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11-08-2019, 08:31 PM
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Early Prewar Snub? Update: Letter in!
Hey found this the other day and was very hesitant to buy it since it had such an early serial number 598006. I oiled with Kroil so it will have some specks of lint on it. My understanding is the earliest of the 1933 shipment started with 597812, but I have never seen it. Matter of fact, I have not seen another under 600000.
Take a look at the pictures. Stocks were mother of pearl when I got it.
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Blaine
SWCA 3490 SWHF 586
Last edited by bwade; 05-21-2020 at 07:24 PM.
Reason: Letter
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11-08-2019, 08:35 PM
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More Pictures
Additional pictures:
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Blaine
SWCA 3490 SWHF 586
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11-08-2019, 08:37 PM
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I don't know what you gave for that beauty, but if I found it, and the price was reasonable. I would probably still be celebrating.
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Randy
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11-08-2019, 08:45 PM
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Blaine:
That looks right to me... and I would get it lettered.
Here is a link to a fun thread that discusses some of the history of the Snub M&P, with some other early examples:
Historical S&W revolver
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Richard
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11-08-2019, 08:55 PM
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That's a beauty, thanks for sharing.
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11-08-2019, 09:09 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bwade
Hey found this the other day and was very hesitant to buy it since it had such an early serial number 598006....
My understanding is the earliest of the 1933 shipment started with 597812, but I have never seen it...
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There are at least one 2” M&P in the 597-range from 1935 and one 598-range from 1936 confirmed as authentic.
I have not seen either, but those have been discussed by folks whose ability to know is not in doubt 
So I’m sure yours is legit. Nice catch!
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11-08-2019, 11:09 PM
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I have 5979XX that shipped in 1935. Yours can certainly be legit.
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11-08-2019, 11:33 PM
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A true classic.
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No baby we aint
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11-09-2019, 12:18 AM
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What great find and a beautiful revolver, Congratulations! Safe Queen or Range?
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11-09-2019, 08:44 PM
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Safe Queen or Range?
Went shooting today with the wife and her .38, but forgot to tell her she bought this one with her credit card. When I can remember to tell her about it, I will ask her what she plans to do with it... Might have to remember in 30 days!
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Blaine
SWCA 3490 SWHF 586
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11-09-2019, 09:37 PM
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Good catch bwade. That's a beauty. I had always considered the quintessential pre-war snub nosed revolver to be a Colt Dick Special. Until that is, you guys started showing the pre-war round butt M&P snubbies. I really like the hard rubber stocks too.
I have a 1949 square butt M&P snub nose, but the old long actions and round butts are really something else.
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11-09-2019, 09:48 PM
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Dang! What a great find.
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11-10-2019, 12:33 AM
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I list 5979xx as an M&P snubby, but have no other vital statistics about it.
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11-10-2019, 08:04 AM
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I’d say that little snub looks legit, but what do I know? The only pre-war snub I’ve ever owned is a little I-frame Terrier in 38 S&W (of course.) As far as proportions and markings go, your M&P looks just like my Terrier’s big brother, lending strength to my feelings on your gun’s righteousness. 
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11-20-2019, 12:38 AM
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Righteous indeed. Congratulations on a beautiful snubbie. I kick myself fir passing up a nickel finished one of these “small framed” snubbies I saw in a pawn shop about 5 years ago. I thought it would make a cute little back up gun for my 38/44 HD.
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11-20-2019, 07:44 PM
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What I know about those older snubs is not worth talking about, but I know what I like, and that’s a really beautiful gun!
Those grips were the perfect addition, no idea if they came that way but they sure should have, really sets it off. Looks like something straight out of an old B&W Detective movie, very cool stuff.
Sweet find, hope I’m as lucky...because I sure want one now.
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11-20-2019, 10:55 PM
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Nice gun.
What do the pearls look like? You do realize they could have been on it since it was first sold?
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11-21-2019, 09:00 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bwade
Went shooting today with the wife and her .38, but forgot to tell her she bought this one with her credit card. When I can remember to tell her about it, I will ask her what she plans to do with it... Might have to remember in 30 days!
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Just show her how many “likes” you got for showing it, and know we’re all green with envy.
She’s a beauty, As said above I think Sam Spade is looking for his “gat”.
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11-21-2019, 09:13 AM
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Excellent find! I would also definitely suggest a letter on this one, some of these didn't ship until after WW II.
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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220
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11-21-2019, 10:40 AM
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Incredible. It's as if it were placed in a vacuum sealed time capsule!
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11-21-2019, 07:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by handejector
Nice gun.
What do the pearls look like? You do realize they could have been on it since it was first sold?
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Lee, the pearls do not have medallions, but match the gun in condition. I will eventually send off for a letter, but waiting on 3 other letters to get back now. If the gun letters with the pearls, I guess that will require me to put them back on, but I am not a fan of pearls.
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Blaine
SWCA 3490 SWHF 586
Last edited by bwade; 11-21-2019 at 08:10 PM.
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11-24-2019, 01:50 PM
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US Veteran
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I am a fan of pearls. If it letters as such, I would be honored to help you out.
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11-29-2019, 01:33 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bwade
My understanding is the earliest of the 1933 shipment started with 597812, but I have never seen it.
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I don`t have very good pictures on hand but 597812 shipped Sept 6 1935 to the city of Ashland OR. Later on someone evidently decided it wasn`t fancy enough all plain and with wood grips the way it left the factory. Last I saw it was the lowest SN that had surfaced on here but not the earliest shipped.
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Last edited by lawman445; 11-29-2019 at 01:35 PM.
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11-29-2019, 06:38 PM
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That is nice!!! Glad you shared that with us, I was wondering what it looked like and now we all know. Maybe with this thread there will be some more early ones posted.
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Blaine
SWCA 3490 SWHF 586
Last edited by bwade; 11-29-2019 at 07:25 PM.
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05-21-2020, 06:08 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by handejector
Nice gun.
What do the pearls look like? You do realize they could have been on it since it was first sold?
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Lee, you were probably correct. Letter came today.
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Blaine
SWCA 3490 SWHF 586
Last edited by bwade; 05-21-2020 at 06:19 PM.
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05-21-2020, 06:30 PM
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Thanks for the update. The standard wisdom was factory mother of pearl stocks (at least from the earlier 1900s) would have medallions, but these do not.
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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220
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05-21-2020, 06:56 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by murphydog
Thanks for the update. The standard wisdom was factory mother of pearl stocks (at least from the earlier 1900s) would have medallions, but these do not.
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That's because they were supplied by the buyer per the invoice, not the factory. Very neat gun.
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05-21-2020, 07:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by delcrossv
That's because they were supplied by the buyer per the invoice, not the factory.....
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Actually, according to Roy's letter, Blaine (bwade) supplied the stocks 
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05-21-2020, 07:49 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Absalom
Actually, according to Roy's letter, Blaine (bwade) supplied the stocks |
Lest, anyone get confused, the letter didn't say supplied by Blaine, it said " supplied by you"
It's a direct quote from the invoice:
It did give me a snicker .
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05-21-2020, 07:57 PM
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Interesting. The letter abbreviates Arkansas as AK. Unfortunately, Arkansas is properly abbreviated as AR. AK is Alaska. 
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05-21-2020, 08:15 PM
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Hey, bwade added the invoice after his original post! 
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Alan
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05-21-2020, 08:15 PM
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Shipped from the factory with pearl grips that weren't factory. I bet that didn't happen too often. A very nice snub.
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Randy
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05-21-2020, 09:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bwade
.... If the gun letters with the pearls, I guess that will require me to put them back on, but I am not a fan of pearls.
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Truth be told, IMO it looks better with them. More "smick".
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05-21-2020, 10:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JP@AK
Interesting. The letter abbreviates Arkansas as AK. Unfortunately, Arkansas is properly abbreviated as AR. AK is Alaska. |
It is since it was admitted to the Union in 1959, but that may not have been the case when the gun was sold in 1936.
I also notice that in the date on the letter the month was abbreviated as Feby. instead of Feb.
Awesome snub-nosed revolver.
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05-22-2020, 09:53 AM
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That is a very neat gun. $20 seems like a joke to us now, but in 1936 rural Arkansas that was a lot of money. The average U.S. salary at that time was about $475 annually and I guarantee you it was much less in Arkansas. Probably more like $275. That gun might have cost 6% of the average man's pay for the year in this state. We assume the owner of a coal company located in a city with the same name as the owner was likely doing a bit better than average.
The average level of education for American adults in 1941 was middle 8th Grade. That figure drops as you go back in time. My paternal grandparents quit school after the 3rd and 5th grades, respectively. Most folks in the 1930s had not received a lot of formal education and reading letters and notes written back then makes this obvious. Spelling and grammar errors are common.
PS: To show how rare a college education was back then, a degree was not required to be a licensed school teacher. A HS graduate could be a public school teacher. And an officer in the military wasn't required to have a degree, either. My uncle was drafted in 1942 after one year of college and was immediately commissioned as a lieutenant based on that level of education.
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Last edited by Art Doc; 05-22-2020 at 10:00 AM.
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05-22-2020, 01:40 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Art Doc
a degree was not required to be a licensed school teacher. A HS graduate could be a public school teacher.
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Yes. But a high school graduate at that time would have been better educated than most college graduates are today. Just get a copy of McGuffy's Fifth Reader (which at the time was used in grammar schools across the country) and see how well you do in reading and understanding the texts in it. You might do fine, but a lot of modern college graduates are unable to process the articles in that volume.
Quote:
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an officer in the military wasn't required to have a degree, either. My uncle was drafted in 1942 after one year of college and was immediately commissioned as a lieutenant based on that level of education.
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This is true. My dad was a first year engineering student at UCLA when the U.S. entered WWII. In December, 1941, he went down and signed up for the Army Air Force. They enlisted him and then sent him back to the University until there was an opening in a flight training school. A few months later, he was commissioned. He wanted to be a "flying sergeant" but they would have none of it. After all, he'd "been to college."
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Jack
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