9mm Automatic Pistol 1313 Turns 69

[DARE]

S&W 9mm Automatic Pistol (Pre-model 39) serial number 1313 shipped November 22, 1955. 69 years ago today.
I like that it is a 1st year gun and also like the serial number.
Got the gun from my father. He was a gun store owner and a gun writer. As a writer he covered the SHOT show and the industry trade shows before the advent of SHOT. Denver was a big one. He made a lot of friends in the firearms industry going to the shows. Elmer Keith, Roy Jinks and Larry Seecamp among others. Larry was the son of Louis Seecamp. Louis was the founder and gun designer of L W Seecamp. Seecamp made a pair of small stainless steel pistols, one in .25 ACP and the other .32 ACP. They offered a set in a "restricted edition" and you could choose your serial number. Both guns had the same number. Dad asked for 13, his favorite number. They said 13 was not available, but he could have 1313. This was agreed to. Larry said he had an old S&W 9mm with the same number.
When the guns were shipped, 1313 was included as a gift.

 

[panamajack310]

Very cool story thanks for sharing. That is a beautiful looking pre 39….ill bet she shoots like a dream.

Happy birthday 1313

 

[cougar015]

Dave,
That's a great gun and a great story. I would love to see it again if you're coming to next year's Symposium.

 

[Sevens]

I love the part where Larry Seecamp just sent this first year pre-39 along as a gift with the purchase of two Seecamp pistols. Classy!

 

[Engine49guy]

IIRC Herman Munsters address was 1313 Mockingbird lane,
Still remember that from 1973 yet seem to forget my girlfriends birthday alot....
I do always remember my Golden Retrievers birthday !

 

[DCW]

Strike the first 1 (one) of the 1313 and you get 313 which, in the grand scheme of things, is a lot closer to the order in which your 1313 was built.

S&W started with 1000 for the Pre S/N. One caveat: Smith & Wesson's factory floor guys were, um, notorious for pulling a number to be used on a firearm but not immediately use that number. Put another way: Your 1313 might've been the actual 313th "Model 39" ever produced ... or the 555th actually produced.

Nevertheless, I like the 313 aspect.

And, for the sake of everyone's knowledge, I'm an old fart who darn well might not know what he's talkin' about, according to some, for sure.

Thanks for taking the time to convey a most excellent story about your 1313. It tells of a time that grows ever more distant, wherein if one was a firearm owner, other firearm owners instantly shared an almost sacred bond from the get-go.

 

[Baxter6551]

OP What a great gun and a great story! Sounds like your father was an interesting guy! What a treasure to have.
I also have a Larry Seecamp story if I may share. I met Larry and his father when I was a young policeman and they were doing the double action conversions on 1911s. Larry told me they were moving to set up a shop to make their LWS .25. Fast forward a year and I stopped by the shop. Larry offered to sell me a .25 which I couldn’t afford on my newlywed policeman’s salary. I was carrying a Beretta minx .22 short as a backup. He offered to swap me for a .25 and use my name as the serial number. I readily accepted.
I started showing the .25 around and about 15 other cops also ordered them. I bought another .25 for my wife’s 25th birthday with her name serial xxxx25. Larry’s Dad polished it and lightened the trigger pull slightly for her. Larry told me it was the only polished .25 that left the shop. When the .32s came out, I ordered my matching number .32. When the .380 came out I declined after test firing one in the test range at his shop (small closet lined with egg crate foam panels and a water filled 55 gallon drum). Recoil was violent.
I was friends with Larry until he died but wish I’d been better at staying in touch. Having no interested heirs, He sold the company to a couple of his customers who still make the guns in MA. Larry told me there were only 20 sets of “restricted edition” .25 and .32s after being told during an ATF audit that he couldn’t duplicate serial numbers - despite guns being different models LWS .25 and LWS .32 (I found it strange as the larger companies made serial matching sets).
Knowing Larry he was very generous to friends and colleagues and his gift of 1313 bears this out. I miss stopping in to visit and keeping up with him on his excellent Seecamp Forum which the new company kept going for awhile but have now shut down.
Sorry for rambling….

 

[DARE]

Rich, I plan on going to North Carolina for the Symposium. Will bring 1313 with me.

Pete, I like your story better than mine. Love the symmetry. A Seecamp .25 for your wife on her 25th birthday with her name and 25 as the serial number. Plus it was the only polished .25. Also cool that you have a pair with your name as the serial number.
I knew that ATF stopped the sale of the "restricted edition" guns. Had no idea that only 20 sets made it out the door. The plan was for 2000 sets.

 

[DARE]

Here is the invoice for 1313. Many thanks to cougar015.