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10-30-2009, 10:15 AM
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A Rare "Trick or Treat" 44 Magnum
S153838, shipped on October 31, 1956 to Warshals and Sons Sporting Goods, Seattle, Washington. This is the only 5-screw 44 Magnum known with a nickel finish and Class A-engraving. The price of the revolver was listed on the invoice as $204.67 (the retail list of the 44 Magnum in October of 1956 was $140.00).
This 44 Magnum was probably engraved by Sigfried Rentzschke, or possibly by Virginia LeBlanc.
Bill
Last edited by Doc44; 10-30-2009 at 10:19 AM.
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10-30-2009, 10:17 AM
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A new standard is set for a BBQ gun!
GF
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10-30-2009, 10:24 AM
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Doc,
Everytime I think I've seen it all, you post another one! 
That is just outstanding!
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10-30-2009, 10:26 AM
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Sure would like to find one of those in my trick or treat bag ;-)
Beautiful 44
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10-30-2009, 10:36 AM
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I'll trade ya' two Snickers, a Gobstopper, and a handful of peanut butter taffy for it.
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10-30-2009, 10:38 AM
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Just gorgeous! Thanks, Bill,
Jerry
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10-30-2009, 10:48 AM
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Definately a TREAT!!! Thanks for posting.
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10-30-2009, 10:52 AM
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talk about happy halloween!!!!!
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10-30-2009, 11:17 AM
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Youre killing me here Bill...nickel, blue front sight, 1956, AND engraved...geez
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10-30-2009, 11:42 AM
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bill, you've raised the bar again. i'm not even gonna ask how it shoots. thanks for sharing. lee
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10-30-2009, 02:20 PM
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Trick or treat
Bill:
I'm coming to your house to trick or treat!
Beautiful....as usual.
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Richard
Engraved S&W fan
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10-30-2009, 02:33 PM
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Be still my heart.
What a beauty! And nice to have a little extra charisma with it being a Halloween gun. Small wonder it's all gussied-up!
Warshal's was a favorite store to visit when I lived in Seattle in the early 1980s. I hear it's no longer there.
It was a wonderful gun and sporting goods store. The only problem was that it was in downtown Seattle and you had to circle the block to find a parking spot. It was torture, passing that big Washal's sign on First Avenue again and again, anxious to see the wonders inside.
A bit like a hungry man circling a restaurant, as the wonderful scents of home cooking tortured him.
What a wonderful pistol. Wonder who in Seattle bought it so long ago?
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10-30-2009, 02:37 PM
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Kudos, Doc
Now, that's a treat!
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10-30-2009, 02:59 PM
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Very nice, Bill. Thanks for sharing.
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10-30-2009, 03:02 PM
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Ah Warshals. I bought my first handgun there in 1975.
Very nice piece.
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10-31-2009, 03:17 PM
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Pre 29s
Bill-
I have S153801 shipped in July. Guess I'll have to find out where it went.
I've only owned one Warshal's gun (pre war), and it's Fisher's now. It's a nickel beauty also, just not engraved. They must have ordered a lot of guns in those days. I used to make pilgrimages to the store when I was younger--I miss that. They always had interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Jim
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10-31-2009, 07:16 PM
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Bill, If you answer the door with that tonight, you will have lots of candy left to eat for yourself.
Tom
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10-31-2009, 08:35 PM
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Dang it, just when I thought I quit drooling on my keyboard, you post something like this!
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10-31-2009, 10:23 PM
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Bill
Very nice thanks for sharing.
Dave
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10-31-2009, 10:46 PM
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thats a keeper for sure.very nice ill stop drooling now
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12-04-2014, 10:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc44
This 44 Magnum was probably engraved by Sigfried Rentzschke, or possibly by Virginia LeBlanc.
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Bill:
I was looking over some old threads of engraved guns and I would say this gun is LeBlanc engraved based on the consistency with this pattern of a known LeBlanc gun (background "hashing" fill and the pattern on the cylinder):
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-han...-engraved.html
Also, all of the Rentzschke engraved guns that I have seen have much "tighter" scroll patterns.
Beautiful gun and time for a run to the top... 
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Richard
Engraved S&W fan
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12-04-2014, 10:17 AM
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Richard...I agree, I concluded it was LeBlanc engraved several years ago. I also have another 44 Magnum that was engraved by her and shipped in June 1956.
Bill
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12-04-2014, 10:26 AM
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Absent Comrade
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The best candy...EYE CANDY!
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12-04-2014, 10:27 AM
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$1,800 in 2014 dollars.
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12-04-2014, 10:40 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Engineer1911
$1,800 in 2014 dollars.
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I'll take Two please...
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12-04-2014, 10:47 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 05CarbonDRZ
I'll take Two please... |
just two? 
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Kris
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12-04-2014, 12:22 PM
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that is a great BBQ gun, but you should get someone to make you a see-thru holster to step up your BBQ attire
.
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12-04-2014, 12:28 PM
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I bet you wouldn't trade that for even a Nambu Type 94....
Would you???
John
S&WCA 2244
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12-04-2014, 01:37 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 410bore
just two?
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I meant Twenty Two,Slight typo....
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12-04-2014, 08:11 PM
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Beautiful.
I'm curious how they engrave nickel. Is it engraved first or nickeled first? probably a dumb question but I'll ask it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
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12-04-2014, 08:54 PM
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The revolver is engraved "in the white" and then finished in bright blue or nickel.
Bill
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12-04-2014, 11:37 PM
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Beautiful revolver, the grips are as nice as the engraving. Thanks for sharing this one and all the others you have shown us.
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12-05-2014, 01:40 AM
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Bill, my understanding is that many engravers hid their initials somewhere within the engraving. Have you looked her over closely with a loop to see if any initials are present???
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12-05-2014, 09:24 AM
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James...the revolver has a v stamped on the grip frame that may be the mark. I have a another one with a vb stamp and owned one for a time that was stamped vlb.
Bill
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08-14-2017, 10:08 PM
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Trick or treat
This is in fact a piece by Virginia LeBlanc. She is or was my great grandmother. She recently passed away at the age of 102. She was the first woman to work for Smith and Wesson.
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08-15-2017, 04:29 AM
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Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass., Miss Amanda! Sorry for your loss. She did some wonderful work!
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08-15-2017, 05:52 AM
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Thanks for joining the forum and letting us know the sad news.
I tried to search for any info on her, but it seemed every mention traced back to this forum, which is very disappointing. I'd put her somewhere between Madame Curie and Rosie the Riveter. It was extremely unusual for a woman to be in this kind of industry back then, as after the war most gladly returned to their previous lives, let alone be trusted with such a high level of custom work.
Both the original pics from the 2009 post and the ones in the thread linked by RKmesa are beautiful. I like that style much more than the tighter, detail-cluttered styles.
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08-15-2017, 08:26 AM
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MissAmanda...When I posted the above in 2009 I speculated about the engraver. I later concluded the 44 was engraved by Virginia LeBlanc. I have a 44 Magnum that was Class B engraved by her in June 1956 and a 4-inch 44 Magnum that was completed in March 1957 (each shown below). I understand she was mentored by Harry Jarvis of S&W. Roy Jinks and Sandra Krein published a book in 2006 entitled; Images of America-Smith & Wesson. There is a photo of your great grandmother at her work bench on page 123. Roy states in the book she was the only female engraver to work in-house at S&W.
Bill
Last edited by Doc44; 08-15-2017 at 09:14 AM.
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08-15-2017, 08:28 AM
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Welcome to the forum MissAmanda and my condolences on the passing of your great grandmother.
If you have any items engraved by her we would love to see them.
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08-15-2017, 09:06 AM
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Amazing work
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08-15-2017, 10:09 AM
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Nice looking shooter!
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08-15-2017, 11:13 AM
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I have S153558 - a 4" blued 5 screw 44 Magnum; RR/WO, Coke bottle grips. Found it in a gun shop on Cape Cod in 1988. Paid $650 for it which I thought was a lot at the time but now I'm glad I did.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1950jcb
Bill-
I have S153801 shipped in July. Guess I'll have to find out where it went.
I've only owned one Warshal's gun (pre war), and it's Fisher's now. It's a nickel beauty also, just not engraved. They must have ordered a lot of guns in those days. I used to make pilgrimages to the store when I was younger--I miss that. They always had interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Jim
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08-15-2017, 11:19 AM
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I'm glad somebody revived this thread from 2014. To look at that beauty and several more in the replies is very rewarding. They don't make them like they used to and to think after all that work only a $60 up charge? WOW even for then.
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08-15-2017, 12:23 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MissAmanda
This is in fact a piece by Virginia LeBlanc. She is or was my great grandmother. She recently passed away at the age of 102. She was the first woman to work for Smith and Wesson.
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MissAmanda,
Thanks for joining the forum. Your great grandmother was an extremely talented woman and I know you were very proud of her! Her work is superb.
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08-15-2017, 06:32 PM
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Virginia LeBlanc
Thank you all for your condolences. I do need to correct myself as I was not paying attention to my typing last night. Mamo, as we call her passed away 1 year ago shortly after her 102 birthday in March. She recieved many amazing gifts from Smith & Wesson. I will try to attach some photos if I can figure this out lol
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08-15-2017, 06:52 PM
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Welcome to the forum Miss Amanda and condolences on the passing our your very talented Grandmother. In what years was she employed by S&W?
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08-15-2017, 07:02 PM
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Great stuff here
Cory
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08-15-2017, 09:01 PM
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Hi Bill
that .44 is just spectacular. where do you find those beauties? Tom
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