Art Deco 1932 Smith?

[MrTrolleyguy]

This revolver could possibly be called The Art Deco Smith...

Can someone tell me about this .38 caliber revolver?
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[TNDave]

That gun is a Safety Hammerless, also known as a Lemonsqueezer. It is in outstanding original condition and has the seldom encountered short barrel. A way cool little gun that fires 38 Smith and Wesson.

[DGT]

I probably would not have thought of the term "art deco" when looking at that revolver but, now that you mention it... I think that's a pretty good description.

[MrTrolleyguy]

I see the trigger is very different from all other hammers that I have seen. It is so slim, even sexy. And rather than swing on a pivot it almost looks like it slides back like 1911.



It would be interesting to see one of these "lemon squeezers" with the side plate removed. Perhaps a Forum member who owns one could post a photo of that. I'd love to see that.



BTW I should post the site that has this gun {and pictures} but I am not sure if that would be an infraction or not so I will play it safe. I will just say that it is a top tier seller. You could figure out who it is.

[quinn]

Love it! Is that barrel length factory?

[vonn]

Very nice pic,thanks for posting it. Interesting for sure!

[MrTrolleyguy]

Originally Posted by vonn

Very nice pic,thanks for posting it. Interesting for sure!

I can not take credit for the great photography. It was merely a cut and paste + photobucket.

[glowe]

MrTrolleyguy - This one is a Top-Break and should be in the other category. You are leaving out the most important pictures, like pictures of the right side of the barrel and the top of the rib? That will tell us if it is a factory 2" or a cut barrel.

I am thinking the original bluing for the Safeties is a gloss blue. This one has a matt blue, but a very nice finish indeed.

[MrTrolleyguy]

Originally Posted by glowe

MrTrolleyguy - This one is a Top-Break and should be in the other category. You are leaving out the most important pictures, like pictures of the right side of the barrel and the top of the rib? That will tell us if it is a factory 2" or a cut barrel.

I am thinking the original bluing for the Safeties is a gloss blue. This one has a matt blue, but a very nice finish indeed.

It only gets better. There is a letter from Roy with the gun stating that it's shipped barrel length is 1 1/2 inch.


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[glowe]

Originally Posted by MrTrolleyguy

It only gets better. There is a letter from Roy with the gun stating that it's shipped barrel length is 1 1/2 inch. I'll must stop here.

After finding the gun online, I have to admit that this is a very rare and authentic 1 1/2" barrel. This length is not even mentioned in Roy's book, so it must be very uncommon indeed. The finish still looks wrong to me, since all blued examples of Safeties I have seen have the common glossy finish. Maybe very late guns have a different style of bluing. Hope the experts show up soon to set the record straight.

BTW - I think this is the most expensive 38 Safety I have ever seen for sale.

[Muley Gil]

There is a 1 1/2" Safety Hammerless shown in the SCSW 3rd.

[opoefc]

With this length barrel, the gun would have been a special order (one gun shipment ) . Perhaps the order also included a request for the duller blue finish ? Plus, the order was late enough in the life of this model to miss getting the short barrel stamps. What's the serial number? Ed.

[glowe]

Ed - here is what the letter says.

[DCWilson]

Little John sold that gun about a year and a half ago for just over a grand. I haven't spotted the current listing, but I wouldn't be surprised it if ended up selling for a lot more now. I don't recall the number of .38 Safeties known to have shipped with 1.5" barrels, but I think it is less than a couple of dozen. This is one of those rare rare rare configurations that get collectors drooling.

It just occurred to me that this specimen is even more pocketable than a .38/32 Terrier, all of which had longer two-inch barrels.

[mrcvs]

I wonder what it actually sold for when it was sold at auction in August of 2012:

LOT #702 - 12TXR-55 S&W #259765

The auction estimate seems low, at $350 to $700, but, if it brought even only a bit higher at auction than the high end estimate...someone, somewhere is making a pretty penny. (Now for sale at $5,500 and listed as 'sale pending'.

[Alk8944]

Very nice, very late, .38 Safety. The blue on this gun is typical of what would be expected for a gun manufactured in the 1920s and '30s, not at all unusual.

Trigger: The pin end you see under the back end of the cylinder on both sides is the trigger pin. The trigger pivots on this just as the hand ejector triggers do. The only fixed stud in these is the hammer stud, all other internals are secured by through pins since the frame is solid. The internals are very similar to the less expensive H&R and Iver Johnson revolvers.

[deadin]

I make no claim whatsoever about knowing much about hammerless S&W's but don't they usually have more markings than just the Trademark logo and "Made in USA"??
Things like a caliber marking, patent dates and "Smith & Wesson" actually spelled out somewhere??

[glowe]

Originally Posted by deadin

I make no claim whatsoever about knowing much about hammerless S&W's but don't they usually have more markings than just the Trademark logo and "Made in USA"??
Things like a caliber marking, patent dates and "Smith & Wesson" actually spelled out somewhere??

Before the early 1920s they did not even carry the MADE IN USA stamp. Usually the frame was stamped only with the logo, except during WWI. The barrel contained the caliber on the left side, along with the address on the top rib. I guess this barrel was too short to stamp anything.

[MrTrolleyguy]

Repeating an earlier request...above and beyond the interest in this particular revolver...could smeone with a similar hammerless 38 please post a photo of a gun with the side plate removed. I would really love to see the internals.

Thank you.

[MrTrolleyguy]

Two more photos for you. Great detailed photos.

[glowe]

Originally Posted by MrTrolleyguy

Repeating an earlier request...above and beyond the interest in this particular revolver...could smeone with a similar hammerless 38 please post a photo of a gun with the side plate removed. I would really love to see the internals.

Here you go with a 38 Safety Hammerless, 4th Model, one of my favorite range guns. Not really much to look at behind the sideplate, since most of the small parts are ahead of the opening. Trigger pull measured at 15 pounds.

[MrTrolleyguy]

It is wonderful to see all this wonderful information surface from just an image and one simple question. For those, like myself, eager to learn more about S&W products this is the number one source for that knowledge. I truly appreciate this forum.

Thanks to all the contributors!

[DCWilson]

Originally Posted by mrcvs

I wonder what it actually sold for when it was sold at auction in August of 2012:

LOT #702 - 12TXR-55 S&W #259765

The auction estimate seems low, at $350 to $700, but, if it brought even only a bit higher at auction than the high end estimate...someone, somewhere is making a pretty penny. (Now for sale at $5,500 and listed as 'sale pending'.

Hammer price was $1050. To that add a buyer's premium of probably 18 percent, so the price got close to $1250 for the winning bidder. Bargain.

[Rex Goliath]

Originally Posted by glowe

Here you go with a 38 Safety Hammerless, 4th Model, one of my favorite range guns. Not really much to look at behind the sideplate, since most of the small parts are ahead of the opening. Trigger pull measured at 15 pounds.

Thank you. Very nice specimen. Once again, another work of art for us to feast our eyes upon! Is this the parent of the Centennial?
Among modern S&W revolvers of hammerless design; the Centennial also has a grip safety.
S&W listened to gun owners. Evidently, users of the "squeezers" needed a visual aid.
On certain model(s), a little white dot can be seen on the upper outside of the grip safety. This small white dot is only visible when the "squeezer" safety is NOT depressed. Source attribution photo - self-deleted copyrighted photo.

Sent using Tapatalk

[glowe]

This is from the S&W Centennial Catalog - 1952. The company devoted 3 pages to this new offering and claim that the model is so new that is is hardly more than fully in production at the date the catalog was issued.

The Centennial is not new in the Smith & Wesson tradition of fine revolvers, and the gun has been sired by two of the most successful and popular revolvers in the small gun field - the Safety Hammerless (or as it was cataloged, the New Departure) model which was produced from 1880 to World War II, and the Model J (or as it is herein cataloged, the 38 Chiefs Special) which is currently receiving the most favorable notices in law enforcement circles.