Model 1,1,1

JSR III

JSR III

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I recently watched a video where a member displayed his Model 1,1,1 serial number 5. It was reported to be the lowest serial number known to exist.

Do we know what happened to 1, 2, 3 and 4??

I would love to have a Model 1 in my collection as other than the Volcanic's it was Horace and Daniels first product.

How many 1,1,1's were produced.

Not typically into antiques but perhaps due to the fact that I am becoming one I am beginning to relate.....
 
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There seem to be no exact serial number range for the first variation. Mike Helms book shows an estimated high serial number of 213.

It has often been estimated that relatively low numbers of antique revolvers exist today. Most have estimated the attrition rate is well over 50%. We do not know if 1, 2, 3, and 4 exist or not today, so there is no basis to state they are gone. My research and studying survival rates indicate that if durable goods that are over 100 years old, less than 25% exist today. Some model state a much lower rate of survival than that.

If you have 5 of something made over 150 years ago, it is certainly credible that only one exists today, as that is a 20% survival rate. These little revolvers would have seen many reasons why they disappeared. Many were likely lost if carried throughout one's life. They were a tool back then with no sentimental attachment and if they broke, they were thrown away. If you look at functionality, they were probably more anemic round than S&Ws Volcanic "Rocket Ball" pistols, which quickly got that reputation. Lastly, ammunition for this gun probably disappeared over 100 years ago when replaced with smokeless powder and many were afraid of shooting smokeless in guns like this.
 
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Gary, it would seem to me that your analysis is spot on. If not still around, do we know where 1,2,3 and 4 went originally?

Again, any ideas on how many 1,1,1's were made before it became the 1,1,2 ? :confused:
 
I'm the owner of serial number 5. It has been a lot of fun to display that gun and it always generates great conversation.

I keep a database of all of the known Model 1, 1st Issue guns. For the 1-1-1, I know positively of 15 survivors out of approximately 210 that were made. That's a survival rate of about 7%. Of course, there may be other 1-1-1s out there that I don't know about.

At the 2022 NRA Annual Meeting we had six of those 1-1-1 survivors on display (in addition to about a dozen other important Model 1s). For those that are familiar with these old guns and their importance, it was a breathtaking assemblage to see.

In terms of serial numbers 1 through 4: We know that 2 and 3 were commercially sold guns to people in Springfield, MA, in October of 1857 and January of 1858. The exact disposition of serial numbers 1 and 4 is up in the air, but it has been speculated that 4 may have been the other gun sent to the American Machine Works. In any event, they've never turned up in our collecting circles nor is there any mention of them in any of the Model 1 literature I've read going back to the 1940s.

That said, I do know of one 1-1-1 that turned up some years back in the midwest ... so it's possible that one of those really early guns is out there sitting in a kitchen drawer or an attic.

Mike
 
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I'm the owner of serial number 5. It has been a lot of fun to display that gun and it always generates great conversation.
Click to expand...

I watched you in a video the other day as stated in my first post but didn't want to mention your name. I guess since the video is out there it really didn't matter.

I know that the first models made had a round side plate. Which variations does this include?

Now I guess I have to try to find a copy of your book!!!
 
James, the Model 1, 1st Issue has six variations or types. 1,1,1 through 1,1,6. All six types had the round side plate and oval frame (cross section). These six variations include 11,000 + revolvers. An exact number is not known due to an overlap of serial numbers with the Model 1, 2nd Issue. The 1,2 has the irregular side plate and flat sided brass frame.
 
JSR III said:
I watched you in a video the other day as stated in my first post but didn't want to mention your name. I guess since the video is out there it really didn't matter.

I know that the first models made had a round side plate. Which variations does this include?

Now I guess I have to try to find a copy of your book!!!
Click to expand...

James, PM me your address and I'll mail you a copy. I have a few left over.

Mike
 
mmaher94087, Mike, don't forget the 1st to 2nd model transitional variation, with the "square cut" side plate found in the 11,000 # serial range, where 1st, 1st 6th variations overlap serial number wise. There are probably 20 known survivors of these guns. Ed
 
If I may shamelessly hijack this thread for a second ...

... in the summer of 2021 I wrote the little booklet that Gary mentioned titled "Fifteen Guns: A Selection of Important S&W Model 1 Revolvers." I had just added serial number 5 to my collection, and I was stoked to have something that I could sell at the fall symposium, where I'd have my grandest-yet Model 1 display.

As luck had it, I had a heart attack about 2 weeks before the symposium, and for some odd reason my cardiologist didn't want me driving from Louisiana to Tulsa that soon thereafter. Ergo, with two new heart stents and crushed dreams, I stayed home and leafed through the hundred copies of that little booklet that had just been printed.

I offered them for sale back in 2021 and a lot of folks here obliged (which at least let me break even on the printing costs), but I'm still got about fifteen signed-and-numbered copies left. At this point, I'd just love to get them out of my office.

So, if you want a copy, PM me your address and I'll get one off to you. If you want to kick a few dollars my way for a cup of coffee, then cool. If not, that's fine too.

And if you're REALLY interested in Model 1s ... yes, I'm still working on my full-length book. That work started right after I finished my thesis back in 2016, and I'm still diligently working on it. That will be a much more exhaustive look at the founding of Smith & Wesson, and the many social, economic, and political factors that converged to make their founding such a meteoric success.

Mike
 
opoefc said:
mmaher94087, Mike, don't forget the 1st to 2nd model transitional variation, with the "square cut" side plate found in the 11,000 # serial range, where 1st, 1st 6th variations overlap serial number wise. There are probably 20 known survivors of these guns. Ed
Click to expand...

Ed, I have two of the square side plate guns. Both came from you. :-)

Mike
 
Mike, the book arrived although the USPS decided to deliver it to my neighbor. It's a great read, thank you so much. I don't own a lot of antique S&W's but the book has definitely peaked my interest.
 
I felt I was lucky when I discovered a 1-1-3, S/N 1321. Roy said it shipped 11/5/1858. scsw4 indicates there were about 1870 of them built, s/n's 1130 to about 3000.

This gun was not in good condition, but when I first saw it on a table of an auction, situated between a Glock and a H&R top break, I almost didn't recognize it as it was the dirtiest S&W I recall seeing. It is Silver and Blue, but the silver was beyond black, and there was dirt clinging on to it. I was hoping no one else would recognize what it was. Luckily only a couple of other bids were made.

I couldn't stand the filth of it so I had to do a minimal clean up.





When you find an example like this, you wonder how all the lumps and bumps got there. Maybe bouncing around in someone's saddlebags out on the trail?
 
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