Turnerriver was kind enough to send me a rear view of some of his Seventrees. John, did you notice that this one (I have a new, giant monitor) was moulded twice: once to a Smith and once to a Colt? Very clear, the impressions of the unique shapes of Smith and Colt rear sights and Smith and Colt trigger guards (could the relative position of the cylinders really be that different?).
paris by witty (5).jpg
It's apparent from this image and others, that Paris was using a rubber-faced press to mould his holsters at the outset, then some hand shaping afterwards. Here, it's the sheer depth and uniformity of the impressions; on others it's the coarse texture on the grain side of the holster face, which happens when the pores of the rubber spread under pressure, so leaves the coarse texture behind. A press actually hardens the surface of the leather through compression of the fibres, which is a good thing but it was quite a new notion in Chic Gaylord's day (the 1950s).