I also have a Model 1902 .38 special which belonged to my grandfather. Roy Jinks says this one was shipped 4/20/1904 to Belknap Hardware in Louisville, KY. It was shipped with a 5-inch barrel, nickel finish, and black checkered grips, which reflects its configuration now. My grandfather carried it in the pictured shoulder holster as a country store owner in Crittenden, Kentucky in the early 20th Century. It's seen considerable service and abuse, and has been re-nickeled at least once. There are no factory rework marks on it. The serial numbers on the frame, barrel and cylinder all match. My grandfather died in 1942, and my grandmother used it as a house gun until her death in 1975, at which point I inherited it in its present condition. I have shot it just once, with very light loads.
The action on these old-timers is interesting. Here's a shot of the internals on this gun. When the hammer is at rest, it's easy to push it forward with your thumb so that the firing pin protrudes through the recoil shield. I can see why it was later changed; it was not until WWII that these were drop-proofed with an internal hammer block safety bar. Note that there is no rebound slide; a different system was used on these early ones.
John
