I found this matched pair of Heiser model 419 holsters in Tulsa last week & showed them at the "Southwestern Bunch" BBQ dinner unofficial meeting of the SWCA-they seemed to like them so I thought you all might as well.They are marked VL&A-Von Lengerke & Antoine of Chicago-as well as being stamped with the model number & the maker's number 3.VL&A was a very high end sporting goods store that catered to the wealthy & famous;they were subsequently acquired by Abercrombie & Fitch.Heiser made leather goods for many retailers including both Abercrombie & Fitch & VL&A. The brown enamel over brass snaps are marked "HEISER DENVER".These were made,I believe, in the 1940's & were made to order,as all Heisers were until the late 1950's.
Here's where it gets interesting-the right hand holster is maker inked "44 S&W 5 1/2" & the left-hand holster is inked "S&W 357 MAG 5 1/2".At the time these were made,the only .357 Magnum was the Registered Magnum revolver. According to one chart a fellow member shared with me, 140 Registered Magnums were made with 5 1/2" barrels.I couldn't find any model .44 Special revolver that came standard with a 5 1/2" barrel in a quick perusal of the Standard Catalog but I imagine one could be had on special order.The holsters both have sewn-in sight protectors for target sights.
The holsters were in a glass case labeled as Colt SAA holsters (I would say 3 or 4 out of 5 vintage holsters I see advertised for the Colt SAA revolver were obviously not made for one ).
One new member of the SWCA who examined the holsters owned a 5 1/2" Registered Magnum-now all we need to do is find the 5 1/2" target sighted .44.I bet a special order pair of revolvers matching these holsters could be found in the factory records-maybe one day they will turn up.I hope you enjoy these.
Regards,
turnerriver
SWCA,NRA Endowment Life member

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turnerriver

I found this matched pair of Heiser model 419 holsters in Tulsa last week & showed them at the "Southwestern Bunch" BBQ dinner unofficial meeting of the SWCA-they seemed to like them so I thought you all might as well.They are marked VL&A-Von Lengerke & Antoine of Chicago-as well as being stamped with the model number & the maker's number 3.VL&A was a very high end sporting goods store that catered to the wealthy & famous;they were subsequently acquired by Abercrombie & Fitch.Heiser made leather goods for many retailers including both Abercrombie & Fitch & VL&A. The brown enamel over brass snaps are marked "HEISER DENVER".These were made,I believe, in the 1940's & were made to order,as all Heisers were until the late 1950's.
Here's where it gets interesting-the right hand holster is maker inked "44 S&W 5 1/2" & the left-hand holster is inked "S&W 357 MAG 5 1/2".At the time these were made,the only .357 Magnum was the Registered Magnum revolver. According to one chart a fellow member shared with me, 140 Registered Magnums were made with 5 1/2" barrels.I couldn't find any model .44 Special revolver that came standard with a 5 1/2" barrel in a quick perusal of the Standard Catalog but I imagine one could be had on special order.The holsters both have sewn-in sight protectors for target sights.
The holsters were in a glass case labeled as Colt SAA holsters (I would say 3 or 4 out of 5 vintage holsters I see advertised for the Colt SAA revolver were obviously not made for one ).
One new member of the SWCA who examined the holsters owned a 5 1/2" Registered Magnum-now all we need to do is find the 5 1/2" target sighted .44.I bet a special order pair of revolvers matching these holsters could be found in the factory records-maybe one day they will turn up.I hope you enjoy these.
Regards,
turnerriver
SWCA,NRA Endowment Life member

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turnerriver

Very nice, Turnerriver! Thanks for the history, too.

BEAUTIFUL !

Jerry

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.38/44 Outdoorsman Accumulator

Wow! Great find and interesting background. Thanks for posting.

Regards, Jerry

Pretty neat.

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Have guns...will shoot'em.

That's a very nice pair of holsters which bring back memories. I do remeber VL&A and the subsequent Abnercombie & Fitch store in Chicago. On a shopping trip with my wife and parents many years ago I purchased a single shot Stevens Favorite for the bargain price of $25 from the clerk while my father gasped at the price of a Holland & Holland shotgun for $6600. Marshall Field also had a wondeful sporting goods department on the second floor of the mens store. I was always awed by the mounted Kodiak bear as one stepped off the elevator on the second floor.

Good luck with that!

Part of this post conflicts with what I've come to believe about Heisers. While I know you could get a special order holster from them, we also know that things like the model number from them is only the style and finish and has nothing to do with what it fits.

The most common (and nearly the only) prewar N frame with 5 1/2" barrels were the 1917 and its variants. That exception was the very few RMs and maybe, just maybe a few 44 2nds or 3rds with very few of those being target guns. With the leather block sewn in place, they're clearly for target guns. I'm thinking that if you're so lucky as to find any prewar 44 target gun, you've found a hens tooth!

Of course I'm occasionally wrong about these things. For a while I thought that there weren't any 4" prewar target 44s, then I found one. Right after that, Doc44 posted a picture of the one he owned. If you read SCSW the estimate was that less than 100 44 3rds were produced. Nearly all were 6 1/2" (reading, Jerry?) I know David Carroll had a 6 1/2 not that long ago for a bargain price and I was sorely tempted.

Is there a difference in the way the holster is molded for the 44? About the only difference I can imagine is some allowance for the 357 barrel rib. Other than that they are pretty similar in external dimensions.

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Dick Burg

John,
You have a great eye for picking Heiser's out of a crowd. It reminds me to slow down and take a closer look at the back of these holsters for clues like the ones shown. Nice find and thanks for sharing.
Larry

John

said they were nice when you showed on the Saturday evening, and nothing's changed.

Thanks for the last minute steer on the Berns-Martin holsters. I picked up both the 3 1/2" N frame and the 6" N frame.

See you at Lakeland!

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Dave Ballantyne

Thanks, Dave-I'm glad you got those Berns-Martin holsters.
Heiser brought out a low budget line of stock holsters & belts in catalog # 52-the Sportsman line-& also referred to some models as "in stock" & others " Made Exclusively on Custom Order " (my # 52 is dated Feb.15,1957). Prior to that,catalogs # 19 ( my # 19 is dated 1922 ) up through # 51 all stated " Heiser quality leather goods should not be compared or confused with the similar appearing goods carried in stock by most sporting goods or hardware stores in all parts of the country, since our goods are made to order especially TO PLEASE YOU and to give perfect satisfaction when used in connection with THE ONE PARTICULAR WEAPON that they were intended for..." ( The catalog's emphasis,not mine). Catalog # 32 & others also stated
" Anything you may desire will be made up for you at a price as reasonable as consistent with the best of workmanship and finest material. "
After the early 1900's the 1st digit of 3 digit model numbers indicated finish-4 was plain, 5 basketweave & 7 hand-carved-9 meant a medium weight holster-with shoulder holsters beginning with 1-2 if carved.In later catalogs a 4 digit number indicated some other additional feature-nickel spots, lining, sewn plug bottom, etc. Many model numbers were listed as " for revolvers only, not made for automatics " & vice versa. Model numbers never indicated what weapon a particular holster was made for-many but not all individual makers scribed or inked what the holster fit on the back. Commonly encountered are " 22 CA" or 32 or 45 CA for Colt Autos, "S&W 38" or "Mag" or "K 22" & others. These are often very faint & hard to read; you can make out the inked description in my photos above. I would say that better than half of my Heisers have such a description on them-maybe as many as 3 out of 4. Other makers used similar methods of identifying what a holster fit-S.D. Myres, for one,although less frequently, in my experience.Here's a photo of a maker's inscription that's easy to decipher & very detailed-the holster, a model 2419, is a model 419 with smooth leather lining.I've learned to look at holsters the same way I do guns-attention to detail & well lit & magnified inspection reveal a lot.
Dick, the .357 holster is a little fatter than the .44 holster but I'm afraid that's because the idi I mean owner jammed a Colt SAA in it.

Regards,
turnerriver
SWCA # 1426

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turnerriver