impractical. It is, however, cute as all get out, and quite an amazing little piece of machinery, almost like a Swiss Watch.

It is lovely. I have a ‘similar’ Spanish Destroyer pistol with full engraving and gold demascene. But that FN has that Deco style!

I;ve been waiting for this since it was mentioned in passing a few days ago.

Absolutely sublime, the gold inlaid lining and sunburst is incredible against the Peacock bluing. Many years ago I was in The Bull over in St Asaph with my late father, probably around 85/6. The landlord was an avid collector of arms and police memorabilia, he had a stunning collection of early Webley air pistols and revolvers, but as we were talking with him at the bar he showed us a small book with a picture of a small muzzle loading percussion pistol, and then produced a velvet bag with a small leather case in it, which contained the pistol, which was under 2 inches long, with a hidden trigger that dropped down when the hammer was cocked, the things was exquisitely engraved with ivory grip, complete with ram rod tiny ball ammunition and percussion caps that were no bigger than the head of a pin. It was an apprentice piece made in the mid 1800's by a gunsmith apprentice in London, I forget the name but it was not one I knew. There are some utterly stunning firearms out there that can easily be considered a work of art, they always excite me when I see them

Just..wow

I’m half expecting Poirot to pop out from behind the screens. Probably shouting I’m a more famous Belgian

If it was titled “Billion dollar babies” I might be interested in it.

That very much might have been an item made to prove yourself worthy to be a master craftsman.

I went to the Lithgow small arms museum in NSW the other week. They had some amazing guns. Great place to go if you want to see SMLEs and FALs. They also had a huge collections of pistols. I could swear I saw a BB but didn't take too many pics.

The first firearm I fired was a baby browning when I was 10/11 years old , we `borrowed` my mates ( Geoff Hurrell ) moms pistol and went up the kopje/hill in Gwelo and fired it , we also on a different occasion killed an 8 foot black mamba at the firing range behind the hill ( we thought it was a cobra and we were safe ???? ) and got our picture in the Gwelo times .

Man, that is a lovely piece that the camera probably doesn't do justice.

Mine has an aluminum lower receiver but is not so stunning as these two. I do believe art is the appropriate word.

I have a strong feeling this is actually an apprentice's piece, probably their graduation project in training to be a master engraver. The engraving itself is a bit rough and covers just about every style popular at that time that a master of a previous generation probably wouldn't favour, it's like an artist's portfolio of work and the engraver was clearly not proficient in mother of pearl given the slip ups shown on the basic FN logo there. Just my thoughts as a designer, sculptor and artist myself.

Some firearms that I would like to see in a video: L-41 Sampo, Solothurn 31M, Saive SLEM-1, Mannlicher 35M, SAV Model 40 (Knorr-Bremse).

I know it's probably deceiving through the camera, but I like the finish on the 1905 vest pocket the most even though it may not be as elaborate.

Beautiful pistols all three. Thank you for the wonderful view! Here in the US you could pick up a Belgian one relatively cheap 15-20 years ago. The Internet did away with that! Even the "clones" are gaining value!

The zeroth edition, one might say. Does contain a great pop-up to look at…except it is manual pop-up so you have to lift it up yourself.

I actually own the renaissance book pistol in your intro, I was pleased to see one besides mine. Very hard to find any info on it.

John Browning died long before the Browning Baby was introduced by FN. Dieudonne Saive was the one who worked on it.

How many hours would have someone sunk into engraving like this?

Isn't that a ladies garter gun (handbag gun) . Something to take with you on the Orient Express😊. How has it come to the Royal Armouries ?

@jonathanferguson1211

4 ай бұрын

Unfortunately for the owner it was surrendered in the 1997 "handgun" buy-in. The type was intended for handbags, vest pockets etc yes, but I doubt anyone buying this would consider carrying it.

@causewaykayak

4 ай бұрын

@@jonathanferguson1211 Thank you for that. Poor owner.

@jonathanferguson1211

4 ай бұрын

Yes, I always feel bad because I personally think the role of collectors is essential, but hopefully they received what it was worth, and it's ended up in a national collection rather than destroyed.@@causewaykayak

@causewaykayak

4 ай бұрын

@@jonathanferguson1211 Thank you for that extra comment. At least it is in the hands of careful curators and there for all to admire. Collectors ARE so important and not just in the field of firearms.

Reminds me of late small swords. Masculine jewelry.

"No words, only gun" - Jonathan Ferguson, 2024. I know it wasn't what you said but that's what my brain converted it to :)

I'd pull the grips to check for a signature

@rjnz85

14 күн бұрын

I came here to say the same thing, the initials are probably under the grips, not that id be game to remove them

@Jezus42

14 күн бұрын

@rjnz85 very very carefully

damn im quick for once

I owned an old Baby Browning in the 1970s. I don't remember it having any decoration. It was a great pocket gun. I think I traded it for a Charter Arms Bull Dog.

I believe there is more to the design of the 'Art Deco" example. Whilst the panels exhibit the geometric form generally associated with the Art Deco movement the floral designs within the borders exhibit the natural, sinuous style of Art Noveau. It could be a key link in the Cross over of the two styles.

Haha! I made a book with a secret compartment for a toy gun when I was a child. It was an old phone book, and I had my parents permission. Yes, we had something called "phone books" when I was young. They were made of paper. Ask the museum guy if you need further explanation.

I'm sure I've seen that in a book in Wee Mark's library. Dufton says happy New Year John.

Decorative finishes on modern pistols can be tricky, For some reason, possibly because of their curved surfaces, revolvers generally look good when decorated, but semi-automatics don't always fare as well. (Maybe because their shapes tend to be utilitarian.) The little Brownings are gorgeous, possibly because they're cute. On the other hand, I remember seeing a Mauser PP or PPK that had been engraved and then completely gold plated. My reation was what sort of pimp would carry that? Or would it be for one of his girls?

As engraving and such goes, that's nice. Still gaudy for me but I once borrowed a really tacky gold-plated Beretta of the same caliber and I was like, 'Goddess, let me get home safe or *someone's* dying very embarrassed.'

I can see making duded-up versions of the low serial numbers for publicity or to appeal to wealthy collectors who just have to "be first". If conservator rules allow, have you inspected the areas under the grips? Presumably those would go on last, so the engraver might have had the freedom to make a personal mark there.

check under the grip for a signature