Thanks
Is the engraver the same for all 3 guns?[
I don't know the answer to this question for sure. The primary gun in this post is confirmed in a letter by Mr. Smith that he was the engraver. There is speculation (by Roy Jinks and several others) that the blued gun was also the work of Russ Smith, but a few have thrown out Virginia LeBlanch and or Harry Jarvis. I would think that the same pool of engravers would be thrown out for the other pinto as well. All of them DO letter as factory engraved and they left the factory in the configuration that you see in the photos.
Are the grips factory? If they are, I did not know they did ivory inlays.
I believe that all of the grips on these three guns are factory. The ivory diamond ones (with the "engraving lines") are something that I have seen on more than a handful of these custom factory guns over the years. I recall there being a thread or two on these grips and I think that it is the general consensus that these stocks were in fact produced in the factory.
I would love to know the original cost of each one from the '50s. The return on the original investment would be immeasurable to me.
One of the pieces of paperwork that is not present with the guns is the original invoice. It would be an interesting tidbit to know.
As to the questions of the "reverse pintos", I do not have one and I have seen very few over the years, none of which I recall being engraved. I too would love to see one. However, I personally like the blued frames with the nickel barrel/cylinder. My only other pinto is a 19-1 (see my avatar) that I purchased several years ago.
Thanks to all for the comments and likes. It has been fun to share this piece with you all. And a special thanks to the forum member who allowed me to purchase these unique pieces and his expressed desire that they be kept together - they do indeed make a spectacular set and I feel lucky to be their current caretaker.
BTW: If there is anyone out there who has a lonely one of these pintos/engraved 357's, I would be more than willing to entertain "adoption discussions" - especially if it is a long-barreled 357.
