Prior to 1869, Smith & Wesson did not have an in house engraver, I believe it all started with Gustave Young.

Nonetheless, prior to 1869,Smith & Wesson would contract out engraving to engravers in the Springfield, Massachusetts area, some of these being identified as Richard Bates Inshaw and F W Martin. In the last few years, a few of these have come up for auction. Here is the first one in our study, a revolver identified as the work of Richard Bates Inshaw, in 1866:

Very Fine Smith & Wesson No. 1 Second Issue Revolver with Gutta-Percha Case, Gold-Washed & Factory-Engraved by Richard Bates Inshaw

The hammer price on this one is a misnomer. Two spirited bidders chased after this one, I being the runner up. I went way over my highest bid limit, simply because it almost closed at 16 k to me and a last minute bidder snuck in a bid, and I decided to either teach that competing bidder a lesson or be taught a very expensive lesson myself. Fortunately, I didn’t win this one.

This one sold earlier today at auction, and I’ll gladly be writing a check for $8812.50 to take it home, before shipping is calculated. It does have a few condition issues compared to the other revolver, namely with some tool marks to the ejector rod, and the engraving on this revolver is a little simpler. It dates to the following year—1867.

Very Fine Cased & F.W. Martin Engraved Smith & Wesson No. 1 Second Issue Revolver

Look closely at the engraving styles and patterns of both revolvers, realizing that the 1867 production revolver was probably a less expensive pattern, maybe engraved with a bit more haste?

However, when one compares these revolvers, less than 8000 serial numbers apart, and possibly engraved only months apart, the engraving looks similar enough to be the hand of the same engraver.

Does the forum collectively agree with me? If so, are both the work of Inshaw, or Martin, or other? If the forum disagrees with me, is the first revolver engraved by Inshaw, is the second by Martin, or are one or both engraved by other engravers?

A factory letter will not provide insight as to the matter as Smith & Wesson’s sole agent at the time would have been J W Storrs in New York City.