While surfing the net recently I found this rather unique M&P for sale. I liked it for many obvious reasons and the fact that it was already lettered was icing on the cake
I myself never looked too hard for these Wolf and Klar revolvers. I always felt as if I find one, I find one, and if I don't, I don't. This one seemed to speak to me, and although the pearl grips aren't carved, I had to buy it. I also liked it that it has a name inscribed "John Porter" who hopefully was a Texas / western lawman of some kind, although I haven't had a chance to try and research that yet. The inscription of his name appears to be contemporary to the revolver's engraving and was likely done by Wolf and Klar.
I remember looking at the gun at first and thinking about my other engraved guns, and then thinking "man, cutting the engraving right through the finish, that's not very attractive (and no post engraving refinish was done)" but then I realized that Wolf and Klar did that for all of the guns they engraved, and its an indication of original finish on Wolf and Klar guns. Its just something unique to them, and it helps confirms originality, so really, its a good thing. This is special today because many of these were carried and used back then, and so many we find today are refinished or in poor condition, but this one happily wears much of its original 90 year old nickel finish. It has some wear of course, but this gun did something so I can forgive it
No rework stamps present and there are no Roman numerals on the backs of the grips so they are unlikely to be W&K. I would love to find a pair of Wolf and Klar steerhead or eagle grips, but for now, I can enjoy this unique revolver as is.
Without further ado, my Wolf & Klar M&P
For those of you who don't know, Wolf and Klar was one of the biggest sporting goods and gun dealers in TX. It was their suggestion which produced the S&W model of 1926 44 special aka 44 3rd model. They ended up ordering a high majority of the model 1926 revolvers, in addition to many other S&W revolvers on a regular basis for many years.
Here is a a cover of one of their catalogs. I am not sure the vintage of this catalog.
Here is a price sheet for their engraving and carved pearl stocks for a S&W M&P
Like any other dealer, you could get other guns adorned by them that they carried. Pictured below is a Colt SAA catalog page showing a sample of their upgrades for SAAs with the prices listed below. Interesting to note that the carved pearl stocks were more expensive than the engraving of the gun itself!
It seems as though no two of these W&K engraving patterns are alike and I found out that apparently coverage levels could also be specified, which means that today we see many variations of these Wolf and Klar engraved revolvers.
Here is a 1905 4th change W&K M&P auctioned by RIA. It is similar, but different from mine.
I went looking through my stash of holsters to see if I had anything that would look good with this W&K M&P, and I located this rather interesting "Crown" holster. The backside of the holster is marked "C 7 4 1/2" which I imagine means the holster was made for a Colt DA 4.5 in barrel (models 1889 1892 1894 1896 1901 etc.) because 4.5 in was a standard barrel length for those models.
The holster needs cleaned up, but I appreciated its look and I think they make a great pair!
While admiring this gun, I realized that my first vintage S&W that I ever bought was also a pre war nickel M&P. I think the M&P and its variations are an afterthought in today's collector world, partly because of the high production numbers of the model and the fascination with large bore revolvers. One must remember, however, that without the success of the M&P, S&W may not have had the resources to develop the later ground-breaking models that many of us cherish today.
Like any of you, I love rare and unusual S&Ws, RMs, pre 29s, special order guns, etc., but I still have a soft spot for these old M&Ps, which were the backbone of S&W for decades...
The letter for my first vintage S&W
Wolf & Klar M&P
I checked on the Cornell publications website, ebay, Amazon, etc. for original Wolf and Klar catalogs or reprints, but to no avail. I suppose it will just take a little luck to find an original catalog until reprints are made someday?!?!? 
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