When Fred Harman and Stephen Slesinger had first approached Daisy, they had
proposed that Daisy make a pistol featuring the Red Ryder logo. Not
having yet made a pistol, Daisy executive Bob Wesley sketched the Red Ryder lariat logo
on a carbine and presented it to Slesinger and Harman. A licensing
agreement between Daisy and Fred Harman, illustrator of Red Ryder comics, and Stephen
Slesinger, Steven Slesingerr Inc.,, owner of the Red Ryder property (now Red Ryder
Enterprises, Inc.) was signed October 6, 1939, just over 80 years ago.
The first guns were produced in the spring of 1940.
In 2019, the Daisy Airgun Museum proudly accepted the donation of a very special No. 111, Model 40 Daisy Red Ryder BB gun which was a pre-production gun. It had been presented on April 2, 1940, to Fred Harman, by Daisy execs Cass Hough and Robert O. Wesley.
In exchange for the generous donation of this first model presentation gun, the Daisy Airgun Museum committed to produce 1,000 "Tribute" guns, with each stock laser-engraved with the same words which appeared on the first presentation gun: "ONE ONLY", "LIMITED EDITION", "CERTIFIED" and the signatures of Hough and Wesley. There was also a gold star affixed to the first gun and we have replicated that also.
The frame is a standard model 1938, with domestic wood, and the gun is assembled and packaged in Daisy's Rogers, Arkansas plant. Each gun's forearm has a unique number of issue...from 0003 of 1000 to 1000 of 1000. (The Daisy Museum retains guns 0001 and 0002.) The forearm band is copper plated with a natural patina. The thong is 16" long and knotted at the ends. The gun is packaged in a bubble wrap sleeve inside a custom red and black carton which tells the story of the first gun and of this Tribute Gun! Enclosed with each gun is a fact sheet which includes photos of the first gun and details its provenance. A 7" X 5" Certificate of Authenticity is also included stating that this gun is one of only 1,000 produced. The package is slipped into a single shipper box with the issue number on the end of the shipper.
We're excited that hundred of thousands of visitors to the Daisy Airgun Museum in Rogers, Arkansas will see the original pre-production model Daisy Red Ryder presentation gun over the coming years. Only 1,000 people, however, can own one of these Tribute guns. Because of the collectible nature of this limited edition collectible, we will not custom engrave names or any additional information on these guns.
