Just curious if anyone had any pics of S&W's in Tom Three Persons holsters?

Is this a style or an actual brand of holster? What era were they first used?

Thanks!

Post pics if you have them!

Edited.... I guess I should have "googled" his name first... seems that Tom Threepersons was a real person with an interesting life!

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Linda
SWCA #1965, SWHF #245

A style, by an Indian cop named Tom Threepersons. I think the first were made for him by Myres, about 1920.

His gun was a Colt SAA with a custom front sight.

T-Star

This style is still offered. Do you want vintage photos?

Here's a recent one.

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No life story has happy end.

Here's a rotten pic. of my 1914 4" M&P .38 Special in an original SD Myers Threepersons holster.

SP:

VERY impressive rig !

A couple 38/44 Outdoorsman in Tom Threepersons by El Paso Saddlery





Jerry

Linda, I am computer challenged when it comes to posting pictures. I bumped a thread started by a good friend to the top so you could see ElPaso made Threepersons as well as the Brill design for a 1911. All my best, Joe.

Here's a cool picture of Threepersons Colt Single Action. Holster probably isn't his. .45 Auto and holster owned by "Lone Wolf" Gonsaulles.

Tom Threepersons was born about 1887 in the Cherokee Strip area of Oklahoma. When he was a teenager the family relocated to Alberta, Canada where his father ran cattle. His father was ambushed and murdered by cattle rustlers who were later arrested, then released on bail. Young Tom Threepersons tracked them down to a saloon and shot them dead.

Threepersons later served with the Northwest Mounted Police, then relocated to Texas where he served as a peace officer in San Antonio and El Paso. He developed quite a reputation after several incidents involving shootings of bank robbers and other criminals. In about 1916 to 1920 Threepersons designed a holster for his own personal use and had it made by the S.D. Myres Saddlery Company.

During the 1940's Mr. Threepersons is reported to have declined a contract from Hollywood producers for a movie about his life. He didn't like the script, and didn't like the Hollywood types who wanted to profit from him. He passed away in the 1960's, leaving quite a colorful history behind him.

The Threepersons' style holster became the standard for American law enforcement and sportsmans' markets throughout the 20th Century, with variations made by every major holster maker in the country. One can easily see the influence of the design in many products still marketed today.

El Paso Saddlery (a very fine old-line company) continues to offer the Threepersons-style, as does Don Hume and others.

Earlier this year I located a photograph of Mr. Threepersons' original holster in a private collection. I commissioned several artists to recreate the original carving pattern, and I am now offering authentic reproductions complete with that hand-carving.

Approaching the century-mark, the Threepersons-style will not go away anytime soon.

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Life of the party until 8:00PM

Tom Threepersons - winner of the 1912 Calgary Stampede

Tom Three Persons

More on Tom Threepersons

Alberta: Home, Home on the Plains - Settlement : Adventurous Albertans - Tom Three Persons

Rod

The Legend of Tom Threepersons or Three Persons was discussed not long ago, sorry I'm not sure which forum it was in but it seems there were two different Tom Threepersons/Three Persons and their legends have co-mingled. Some additional reading about the men involved.
Tom Threepersons
The Book Mine Set: Reader's Diary #451- Yvonne Trainer: Tom Three Persons
Tom Threepersons A tale of two Indians - Family, Friends, Firearms
Both prove to be interesting men from the turn of the 19th century.

D R

Dallas PD Reg. Mag. and "Tio Sam" Threepersons

Thanks for all the replies and photos!

I've never really been a fan of these open top holsters, but they are starting to grow on me!

The tooling really adds quite a bit.

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Linda
SWCA #1965, SWHF #245

One of my favorite carry guns in it's favorite holster.
DW

I look forward to getting a couple of the carved LoboGunLeather Tom Threepersons holsters. Ray's work looks very nice !

Here are a couple more from El Paso:



Jerry

Here's my 1950 vintage K-38 Combat Masterpiece in a El Paso Saddlery example.

Attached Images

tom 3-P-2.jpg (120.1 KB, 787 views)

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Stay safe people!

George Lawrence made the model 120 holster which was really a tom Threepersons holster with a strap with a long tab and gave credit to Elmer Keith. This model also has a piece of leather sowed at the top to prevent the rear sight from rubbing.

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Gun Safety is no accident.

Sorry I'm late to the party.These are all S.D. Myres holsters & illustrations.
Regards,
1931 S.D. Myres catalog cut

1950's Myres catalog cut

Model 27 with Threepersons holster with hammer protector

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turnerriver

John:

I have been waiting to see if you would post .

GREAT STUFF !

I am sending $100 for 10 of the carved #614 in assorted barrel lengths !

Thank You !

Jerry

Gorgeous rigs, guys. I'm starting to fall in love with these Tom Threepersons holsters. I wore one similar to them "back in the day" but it was a little lower on the belt. I also had a Border Patrol holster, made famous by Sheriff Bill Jordan.

A good ol' sixgun is just at home in scabbards like these.

Thanks for all the pics!

John, that is some serious looking leather! Do you know how early the holsters with the "hammer protector" were? I see your catalog shows some in 1950... model #624. Were they available in the 1930's ?

Thanks!

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Linda
SWCA #1965, SWHF #245

This may not be a threepersons holster, but it is a carved el paso for a 4" K model. I keep it around for my 3" Lew Horton 66-3, but I also have a 4" M&P and two 4" old colt troopers it will also fit. Come to think of it I will have to try it on my 4" python too.

Linda,the holster shown with the model 27 is a model 814-it first appears in a catalog dated 1941.The black holster with the hammer protector-carved model 614 in the 1950's catalog cut-first appears in an early post-war catalog that is undated but is,I believe,from the late 1940's.Neither model appears in any of the 1930's catalogs I have.
Regards,
John Witty

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turnerriver

S.D. Myers' Tom Threepersons' with a model 12-2.

John,

Just to show how trivial we collectors can be, I've got a trivia question.

Do you know if the tooling patterns that Myres used on each holster were the same for all holsters of that model and varied by model number?

In other words, the pattern for the picture of the 614 in the catalog, your holster, and mine all look very similar. The camera angle is different for each picture but the similarity looks to be there.

If that is the case, and a copy of those patterns is available, it could be a quick method of identifying each model. It would be even more interesting if variations of the same pattern could be shown over the years that the holster was produced to help date them.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and resources on this interesting topic.

Bob

"I also had a Border Patrol holster, made famous by Sheriff Bill Jordan."

Glock 'em Down,

Bill Jordan was a Border Patrolman before WW II, then went into the Marine Corps. He went back into the BP after the war. He was never a sheriff, although his uncle, Henderson Jordan, was a Louisana sheriff, who was present when Bonnie and Clyde were killed.

Bill Jordan took the basic Border Patrol holster, which had been around for a number of years, and had it lined with steel, with a steel shank in the drop part. This kept the holster in a fixed position and also kept the holster from collapsing in his suitcase while traveling to his fastdraw exhibitions.

Don Hume Leather made a version called the Jordan "River" holster and it had Bill's signature on it.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Hi all, hope i dident hijack a thread here but I took the liberty of posting a few pics of the Jordan holster by Don Hume. As you can tell from my dog eared copy of his book, I am a fan of his.

Attached Images

	Jordan holster-2.jpg (88.2 KB, 702 views)
	Jordan holster-1.jpg (118.8 KB, 416 views)

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Stay safe people!

Woops! My bad! I had him confused with Sheriff Jim Wilson.

Don't ask me what I been smokin'!

S&W Holsters made the 01 style with a hammer protector which is sometimes called the FBI style holster. A Tom Threeperson with hammerprotecter (which protects the jacket lining from the hammer spur).

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Gun Safety is no accident.

Hope this helps the thread. Here is a photo of one of Tom Threepersons personal holsters. It was given by Tom to Fred Wells when Fred was about 15. That would make it 1933. Fred went on to become a renowned custom gunsmith in Prescott. Fred passed the holster on to my father who was a good friend of his.
P8222081.jpg

Jim

EPS Threepersons with Model 27-2

Jim,who made the Threepersons holster you showed us ? Very nice looking holster with great history-what else can you tell us about it ?
Thanks for sharing it.
regards,

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turnerriver

I've picked up a bunch of pre-war Threepersons holsters by S.D.Myres over the years. In many sizes from snubby to 6+ inches. They are always works of art.

I don't have all my pics here with me in hospital but the trusty Campbell example is probably one of the best. He even had the matching spare round holder. He used it for both his working Reg Mag and for his weekend fancy off-duty Non-Reg. The other pic is of Campbell wearing the rig and working gun at Quantico circa 1938.

Hope you enjoy.

Dave

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Dave Ballantyne

Dave, great looking holsters & pics!

Thanks for posting!

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Linda
SWCA #1965, SWHF #245

When the holster was given to Fred, it needed some stitching repair. There are no makers marks on. I would have possibly expected SD Myres, but there are none other than "HW" scratched on the back side. My father's note said it was Tom Threepersons "S.A." holster.

As the holster is part of the Wells family heritage, is is my honor to return it to them. I've spoken to Rachel Wells in Prescott (A world renowned firearms engraver!) and I will be returning the holster to her. She may be able to provide more of the history. I'll check with her to see if she knows more.

I'll attach a couple of additional photos.

Jim

PA012143a.jpg

PA012145a.jpg

Turnerriver, here's a photo of a holster that I recently bought. The only marking on the holster is an ink stamp on the backside: "H.E. (Tex) Wolffarth - Lubbock, Texas"

Are you familar with the name??

I did a little checking and found a fellow (Hubert Evan Wolffarth) listed in both the 1910 and 1920 Census for Lubbock, Texas. In 1930 he moved to Lynn County, Texas

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Linda
SWCA #1965, SWHF #245

Ok, here are a few more pics of Myers Threepersons holsters (at least I think they're all Threepersons). I've been picking them up for years at gunshows etc. There are a couple of J Frame, the rest being K's and N's. There is one for a Woodsman or similar.

The final couple of Threepersons look like Myres but they're not. I'm informed that they were made in Texas prisons in the 60's to look like Myres. Go figure! :-)

Last is my own Myers rig. 42 Inch belt with 4 inch N Frame holster. I wear it at my local range on Sundays - occasionally.

I've got a lot of Myres, Heiser, Lawrence and Berns Martin. You can still get them for reasonable prices at shows and from the interest. And they made great leather in the 30's and 40's. :-)

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Dave Ballantyne

Dave, that is some collection!!

I hope you use some of them from time to time.

There's something about the old carved leather holsters that make them special.

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Linda
SWCA #1965, SWHF #245

Great collection of some beautiful leather, Dave.

As a lefty, I particularly appreciate seeing the left hand one with the hammer guard. The southside ones seem to be more scarce than the odds would indicate.

Looks like we have some pretty talented folks in the slammer down in Huntsville. Makes me wonder if they came from El Paso, too.

Bob

I'll bet they did Bob, I just bet they did. :-)

I'm a lefty as well, but shoot righty. When I was taught to shoot they tested for your strong eye, mine was the right. After that it was irrelevant to the instructor if you were left or right handed, you simply used the one that corresponded with your strong eye.

Years later it makes sense, at the time I was less convinced :-)

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Dave Ballantyne

Glad to see so many fans of El Paso Saddlery. I'm not expecting to be jumping around, so I usually order mine with a hammer thong instead of a strap.

3" 547


model 18

El Paso Tom Threeperson holster with S&W 1st model hand ejector

Here's a couple shots of my 30's vintage 38 M&P Target in a S.D. Myres rig....





Mark

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S&W Forum Member #721

Please forgive a Colt 1911 in the S&W Forum, but that weave looks just like my S.D. Myres rig. You don't see many of those around anymore.

...they are breathtaking.

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..front sight, press

I thought I would resurrect this thread to show off my two new Threepersons holsters from LoboGunLeather.

The snubby is a Model 19-3. Keeping in the retro frame of mind with the Tyler t-grip. It just happens to be what I consider the best way to make the factory magnas usable.



The left-handed holster with the Model 63 is my brother's Christmas present from me. The holster, not the Kit Gun. He has an identical 63. Again, I believe the T-Grip adds to the nostalgia of the whole package, while making the little j-frame stocks a little more hand filling.




I'm thinking my next project for Ray might involve my Colt New Frontier .357 (I have about decided to keep it) and a carved or basket weave Threepersons holster with a rawhide thong rather than a strap. Would that combo make a good BBQ rig?

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Georgia On My Mind

Lobo Gun Leather

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Steve
NJ State Trooper (rtd)

Here's another example of an EPS Threepersons. In this case it's for 4" N-frames.



This one has the strap but I think the next one I get will have the leather thong instead.

Dave

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RSVN '69-'71
PCSD (Ret)

Here's one from Simply Rugged that I had made for my S&W 617.

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"I'm your huckleberry."

The "hammer protector" is intended to keep the cover garment from snagging on the hammer and rear sight. Generally credited to Hank Sloan, and holsters with this feature are usually refered to as "Hank Sloan style".

Very popular from mid-60's until the early-80's.

Terrible photo of my pre-29 in an Alamo Leather Works holster. I think its about 30 years old.