Unknown very small Darby

Dear fellow collectors,

recently I managed to purchase an interesting Darby from an Austrian seller who told me that it was actually used by his uncle, who was a policeman. First of all the handcuffs are incredible small - the smallest Darby I have ever seen. The inner diameter is only 5 cm x 3.9 cm. The unplated restraint is of very good craftsmanship and bears several markings. One side is only marked "2" on the bow and "8" on the hinge, but the other bow is marked "1951", "10" and something that looks like "C.P.I." and "PCRA". The swivel also bears a strange mark, which looks like an "I" inserted into a "D" with an arrow above those two letters and a small "4" to the left and a small "3" to the right. The key is marked "10" and "B".

Do you have any information about the manufacturer of this restraint?

Best regards,
Guenter

Guenter

I have one of these as well. You can see a picture in my handcuff gallery where it is lised as unknown Asian Darby. When I bought it from Joe Tanner quite a few years ago he mentioned that it might have come from Hong Kong, but I have no evidence that this is true.



The markings on mine are very similar to yours. C.P.I. over what I thought was ACRA, but i may be PCRA, it is hard to read. The other cuff has the initials T.P. Both cuffs and the key have a large 8 and the cuffs have a small 2. The bottom of one cuff has a clear 1951 date. The swivel has the same strange mark, but mine is not as clear as yours.
The key has the initials T.P. a large 8 and a strange mark that looks like the number 7 with two long slashes through it.

I have always thought this was a strange cuff, but I don't know where it was made. But I would be surprised if it was from Europe. It looks Asian and the small size is more consistent with that origin.

I would also be very interesed to hear from anyone who could identify this cuff.

Dear fellow collectors,

recently I managed to purchase an interesting Darby from an Austrian seller who told me that it was actually used by his uncle, who was a policeman. First of all the handcuffs are incredible small - the smallest Darby I have ever seen. The inner diameter is only 5 cm x 3.9 cm. The unplated restraint is of very good craftsmanship and bears several markings. One side is only marked "2" on the bow and "8" on the hinge, but the other bow is marked "1951", "10" and something that looks like "C.P.I." and "PCRA". The swivel also bears a strange mark, which looks like an "I" inserted into a "D" with an arrow above those two letters and a small "4" to the left and a small "3" to the right. The key is marked "10" and "B".

Do you have any information about the manufacturer of this restraint?

Best regards,
Guenter

Click to expand...

East Indian.

The swivel is the same.

So are the markings around the end cap.

I also had one of these 25 years ago.

The guy I got it from got it from Prynce Wheeler.

Before Tanner came on the scene.

Good deals back then...

Santini www.thedarkmaster.com

Dear fellow collectors,

recently I managed to purchase an interesting Darby from an Austrian seller who told me that it was actually used by his uncle, who was a policeman. First of all the handcuffs are incredible small - the smallest Darby I have ever seen. The inner diameter is only 5 cm x 3.9 cm. The unplated restraint is of very good craftsmanship and bears several markings. One side is only marked "2" on the bow and "8" on the hinge, but the other bow is marked "1951", "10" and something that looks like "C.P.I." and "PCRA". The swivel also bears a strange mark, which looks like an "I" inserted into a "D" with an arrow above those two letters and a small "4" to the left and a small "3" to the right. The key is marked "10" and "B".

Do you have any information about the manufacturer of this restraint?

Best regards,
Guenter

Click to expand...

@Joe: I had another close look at the markings and you are right "ACRA" is more possible.

@Steve: thank you for the information. I have a Sheffield Darby (please see below), which is thought to come from East India, too. It is similar in shape and also has those small dots on the cap.

Best regards,
Guenter

Dear fellow collectors,

recently I managed to purchase an interesting Darby from an Austrian seller who told me that it was actually used by his uncle, who was a policeman. First of all the handcuffs are incredible small - the smallest Darby I have ever seen. The inner diameter is only 5 cm x 3.9 cm. The unplated restraint is of very good craftsmanship and bears several markings. One side is only marked "2" on the bow and "8" on the hinge, but the other bow is marked "1951", "10" and something that looks like "C.P.I." and "PCRA". The swivel also bears a strange mark, which looks like an "I" inserted into a "D" with an arrow above those two letters and a small "4" to the left and a small "3" to the right. The key is marked "10" and "B".

Do you have any information about the manufacturer of this restraint?

Best regards,
Guenter

Click to expand...

I have an identical cuff to the first picture and Joes, only mine has number F21 and a few other numbers. Same logo on swivel. Same 1951 date. Also marked "C.P.I." and "ACRA or ASRA or similar. It's hard to read.

Dear fellow collectors,

recently I managed to purchase an interesting Darby from an Austrian seller who told me that it was actually used by his uncle, who was a policeman. First of all the handcuffs are incredible small - the smallest Darby I have ever seen. The inner diameter is only 5 cm x 3.9 cm. The unplated restraint is of very good craftsmanship and bears several markings. One side is only marked "2" on the bow and "8" on the hinge, but the other bow is marked "1951", "10" and something that looks like "C.P.I." and "PCRA". The swivel also bears a strange mark, which looks like an "I" inserted into a "D" with an arrow above those two letters and a small "4" to the left and a small "3" to the right. The key is marked "10" and "B".

Do you have any information about the manufacturer of this restraint?

Best regards,
Guenter

Click to expand...

Hi Stan,

is yours also such a very small one?

Best regards,
Guenter

Dear fellow collectors,

recently I managed to purchase an interesting Darby from an Austrian seller who told me that it was actually used by his uncle, who was a policeman. First of all the handcuffs are incredible small - the smallest Darby I have ever seen. The inner diameter is only 5 cm x 3.9 cm. The unplated restraint is of very good craftsmanship and bears several markings. One side is only marked "2" on the bow and "8" on the hinge, but the other bow is marked "1951", "10" and something that looks like "C.P.I." and "PCRA". The swivel also bears a strange mark, which looks like an "I" inserted into a "D" with an arrow above those two letters and a small "4" to the left and a small "3" to the right. The key is marked "10" and "B".

Do you have any information about the manufacturer of this restraint?

Best regards,
Guenter

Click to expand...

Yes! 3.9 or 4 cm. X 5 cm. inside.
Stan