Beautiful guns!!! Thanks for sharing. The full coverage engraving reminds me a little of the Claus Willig engraved 19-4 that I own - see the following link:

A Modern Masterpiece - Claus Willig Engraved 357

I'd love to see those two in person.

Thanks for sharing!!!

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Here is a email I received from FEGA
I was able to see enough of the scroll work to determine that the engraving was done by one of the Japanese engravers who were working in the US during the 1970's. REI Engravings of Illinois employed Hiroo Ogawa and other Japanese engravers who all worked in the style evident on your guns. Also, Ken Eyster who owned Heratige Gunsmiths in Ohio employed Sam Kinamuchi who also worked in the same style. Unfortunately, it is very rare for any of the Japanese engravers to sign their work.

The style of ornament on your guns is based on German black leaf scroll. Because of the type of graver and method of cutting, the work of Japanese engravers is distinguishable from similar work done by German engravers. Some of my fellow engravers have speculated that at some point a Japanese engraver was trained in Germany and later taught other Japanese the style. However that idea has never been confirmed.

I hope the foregoing has been of help in determining the provenance of your revolvers.

Sincerely,

C. Roger Bleile

it's been a while since I have been on the forum. I am looking for information about engraved revolvers, and ran across this post.
I am trying to find out if a factory engraved revolver is worth more than a non-factory engraved revolver.
one of my goals is to find a beautiful snub nosed smith and Wesson either blued or stainless, or even nickel plated that really stands out.
I have seen lots of engraved snubbies on guns international that are "almost" there, but not quite.
if I ever find that "special snubbie" either double action only or
da/sa, I would like to know if it is more valuable if engraved by s&w or by a non-s&w engraver. obviously this puts a collector in the unenviable position of choosing the revolver which is more pleasing to the eye or choosing the one that is worth more in the real world.
any opinions?
as for the two revolvers pictured here: a once in a lifetime find.

fivetwo:

Typically a factory engraved piece is worth more to S&W collectors that a non-factory engraved piece unless the engraver is well known such as Alvin White, Winston Churchill, etc. S&W did not do a large number of custom engraved guns with extensive gold, etc.

Since engraving is so personal, keep watching the auction sites or let some of the larger collector dealers (David Carroll) know what you are looking for. The other alternative is to commission an engraving project with a good engraver. It will not be cheap, but you get to help design your piece and will have what you want. I would highly recommend John K. Pease engraving - John K. Pease Engraver - Home He has done three pieces for me and I am very pleased.

Bob

Ok..so now one has to ask...are the Factory Letters back...?

Absolutely stunning find.... I have seen a lot of engraved Smiths and these are two of the nicest...

Bob

Ken Eyster was the go to man back in the day when it came to working on double guns in the Mid-West.

-Steve

I am still waiting for the letter, from what I have read he had something like 900 in front of mine so it will prob be 6 months or more before I here back.

I would love to see these in person, you are so lucky. im so jealous

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Stay frosty

thanks for that information.
also, I ran across an engraver on another website: craig vitello of texas. his work is very impressive. does anyone have information on how to contact him.

Got the letter in today it was not engraved at the factory. It was shipped to Gopher Shooters Supply Co. in Faribault MN. So now I am back to square one on figuring out who engraved these pistols.
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Thanks for posting the letter - not surprising that they were not factory engraved.

If you're frustrated on finding the engraver's name, just sell me those two beauties and I'd more than willing to take up the burden of the search for who was the engraver.

All the best,

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

The search must continue! Great looking wheel guns!!!! Super

GOOD GRIEF!

I own a Sam Kinamuchi engraved Erfurt Luger, and your gun's engraving looks the same.
Look for a tiny "k" somewhere.