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08-12-2018, 11:19 AM
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Sal, very nice comment just above and I feel the same way with regard to you of course. I will also say that the OP, who I do not know personally and his relatives, before and after will hopefully treasure it and keep it and judging from the photos, I can only say they have done as well as anyone could be expected in caring for the gun and leather. Kudos for really exceptional care to date for this artifact.
CB
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08-12-2018, 02:44 PM
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At least three known Lew Seely Pistols
Quote:
Originally Posted by crossv
I'm sure you know if you ever want to sell this gun that even if you give Sal top of the list many of us would compete for it and I would be one.
I am going to want to work with you if you will let me on Lee or Lew Seely because now I can really suspect he must have been a sort of gun dealer but likely for discriminating users, given the two examples we now have. Surely someone knows some of his history. (Did you buy guns from him, Ed?) Note: As posted below RIA sold SN 29813 as lot 22 in 9/15/2013 auction with gold wash and Type 2 Oscar Young engraving shipped 11/7/1901 to Lew Seely, but grips were rubber and Seely apparently added pearls himself - strange. Maybe he liked pearls (itself strange on large western guns) and S&W at times couldn't deliver.
I have attached NM #3 31922 shipped to Seely 9/24/1903 with probably style 1 Young family engraving. Not mentioned in the letter is that A.J.T. is engraved on the backstrap, I believe at the factory.
I plan to send for a new letter on this gun, which I have done on several that had old letters. I have gotten some new info sometimes, I think because Roy has gotten better over time with maximizing the available records. (Don, don't tip him off so we get a valid test.)
CB
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With pistol NM #3 SN31922 noted by CB and my SN 30397, I now know of three guns shipped to Lew Seely, again no address listed. The link below shows one SN29813 being sold at auction in 2013.
Cased Documented Special Order Factory Engraved By Oscar Young Gold Smith & Wesson New Model 3 Singl
LC
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08-12-2018, 03:28 PM
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I don't know much about vintage S&W's, but I do know that is a magnificent gun.
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08-12-2018, 09:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by opoefc
cb, I checked my old records and I can't find any gun purchases from Mr. Seely! As you know, S&Ws like this scream "factory & Oscar Young" as noted above by you and Mike, etc. Sleepers like this are still out there and that'a what keeps Sal up at night! Ed.
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I found a Mr. Lew Seely in the 1900 Federal Census along with his obituary stating he was a gunsmith in Casper Wyoming:
Born June 1848
Occupation is Gun Smith Dept Store
Can't be coincidence; the name, occupation, location and time period.
Now I have to try and match the initials on the backbone of the gun. For me that should be the last piece of putting the historical trail together on this gun.
LC
Last edited by lencheever; 08-12-2018 at 10:22 PM.
Reason: Added Attachment with obituary
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08-12-2018, 11:17 PM
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I found another interesting bit of info while searching the 800 pages of the History of Natrona County Wyoming. Louis "Lew" Seely, the person who my pistol was delivered to from Smith and Wesson, and a Mister William Kimball were tied together in many goings on in Casper Wyoming. They both shared being Mayor of Casper, Mr. Kimball on many occasions, council members, and both belonged to Masons and other organizations.
Could this be the "W.K" on my pistol. I believe the Lew Seely, local gunsmith and store owner, part of the history is correct. Will be harder to prove that the "W.K." is in fact William S. Kimball.
Attached is a small portion of their history together.
LC
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08-17-2018, 01:35 PM
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VERY nice. Make sure you cherish it, however, if you decide to sell it make sure it finds a new home with a tenured collector / member. That's too nice to have it fall into the wrong hands.
Personally, I hope you keep it. Good luck with that magnificent piece of S&W history.
__________________
Salvatore Raimondi
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08-17-2018, 02:35 PM
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I'm absolute thrilled that the letter reflected all that revolver is and offer my hardest congratulations. Personally I hope you never have to sell it.
That revolver should be on display in a museum not in a safe of a collector and I mean no disrespect to collectors here because I'm one also.
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08-17-2018, 03:56 PM
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Interesting thread, wonderful gun, great history, wish it were mine.
Walt
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08-19-2018, 10:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lencheever
I found another interesting bit of info while searching the 800 pages of the History of Natrona County Wyoming. Louis "Lew" Seely, the person who my pistol was delivered to from Smith and Wesson, and a Mister William Kimball were tied together in many goings on in Casper Wyoming. They both shared being Mayor of Casper, Mr. Kimball on many occasions, council members, and both belonged to Masons and other organizations.
Could this be the "W.K" on my pistol. I believe the Lew Seely, local gunsmith and store owner, part of the history is correct. Will be harder to prove that the "W.K." is in fact William S. Kimball.
Attached is a small portion of their history together.
LC
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You very well may be on to something there, it's a beautiful pistol and the fact that you have the original leather with it puts it over the top.
It's a complete package and a well authenticated rig - hopefully you never have to sell it but if so you may well be surprised what it would bring at auction when the real big dogs start opening their wallets
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08-19-2018, 10:21 AM
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I don't think WOW covers it enough, but what a wonderful gun, inheritance and story behind it.
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Vaya con Dios
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08-19-2018, 03:11 PM
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I had forgotten that I already had known back in 2015 about the RIA gun and also one other NM#3 target in a S&W newsletter. See this older posting:
Lew Seely
So we have pretty good details on three:
29813 shipped 11/7/1901 style 2 engraving no backstrap mark
29813 cased but case not marked either
31922 shipped 9/24/1903 min engraving marked A.J.T.
30397 shipped 11/5/1904 style 4 engraving marked W.K.
30397 also 6 in bbl and factory pearl stocks
There was also a post in that older thread about a single action topbreak that was also a one gun shipment handled by Seely, but I am personally more interested in the engraved NM#3 targets, especially with backstrap markings.
I don't know when I will have time to run down that old newsletter post, but if it has owner info or serial, I am happy to pay for a letter to see how it fits in our group.
Mr Cheever will note in one of the old newspaper articles, that the close connection between Seely and William Kimball is noted. Given all the info we have so far, even though circumstantial, I give it a strong indication that you have William Kimball's gun.
Unfortunately, going over the old info I had and the new to me info Mr Cheever posted, I still see no clue to the identity of A.J.T. I am thinking to contact that I.O.O.F. lodge to see if they might have any lead on any paperwork that Lew Seely or his daughter might have left behind. The holy grail in this case would be a notebook with notes on guns he ordered for people. Only because his daughter became a local historian and many of his guns survived intact into this century would I have any hope this might be remotely possible.
Just a note: there is no significance to "no address listed" in this case. That is the normal response in letters in this time period.
One other tidbit: Some of Mr Cheever's data indicate the proper name was Louis C. Seely, but some period newspapers do say Lewis C. Seely although that is by no means definitive.
CB
Last edited by crossv; 08-19-2018 at 03:35 PM.
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08-19-2018, 09:05 PM
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Through all this I still have no indication or historical data as to how such a pistol came into my family. Great Grandpa Jim Cheever was a ranch manager for an influential man by the name of John B. Okie. I'm not sure for how long but I have an old 1976 issue of Old West that places him in Lost Cabin in 1908 (along with some old hand-written family letters and US census entries). J.B. Okie was a man of means and considerable wealth and had stores in many towns including Casper. He may have had contact with the other group I'm researching....Lew Seely & William Kimball. It's another stretch I know, but with such a low population in those nearby towns, I'm sure these men of influence knew or at least heard of each other.
Not sure how much Jim Cheever could make as a ranch manager but his next chapter in life was just west of Lost Cabin in the town of Shoshoni where he purchased and managed a hotel with his wife and children. It's in those pictures where he is seen wearing the NM#3 gun. My cousin was given the rifle seen in the attached picture. Jim must have saved enough as a ranch manger to buy the hotel so maybe he made enough to purchase the gun from whoever, who knows. There are many records of Jim Cheever passing through or living in Casper, Lost Cabin and Shoshoni before finally settling in Washington.
And the search goes on..........
LC
Last edited by lencheever; 08-19-2018 at 11:54 PM.
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06-27-2022, 12:37 AM
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Hello members,
I'm interested in finding someone who can properly assess the value of my NM3 in the pics and described in detail in this thread. The assessment is for insurance and possible sale. On the sale part, what are the reputable auction houses to use? Would that even be the proper avenue? I'm not sure other than forums like this on how to reach all those that would be interested. I'm also not positive on selling but I am starting to do my homework.
Best Regards,
LC
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06-27-2022, 01:10 PM
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do you have a factory letter?
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06-27-2022, 03:00 PM
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Beautiful revolver, worth a ton if it letters.
And if that is a real period Collins holster it will add a good bit.
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06-27-2022, 04:59 PM
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Beautiful heirloom, good for you. I have been interested in top break .44's since I learned that my gggrandfather came out west on the transcontinental railroad, purchased some California oil land, went back to Illinois and moved his family to St. Louis, where they loaded up everything onto wagons and went West to settle in North Idaho where he left behind "grandpa's .44". All my grandfather would say was that it was .44 caliber but not like a Colt S.A.A. capable of double action. It was lost along the way, in a fire or other family catastrophe. I have one nickel plated model similar to yours and can attest to the fact that they are very accurate shooters.
To clarify I understand these earlier models were single action, the .44 D.A. 1st models was the type grandpa probably brought with him. He was a Civil War survivor, leaving his father dead on the battlefield of Chicamauga.
[IMG] [/IMG]
Last edited by Kinman; 06-27-2022 at 05:05 PM.
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06-27-2022, 06:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iby
do you have a factory letter?
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I do have a letter verifying everything you see in the pics. There's a copy of it somewhere earlier in the thread.
LC
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06-27-2022, 08:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iby
do you have a factory letter?
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I found the letter in previous posts
As far as value, a couple of RIA sales should be very helpful.
I would have a hard time selling it but circumstances are what they are
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