I have just received my copy of S&W's 1941 catalog (a reprint from Cornell Publications)---and it IS a blast from the past!

The bad news is there are no prices shown.

Can anybody tell me the retail price of a 22/40 at the time---also the distributor price (perhaps from a letter or a copy of an invoice from SWHF)?

Many thanks!

Ralph Tremaine

Ralph, I have the same catalog, which I got about 10 years ago thinking I would attempt to collect one of everything in the catalog (birth year). After I saw what was all available that year I decided I may not ever make it. Several too expensive now.

I did get an M&P, a 1917, both 38 and 32 Regulation Police, 32 Hand ejector (both 3 1/4" and 2"), A Safety Hammerless 2", K22 Masterpiece, 22/32 Target.

The ones I really wanted are the 1926 .44 Target, and the Regulation Police Target, and of course the .32 Target. The few opportunities I had on any of these I couldn't afford the price at the time.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Well, I count myself fortunate to have all the targets. Were I to be buying them today, I'd find myself being severely beaten about the head and ears with a large, heavy object wielded by the Boss Lady!!

Ralph Tremaine

How about a genuine 1941 Price List? Well I don't have one, BUT have a genuine electronic copy. It's a little fuzzy, but one can make out models and prices. Here is where it gets interesting - I also have a 1931 Catalog price sheet and a K22 Outdoorsman was listed for $37.25, compared to a K22 Masterpiece 22/40 that is listed for $29.09. Guess partially due to the Great Depression?

Attached Images

	1941 S&W Price List.jpg (101.9 KB, 83 views)
	1931 S&W Price List.jpg (121.0 KB, 68 views)

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Gary
SWCA 2515

"OH The Lady Boss"! A formidable universal force. Glad you acquired them when you did.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

ALRIGHT!!! These are distributor prices---which is exactly what I wanted!

And the reason I wanted it was to see if I could figure out how/why Messrs Smith and Wesson (and then presumably just Wesson by himself) became the richest men in Massachusetts. And the answer is no secret----buy low, sell high!!

I have a 22/40 given to an individual by S&W----with grip adapter attached. The cost of this gift was charged to S&W's Advertising Account---and I have a copy of the invoice--compliments of the SWHF. (And if you're not a member of SWHF, you need to be.) It makes sense to assume the charge made was the cost to manufacture the gun and the grip adapter---and maybe the shipping cost. The shipping costs I've seen from that era suggest it was maybe $0.35, so we'll let that slide.

The cost charged to S&W's Advertising Account was $14.55. The cost (of the gun) on this price list is $29.09 (+F.E.T.). The cost of the grip adapter on this price list is $2.00. (At this point I'm ashamed to tell you I paid $500 for my last grip adapter----but what the hell!!)

So now you know how D.B. came to be wallowing in cash---buy low---sell high---it's the American way!!

Ralph Tremaine

By the by, and perhaps needless to say, the 22/40 was made/given away/invoiced in 1940. The price list is 1941. That's close enough to perfect for me!

The funny part in the price sheets above is that the 22 masterpiece retail price is the same as the police price, $29.09 according the Gary.

While the 44 police price compared to the retail price has about the same mark up as the W&K mark up below.

I have a few data points from Roy's letters that might help somewhat by doing some interpolation because but they all pertain to the "44 Hand Ejector Model of 1926 – 44 HE 3rd Model". However, in later catalogs

In 1928 two were shipped to Wolf and Klar at $21.90 each.
In 1930 W&K listed the same gun in their catalog at $40 retail.
In 1941 a 3rd model 44 Target was shipped to J. Marshall & Sons for $26.80.

Some interpolation:

In 1949 the 22 Masterpiece was $65, the 44 was $77, about a 16% price differential.

If dealer price for a 44 in 1941 was $26.80, a 22 Masterpiece dealer cost was likely also about 16% less; about $22.50.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

The 1944 (first) edition of Gun Digest, which provides pre-war gun offerings and prices as no new guns were available to most civilians at that time, shows the K-22 Masterpiece (22/40) with a $40.00 retail price. The 1926 Model .44 is priced at $37.50. Those are probably the last pre-war retail prices. $40 in 1941 represented about a week's pay for most common folk.

So the "police price" on the square-butt M&P in June 1941 was printed as 24.00 (?) and then hand-written in as 27.60, in nice commercial finish and with checked stocks.

My M&P from Jan. 1942 in full utility-ugly with smooth stocks, shipment of 100 to the DSC at 23.79 each, wasn't exactly sold to the Feds at a bargain price