I've always wanted an early 3" barreled Model 19 and I thought that my only options were to be lucky enough to get one of the early 19-2s that were produced. However, I came across this one last year and I am finally getting around to posting the photos.

A little about this unique revolver: It is an Alvin White engraved masterpiece that shipped in November 1961 to Milton C. Walsh, a S&W Sales Rep for the northeastern US and good friend of Alvin White. Per the factory letter, it was "specially built and had a 3 inch barrel, round butt, target hammer, target trigger, red ramp front sight, white outline rear sight and blue finish." Roy also stated that it was a "prototype round butt" and in his "opinion was the first round butt model 19 ever produced." Roy states that "Milton Walsh may have been the individual responsible for the round butt Model 19 becoming a production revolver." And that in Roy's opinion, Mr Walsh "had this revolver engraved and gold inlaid as a way to recognize the importance of the handgun in Smith & Wesson history."

Enough with the chat... Here are the photos [Edited - I added a few more specific detail photos in post 40]:































Oh yeah, and it came to me in a Beautiful Marvin Huey Case:



Thanks for letting me share,

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

My birth month and year! Wish I had held up as well. Beautiful!

This is the FIRST time I have ever drooled over an engraved gun!

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Frosty
S&WCA # 2816

Just...wow!

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

Double Wow!!!

That gun is beautiful!

Very cool,Thanks for sharing.Have You thought about installing a Factory Target Hammer?

Very nice! 'Scuze me while I wipe the drool of my tablet.

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Keep on Chooglin'

Thank you for the marvelous photos of a marvelous work of art!!

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

That one is in the Michelangelo class.
Gun art at its finest.

Ya gotta wonder why they just didn't stick with the 3" in lieu of the 2-1/2.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

WOW! Just WOW! I am so glad that in the early twilight of my life I saw that.

Dang Richard, if you'd brought that to the gun show today we could have gone to the Range afterwards..............I would have brought the ammo

As always, thanks for sharing your beautiful collection!!

Richard, that's one of the most stunning and unique guns I've ever seen!
Congrats on a marvelous acquisition.

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John

Wow!

How does it shoot?

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Thank goodness I am sitting in a chair with padded arms....else wise, I would be on the floor. That is what dreams are made of....Can I get one in a model 57/58?

Thanks Richard, for sharing and providing, an ever rising bar for the posters here.

Wow, just wow.

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On the Oak Savannah

Think I just peed a little bit in my pants....
Amazing doesn't describe how amazing it is....Wow...Wowie wow wow...

Art it is. I'd love to have a gun just like it without the art. It's a very special piece of art, but other than that, pretty much useless as a gun. Sure is purely though.

WOW...

Not much else to say.

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John 3:16 .

A beautiful gun, but the hammer spur is missing!

Richard
That is stunning! Milton is still with us. I've bought a lot of stuff from him over the past 20 years. I had his S&W Sales Rep ring. I still have his Mass State Police pocket badge.

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Don Mundell

Richard.
One more thing. How come your not upset it still doesn't have the red ramp front sight?

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Don Mundell

It's a fabulous gun Richard,and just speaks of Alvin White's mastery as an engraver of the highest order. I especially like the checkered ivory stocks. A wonderful work of art!
Bill

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John
That left me speechless.

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Scoundrel & Ne'er-Do-Well

One never tires of sitting and staring at the work of a master.

Ralph Tremaine

If you don't mind my asking, it letters with a target hammer. So when was the spur removed? Any idea why this was done on a display only revolver? Is it now DAO? Any evidence of having been fired?

It is a spectacular piece. Great for open carry...

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No life story has happy end.

Hey, that thing looks familiar! Great piece, Richard. I'm glad it ended up in your collection, sir - and congratulations.

Thanks for all of the comments and questions thus far. This revolver truly is a beautiful and unique piece. I'll give some of my perspective and thoughts on the questions that were ask...

Yes...for about a minute. The gun is not in the configuration that it originally left the factory, plain and simple. It has had significant custom modifications, one of which is the removal of the hammer spur. I'm not sure the reason why, but the longer I collect S&W's the more I have come to appreciate professional custom touches added to personalize a gun. Don't get me wrong, I love a pristine from the factory gun as much as any of the rest of you, but custom "touches" have become something that I seek out. These include: custom stocks (Roper, Keith Brown, Ivory, Kearsarge, Sanderson, etc.), custom sights (King, Micro, etc...), quality engraving (factory and other great engravers), custom hammers and triggers (King, spurless, rounded, Micro, etc...), custom action work (Nelson Ford comes to mind), Porting (Magnaport and others) - you get the picture. In addition, from a practical perspective, if I were to replace the hammer spur, the gun would no longer fit in the custom Huey case...

I thought about melting the gold out of the front sight and replacing it with cheap red plastic, but dang it, that is just too much work... That and the gold front insert is a really cool custom modification (see comments above).

Not sure why or when the hammer spur was removed. This was a "specially built" gun and perhaps when he received it, Mr. Walsh decided that the removal of the spur was just one more custom feature that he had to have on this one of a kind gun. Maybe Don Mundell can ask Mr. Walsh the next time he sees him...???

The gun is not mechanically DAO - your question made me check, but the hammer will lock on the single action notch. However, it is obviously functionally DAO without the hammer spur.

The gun does not show any signs of being fired after it was engraved and re-blued.

Thanks again for the questions, comments and likes and for letting me share,

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Do you happen to know anything of the stocks it is sporting ?
Fantastic 3" 19....it suits you well

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Paul
S&WCA #2726

That would look pretty good with a set of Spegel Boot grips and an Milt Sparks Summer Special holster...........


LOL......................that is sweeeeeet.....

A three inch in 1961 !...that's pre 2 1/2 inch round butt...... which IIRC a few in 63/64 and not standard production until 66.........


With that prototype; I wonder why they didn't stick with a 3" 19 vs. going to a 2.5" version???????

The 3" is more of a scaled down 3 1/2" N-frame than the 2.5" gun!!!!

Special attention to the grips. If you ever see exotics, you almost always see the gold medallions, not the standard plated steel ones. I have no idea what the medallion is made from, or if its just a gold plated standard one.

If the OP wants a project sometime, take the grips off and photograph the inside of them. Both the disk, if it has them and the peened part of the stem.

These days we're hearing all kinds of nonsense that the Feds are confiscating ivory items and anything they're attached to. That assumes the entire musical instrument or gun if the handles are ivory. It might make it risky to transport the gun in interstate commerce, like going to a gun show or SWCA convention. Today I was at an antique show and saw all kinds of prohibited stuff. I wonder if the enforcement will be directed at guns or if the letter openers and earrings crowd needs to worry.

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Dick Burg

These days we're hearing all kinds of nonsense that the Feds are confiscating ivory items and anything they're attached to. That assumes the entire musical instrument or gun if the handles are ivory. It might make it risky to transport the gun in interstate commerce, like going to a gun show or SWCA convention. Today I was at an antique show and saw all kinds of prohibited stuff. I wonder if the enforcement will be directed at guns or if the letter openers and earrings crowd needs to worry.[/QUOTE]

If that happens, my first call will be to turn in my Mother-in-Law. She has two piano's in her house. I can't wait to watch them remove the player piano in the attic.

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Don Mundell

Fantastic work of art. Very tastefully done by the best.

A masterpiece, custom touches and all. Beautiful any way you look at it..

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Oh well, what the hell.

Beyond words and my reach! Thanks for showing.

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

I am guessing that the grips were fitted and crafted by Mr. White's shop. They fit perfectly, but have just enough flaws in the checkering to know that they were done by hand. Also the backs still show the saw marks and shaping marks. I have seen several AW engraved guns of this vintage that had beautifully shaped and checkered ivory grips - which furthers my belief that these were done in his shop.

Dick:

I did have the grips off when I first got the gun. They had years of hand grime in the checkering (which the OCD part of me could not handle), so I broke out an old toothbrush and tube of Crest and went to work. I should have done a before and after photo - Crest does a great job of cleaning old teeth. But I digress - While I had the grips off the gun, I did not take a photo of the back sides, but there are no disks on the back and if I recall correctly, no part of the medallion stem protrudes through the ivory [EDIT: I had the grips off and the stem DOES come all the way through the ivory and is cut off flush with the backs. The stems appear to be brass. -See additional photos at post 40]. So I'm going to say that they are solid gold...... well probably gold plated... I do know that there was no tarnish on the medallions, but there was some tarnish on the escutcheons (looked brass to me), that came off with the Crest treatment.

I'll look at them a little more closely next time I have the gun out and the grips off.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Well, Gentlemen! I can supply some answers and so obvious I wonder how you all can’t see it!
This revolver was obviously for low profile undercover work. Likely in an ankle holster where a pesky hammer spur could catch on cuff, embarrassingly dragging pants up to crotch. (Such considerably diminishing 'officer presence' and likely rendering the crook(s) full of mirth rather than fearful respect!)
I also suspect the subject piece as one of a matching pair in such holsters. The other one counterbalancing the wearer rather like dual ankle weights! Presumably also ‘bobbed spur’, hauled out as a pair in a manner likely to highly impress sophisticated crooks with impeccable Agent refinement and taste!
Now only the quest to find that sibling gun and matching accessory bejeweled ankle holster set!


And, the postscript... Dream on of course, yet were that gun mine, I wouldn’t NEVER, EVER presume to replace that hammer it now wears. To me it's part of the ‘intrinsic character’ of the piece adding to its uniqueness!!! Finally, beyond humor and then this small recitation… I can’t do better than adding to choir... OH WOW!

Yet, another example of why A.A. White's work is truly master class!

The only reason I wouldn't tote and shoot that bad boy is because of the historical significance of its build, NOT because of the engraving. I don't know why folks assume that an engraved gun cannot be carried or shot. There are plenty of worn out engraved SAA Colts out there. Doesn't make the gun any less efficient at what it was designed to do.

That is a beautiful gun and I'm sure you are very proud to own it. Larry

Over the years, I have filled up my mental hard disk, so every time I have to remember something new (like where I left my glasses) something of importance gets pushed off to the side - never to be retrieved...

I have had several questions on what is stamped in the yoke. I recalled it being stamped "Mod 19" - BUT I was wrong. Nothing but the SN is stamped in the yoke. It is not model marked (the letter refers to it as a Model 19).



Also, above I stated that I did not think the medallion stem broke through the rear of the grip - Once Again I was wrong. It does and the stem appears to be brass.



And just while I am posting - here's a complete copy of the 2nd page of the factory letter.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Holy Cats. Incredible. Priceless.

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NRA cert.instructor&R.S.O.

Now THAT is what I call free Internet porn. Simply awesome piece of both art and history.

Absolutely a beautiful example of a master engraver's work.

What a beauty. Most of us here would probably consider it an honor to be shot with it.

I'm not a huge fan of engraved guns by an large. The two reasons that stand out in my mind are 1) because they were never really used for anything (and thus don't have interesting history) and 2) because they so often detract from the original beauty of the gun.

I've come to realize that 2) was just my ignorance. Actual artists like the Youngs and Alvin White made guns beautiful, whereas many engravers through history were capable of scratching guns but weren't really artists. Even if they did a good job at it the gun just wasn't really improved.

In the case of this gun you have something that is both incredibly historical (and thus interesting to me) and beautiful. I find the bobbed hammer to be an improvement to the aesthetics, and I believe it goes perfectly with the round butt. The engraving is of course magnificent.

The engraved guns I truly would sacrifice to own can be counted on one of my hands. This gun just increased that count to two hands. Very very nicely done.

It is a dandy for sure. Congratulations! I cannot imagine what it is like to own such a treasure...WOW! I am happy for you and that it is in loving hands...

Well worth the wait!

I am blown away. Definitely a work of art.

Back in the dim dead days of my youth, in a little Texas border town that still had the flavor of the Old West, I knew an ancient city constable who carried a profusely engraved and nickel plated military issue 1911 just like the one carried by David Warner in Titanic. I thought that his piece was the most beautiful weapon I'd ever seen. I was wrong-this Smith is the prettiest barbecue gun ever! Now all you need is a vintage hand tooled S. D. Myres or Tex Shoemaker Border Rig with ammo loops and a Jordan-type holster to carry it in!

Amazing doesn't quite cover it! So, it started out as a pre- or early model 19 that wasn't serial numbered or assembled until 1961, or it just missed being model stamped during the special treatment?

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Wow that is a nice one!!!!