I have a model 1 in a black gutta percha case.
I was wondering if there is anyway of knowing if the gun is original to the case?

Serial number penciled somewhere?
Factory letter?
Possibly gun serial number range?

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To my knowledge, there's no way to connect the guns to the cases. S&W sold the cases ( and the guns, of course) and delivered both to their distributor/dealers for sale to the public. You could buy a gun and a case, but they were paired by the dealer. Ed.

Thanks Ed

Is there any Idea of the numbers of cases made of the 2 types and variations.

There's lengthy articles by Vern Ekland and others in the early S&WCA Journals on the Gutta Percha cases made by Littlefield & Parsons for S&W, however I don't think there were any records found that gave the quantity produced. These cases were made for the trade and not always for firearms, some were for playing cards, comb & brush sets, backgammon sets, etc. Vern did find some of the gun case molds, however. Ed.

There were just under 4,500 of the thermoplastic cases made. (As an aside ... they are technically not "gutta percha," but that's another discussion for another day). The factory bought them starting in January 1859 and continued buying them until April of 1861.

Unfortunately, I know of no way to positively attribute a gutta percha case to a particular gun. Even if you knew that the gun was originally sold with one (some sort of sales receipt?), there's no way to know that the case in your hands is the same case that it was sold with.

Mike