Last year, in August, I located this revolver for sale. Of course, it had been refinished but I still felt the revolver was attractive. The revolver is a 1903 (32 S&W long, I frame) first change target, with a 4.25 in barrel. It has factory pearl grips and a very nice presentation case which I hoped was a factory case. On top of all of these neat features, the gun had very tasteful engraving – one may even suspect factory although at the time, this was simple speculation.
When I was looking at the revolver, many people wrote the package off because apparently many people noticed the reblue and the light pitting on the cylinder before anything else. I, like many of you, was seduced and intrigued by the engraving before I thought much about the finish. At the very least, I felt it was the work of a very skilled engraver – not the work of an amateur.
A friend of mine informed me the possible value of the case, and I realized I had to buy this package because despite the refinish, and even if the engraving was not factory, there was a value in the sum of the parts. Aside from that, the gun itself, despite the refinish and unknown origin engraving (at the time), was still of course, a very scarce S&W 4.25 in 1903 1st change target.
Approx. 1 month after getting the revolver, I had not yet sent the letter request in. It was at that time that my wife and I decided to separate and ultimately divorce. This started a chaotic time of my life. For months, I was too stressed to think much about this pretty little revolver I had acquired, so it sat in my gun safe. Lucky for me, my ex-wife did not go after my gun collection! Earlier this year, I started to get my life back on track, and I finally sent the letter request in the Jan/Feb time frame. I anxiously awaited the letter every day after it had been about 3 months only to learn that Roy was AT LEAST that far behind in responding to letter requests. Finally, to my surprise, I got the letter on Sat July 5 and I was just like a kid at Christmas. I got inside, opened the letter, and my hopes were answered, the letter read “style 2 engraving” !!!!
Like Lee said in his thread about the possible factory engraved M&P target, often times, engraving detracts from a revolver. For many, having any engraved gun is special but this is akin to saying any Ford Mustang is special. Of course, that may be true, (esp. if you compare a Mustang to a pickup truck) but there are different levels to anything like this and just like with Mustangs, not all engravers or engraved guns for that matter, are equals and of course, the devil is always in the details.
Enjoy!
If anyone has a screw for the rear sight, please let me know!
And the letter
...oddly enough, my only other EK Tryon S&W is also a factory pearl grip gun - a 32 "bicycle" revolver which shipped in 1939. Apparently EK Tryon was around for many years.
As I said, the case itself was the difference maker for me in this purchase, since I had a rough idea what the factory pearl grips were worth and what the revolver was worth as a refinished, non-factory engraved (did not know without the letter) 1903 target.
Around the same time that I acquired this revolver and case, an 1891 single shot cased pair was auctioned by RIA. Here is a pic of those guns in their case. Note that the case is very similar to mine. If anyone has any info about my presentation case, please let me know!
1891 cased pistols
My case
Now of course, just owning this example of a factory engraved S&W does not make me any type of an expert. I know that Oscar’s younger brother, Eugene, was also employed by S&W at the turn of the century. I suppose it’s therefor possible that Eugene could have engraved my revolver, but his style is slightly different than the style of my gun.
As many of us know, Harry Jarvis (another prominent S&W engraver) started with S&W in 1905 but there is some speculation that he did not start off as an engraver for S&W. FWIW, I always found it amazing that Jarvis did not retire from S&W until 1958, after putting in 53 years with S&W! Here is a photo of the work of Harry Jarvis, which is very different than the work of the Youngs:
Oscar and Eugene Young were the sons of one of the greatest firearms engravers of all time, Gustave Young. Gustave Young was born in Germany in 1827 and immigrated to the US in 1846. In 1852 he joined Colt’s engraving staff. He left Colt’s to run his engraving shop full time in the early 1860s. Gustave was then employed by S&W from 1869 to the early 1890s. Gustave passed away in 1895. Gustave’s eldest son, Oscar, was born in 1854. Oscar worked for S&W for approx. 20 years, from 1891 to 1911. Oscar Young would pass away in 1912. Oscar’s younger brother Eugene worked as an engraver for the Elgin Watch Company before working for S&W for approx. 10 years. Eugene came to engrave for S&W after Oscar started, and worked for S&W around the turn of the century.
The name Gustave Young of course speaks for itself in the gun collecting community and esp. in the gun engraving community. Gustave’s impression on gun engraving was immeasurable. Aside from engraving and inlaying some of the most beautiful and valuable revolvers that there are, Gustave apprenticed many other engravers, and some went on to be famous in their own right. On top of apprenticing his sons Oscar and Eugene, Gustave had another apprentice, Conrad F. Ulrich, Jr. Conrad and his brothers, John and Herman, later became famous Winchester engravers after him and his brothers all apprenticed under Gustave Young. Gustave Young’s engraved pieces were prominently featured in S&Ws display at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair "Columbian" exposition. And if all this was not enough to showcase the greatness of Gustave Young, it was Gustave that developed the S&W monogram logo that we all know and love today!
Here is a photo of Gustave Young (left). This photo was part of the Young family photo album which was auctioned off last year by RIA. It was in the collection of R.L. Wilson prior to being auctioned. I wonder if the boys on the right are in fact Oscar and Eugene? Apparently there was a third brother, Albert, who was perhaps the “black sheep” of the family
Here is a S&W 44 Frontier that is just one example of the beautiful work by Gustave Young. This revolver was auctioned last year for $155,000 by RIA. It was part of the 1893 exposition display by S&W.
Here is a photo of Oscar (left) and Eugene Young (right). This is a photo of p.122 of the Images of America: Smith & Wesson book.
Here are photos of a 44 DA that was said by RIA to likely have been done by Oscar Young. It was factory engraved FWIW. The engraving motif and style closely matches the engraving on my gun. This gun was auctioned by RIA in 2011.
Here is a photo of Eugene’s (top) and Oscar's (bottom) work side by side. This photo is from p.196 in "Steel Canvas" by R.L. Wilson. Steel Canvas is a great book which depicts gun engraving from several eras and many different engravers.
Due to the evidence above, the engraving on my revolver more closely resembles the work of Oscar Young than anyone else IMO. Of course, however, if anyone with a more experienced eye has anything to add, please do!
When I was looking at the revolver, many people wrote the package off because apparently many people noticed the reblue and the light pitting on the cylinder before anything else. I, like many of you, was seduced and intrigued by the engraving before I thought much about the finish. At the very least, I felt it was the work of a very skilled engraver – not the work of an amateur.
A friend of mine informed me the possible value of the case, and I realized I had to buy this package because despite the refinish, and even if the engraving was not factory, there was a value in the sum of the parts. Aside from that, the gun itself, despite the refinish and unknown origin engraving (at the time), was still of course, a very scarce S&W 4.25 in 1903 1st change target.
Approx. 1 month after getting the revolver, I had not yet sent the letter request in. It was at that time that my wife and I decided to separate and ultimately divorce. This started a chaotic time of my life. For months, I was too stressed to think much about this pretty little revolver I had acquired, so it sat in my gun safe. Lucky for me, my ex-wife did not go after my gun collection! Earlier this year, I started to get my life back on track, and I finally sent the letter request in the Jan/Feb time frame. I anxiously awaited the letter every day after it had been about 3 months only to learn that Roy was AT LEAST that far behind in responding to letter requests. Finally, to my surprise, I got the letter on Sat July 5 and I was just like a kid at Christmas. I got inside, opened the letter, and my hopes were answered, the letter read “style 2 engraving” !!!!
Like Lee said in his thread about the possible factory engraved M&P target, often times, engraving detracts from a revolver. For many, having any engraved gun is special but this is akin to saying any Ford Mustang is special. Of course, that may be true, (esp. if you compare a Mustang to a pickup truck) but there are different levels to anything like this and just like with Mustangs, not all engravers or engraved guns for that matter, are equals and of course, the devil is always in the details.
Enjoy!
If anyone has a screw for the rear sight, please let me know!
And the letter
...oddly enough, my only other EK Tryon S&W is also a factory pearl grip gun - a 32 "bicycle" revolver which shipped in 1939. Apparently EK Tryon was around for many years.
As I said, the case itself was the difference maker for me in this purchase, since I had a rough idea what the factory pearl grips were worth and what the revolver was worth as a refinished, non-factory engraved (did not know without the letter) 1903 target.
Around the same time that I acquired this revolver and case, an 1891 single shot cased pair was auctioned by RIA. Here is a pic of those guns in their case. Note that the case is very similar to mine. If anyone has any info about my presentation case, please let me know!
1891 cased pistols
My case
Now of course, just owning this example of a factory engraved S&W does not make me any type of an expert. I know that Oscar’s younger brother, Eugene, was also employed by S&W at the turn of the century. I suppose it’s therefor possible that Eugene could have engraved my revolver, but his style is slightly different than the style of my gun.
As many of us know, Harry Jarvis (another prominent S&W engraver) started with S&W in 1905 but there is some speculation that he did not start off as an engraver for S&W. FWIW, I always found it amazing that Jarvis did not retire from S&W until 1958, after putting in 53 years with S&W! Here is a photo of the work of Harry Jarvis, which is very different than the work of the Youngs:
Oscar and Eugene Young were the sons of one of the greatest firearms engravers of all time, Gustave Young. Gustave Young was born in Germany in 1827 and immigrated to the US in 1846. In 1852 he joined Colt’s engraving staff. He left Colt’s to run his engraving shop full time in the early 1860s. Gustave was then employed by S&W from 1869 to the early 1890s. Gustave passed away in 1895. Gustave’s eldest son, Oscar, was born in 1854. Oscar worked for S&W for approx. 20 years, from 1891 to 1911. Oscar Young would pass away in 1912. Oscar’s younger brother Eugene worked as an engraver for the Elgin Watch Company before working for S&W for approx. 10 years. Eugene came to engrave for S&W after Oscar started, and worked for S&W around the turn of the century.
The name Gustave Young of course speaks for itself in the gun collecting community and esp. in the gun engraving community. Gustave’s impression on gun engraving was immeasurable. Aside from engraving and inlaying some of the most beautiful and valuable revolvers that there are, Gustave apprenticed many other engravers, and some went on to be famous in their own right. On top of apprenticing his sons Oscar and Eugene, Gustave had another apprentice, Conrad F. Ulrich, Jr. Conrad and his brothers, John and Herman, later became famous Winchester engravers after him and his brothers all apprenticed under Gustave Young. Gustave Young’s engraved pieces were prominently featured in S&Ws display at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair "Columbian" exposition. And if all this was not enough to showcase the greatness of Gustave Young, it was Gustave that developed the S&W monogram logo that we all know and love today!
Here is a photo of Gustave Young (left). This photo was part of the Young family photo album which was auctioned off last year by RIA. It was in the collection of R.L. Wilson prior to being auctioned. I wonder if the boys on the right are in fact Oscar and Eugene? Apparently there was a third brother, Albert, who was perhaps the “black sheep” of the family
Here is a S&W 44 Frontier that is just one example of the beautiful work by Gustave Young. This revolver was auctioned last year for $155,000 by RIA. It was part of the 1893 exposition display by S&W.
Here is a photo of Oscar (left) and Eugene Young (right). This is a photo of p.122 of the Images of America: Smith & Wesson book.
Here are photos of a 44 DA that was said by RIA to likely have been done by Oscar Young. It was factory engraved FWIW. The engraving motif and style closely matches the engraving on my gun. This gun was auctioned by RIA in 2011.
Here is a photo of Eugene’s (top) and Oscar's (bottom) work side by side. This photo is from p.196 in "Steel Canvas" by R.L. Wilson. Steel Canvas is a great book which depicts gun engraving from several eras and many different engravers.
Due to the evidence above, the engraving on my revolver more closely resembles the work of Oscar Young than anyone else IMO. Of course, however, if anyone with a more experienced eye has anything to add, please do!
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