The purple hue to the barrel and cylinder in certain lighting of your photos suggest to me that it was blued somewhere other than the factory.
Very cool revolver, nonetheless.
Very cool revolver, nonetheless.
My Engraved 1955 Masterpiece
- Thread starter SCCarmy
- Start date
That is one beautiful gun. Who ever engraved it is very talented, Larry
Letter from S&W but still confused
Hello everyone,
I did get the letter back from S&W the other day and they said that it was one of 4 guns donated to Jessie Harpe in Tampa, FL by S&W 20 January 1958 to be awarded at the 1958 Mid-Winter National Championships. They said that it was not a factory engraving; however that should not detract at all from the value as it is truly a piece of art.
I am a little confused though. I was looking at another thread that shows that the guns donated by S&W in 1958 for this competition were engraved. Here is the thread and a picture from the thread.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-ha...target-45-pictures-1958-trophy-gun-added.html
Love to hear your thoughts on this.
Thank you,
Hello everyone,
I did get the letter back from S&W the other day and they said that it was one of 4 guns donated to Jessie Harpe in Tampa, FL by S&W 20 January 1958 to be awarded at the 1958 Mid-Winter National Championships. They said that it was not a factory engraving; however that should not detract at all from the value as it is truly a piece of art.
I am a little confused though. I was looking at another thread that shows that the guns donated by S&W in 1958 for this competition were engraved. Here is the thread and a picture from the thread.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-ha...target-45-pictures-1958-trophy-gun-added.html
Love to hear your thoughts on this.
Thank you,
This gun is a museum piece, and should be shared by all! If you will send me your name and address, I will pay shipping and handling for this revolver to me. I will personally display it in my private museum and send you a picture of the plaque with your name on it....JUST KIDDING. Got the idea from a Nigerian banker asking to help cash a check...nice gun!
29aholic
Member
That does explain the small left side logo, as the trophy guns were usually engraved like the one in 29-1's thread.
handejector
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Wunderbar!
Beautiful gun.
I see lots of Germanic influence. I don't see any Japanese.
I suspect the Factory Trophy inscription was simply cut away by the engraver. The relief around the gold inlays appears to be rather deep.
Note also the lack of the 4 line address where the dog is located.
Beautiful gun.
I see lots of Germanic influence. I don't see any Japanese.
I suspect the Factory Trophy inscription was simply cut away by the engraver. The relief around the gold inlays appears to be rather deep.
Note also the lack of the 4 line address where the dog is located.
Possibly engraved by Kurt Jaeger or Claus Willig. Both are German engravers and do excellent work. Send photos to the Firearms Engravers Guild of America and ask them for an opinion.
Bill
Bill
Shiro Ogawa was European trained in engraving and his style refected it.
The woodland scene background style cut on the op's revolver is certainly of Germanic/Austrian style,,the scroll work also. It could point to someone like Ogawa,,who didn't sign all his pieces. His artwork was his signiture so he said. He would place a small mark or signiture in the engraving if requested and he felt he could comply.
Sugaya is another that cut in the Germanic style.
If the gun had been done in the Kurt Jeager shop in Germany, it would have been proudly marked as such,,no matter who did the work for them. Only a couple of his better name cutters like Clause Willig got to put their own name as well on the work done for the shop.
Great looking revolver who ever did the work and a fine piece of family history to cherish.
Congrats!
The woodland scene background style cut on the op's revolver is certainly of Germanic/Austrian style,,the scroll work also. It could point to someone like Ogawa,,who didn't sign all his pieces. His artwork was his signiture so he said. He would place a small mark or signiture in the engraving if requested and he felt he could comply.
Sugaya is another that cut in the Germanic style.
If the gun had been done in the Kurt Jeager shop in Germany, it would have been proudly marked as such,,no matter who did the work for them. Only a couple of his better name cutters like Clause Willig got to put their own name as well on the work done for the shop.
Great looking revolver who ever did the work and a fine piece of family history to cherish.
Congrats!
Hi everyone,
Been a while since I posted on my own thread so here is the latest and greatest.
I requested a letter from S&W which I got back the other day and they said
This was one of 4 guns donated to Jessie Harpe in Tampa, FL by S&W on 20 January 1958 to be awarded at the 1958 Mid-Winter National Championships.
I then contacted FEGA and this is the opinion I received from them:
Mr. Carter,
I read the posts on the S&W forum and was amused at some of the speculation regarding your gun's engraver. On the other hand, some comments were accurate.
First off, the gun was NOT engraved by Alvin White or his associate Andrew Bourbon. Neither was it engraved by Ogawa, Sugawa or any other Japanese engraver.
Your gun was clearly engraved by a school trained, master German gun engraver. As one poster commented, it did not go through the Kurt Jaeger shop in Mainz, Germany because all of Kurt's engraved guns were so marked. Many people incorrectly believe that Kurt Jaeger was a gun engraver. He was a gunsmith who sent out engraving, usually to Claus Willig or Claus' father. Some of Kurt's work also went to Erich Boessler.
At the time your gun was engraved it was common for guns to be sent to Germany for engraving, often through the Paul Jaeger gun shop in PA. Usually these guns were not marked by Paul Jaeger or by the actual engraver.
Without a signature, I can not be positive who engraved your gun because school trained and apprenticed German gun engravers were taught in such a strict fashion that their scrollwork and figures look quite alike, yet is distinguishable from the work of other nationalities. My educated guess is that the gun was most likely engraved by Claus Willig in Germany. When signing work, Willig sometimes used cw and other times, when the client asked for a signature, he used C. Willig. Boessler usually marked a tiny EB within a game scene or the scrollwork, but Boessler's German scroll varied slightly from what I see on your gun.
In any case, your S&W is beautifully engraved and inlaid at the master level.
I trust that the above information is helpful to your research.
Regards,
Next I emailed Mr. Willig and received a response from him this morning:
Hi Mr. Carter.
I am afraid you could be disappointed to learn: THIS REVOLVER IS NOT ENGRAVED BY MY FATHER EMIL WILLIG or by myself. At that time ( the late 1950s) he engraved for Kurt Jäger in Mainz Germany. Kurt Jäger, gunsmith and dealer, was the brother of Paul Jaeger, Jenkintown PA, a well known gunsmith in the USA. Paul ordered engravings in Germany with Kurts help. But I can not remember to have seen your revolver in our shop. The way it is engraved is not the kind of my father. The goldlines are not typical and I was too joung to do this job. Mr. Schildbach is probably the engraver, but I am not sure.
Sincerely Claus Willig
So now I am trying to figure out what next.
Any thoughts?
Been a while since I posted on my own thread so here is the latest and greatest.
I requested a letter from S&W which I got back the other day and they said
This was one of 4 guns donated to Jessie Harpe in Tampa, FL by S&W on 20 January 1958 to be awarded at the 1958 Mid-Winter National Championships.
I then contacted FEGA and this is the opinion I received from them:
Mr. Carter,
I read the posts on the S&W forum and was amused at some of the speculation regarding your gun's engraver. On the other hand, some comments were accurate.
First off, the gun was NOT engraved by Alvin White or his associate Andrew Bourbon. Neither was it engraved by Ogawa, Sugawa or any other Japanese engraver.
Your gun was clearly engraved by a school trained, master German gun engraver. As one poster commented, it did not go through the Kurt Jaeger shop in Mainz, Germany because all of Kurt's engraved guns were so marked. Many people incorrectly believe that Kurt Jaeger was a gun engraver. He was a gunsmith who sent out engraving, usually to Claus Willig or Claus' father. Some of Kurt's work also went to Erich Boessler.
At the time your gun was engraved it was common for guns to be sent to Germany for engraving, often through the Paul Jaeger gun shop in PA. Usually these guns were not marked by Paul Jaeger or by the actual engraver.
Without a signature, I can not be positive who engraved your gun because school trained and apprenticed German gun engravers were taught in such a strict fashion that their scrollwork and figures look quite alike, yet is distinguishable from the work of other nationalities. My educated guess is that the gun was most likely engraved by Claus Willig in Germany. When signing work, Willig sometimes used cw and other times, when the client asked for a signature, he used C. Willig. Boessler usually marked a tiny EB within a game scene or the scrollwork, but Boessler's German scroll varied slightly from what I see on your gun.
In any case, your S&W is beautifully engraved and inlaid at the master level.
I trust that the above information is helpful to your research.
Regards,
Next I emailed Mr. Willig and received a response from him this morning:
Hi Mr. Carter.
I am afraid you could be disappointed to learn: THIS REVOLVER IS NOT ENGRAVED BY MY FATHER EMIL WILLIG or by myself. At that time ( the late 1950s) he engraved for Kurt Jäger in Mainz Germany. Kurt Jäger, gunsmith and dealer, was the brother of Paul Jaeger, Jenkintown PA, a well known gunsmith in the USA. Paul ordered engravings in Germany with Kurts help. But I can not remember to have seen your revolver in our shop. The way it is engraved is not the kind of my father. The goldlines are not typical and I was too joung to do this job. Mr. Schildbach is probably the engraver, but I am not sure.
Sincerely Claus Willig
So now I am trying to figure out what next.
Any thoughts?
Updates
Hello Everyone,
Well I think we have a winner. On the advice of the Firearms Engravers Guild of America (FEGA), I emailed Mr. Hendrik Fruhauf in Germany who per the FEGA historian is "along with being, arguably the top engraver in Germany, is also the top historian of German engravers".
To my delight, Mr. Fruehauf, replied to my email very quickly and validated what Claus Willig said about the engraving being the work of Mr. Gustav Schildbach.
Per my last post, Mr. Willig said that Kurt Jager in Mainz Germany was a gunsmith and dealer and was the brother of Paul Jaeger in Jenkintown, PA who was also a well-known gunsmith and dealer in the USA. Paul would ordered engravings in Germany with Kurts help and that Kurt would essentially sub-out the engravings to Emil Willig, Claus Willig or Gustav Schildbach.
So now we know who the engraver is, I started doing some digging and guess what,,,,, that's right, no information to be found anywhere regarding Mr. Schildbach. So now I have to ask you guys if you know anything about Mr. Schildbach or if you have any other examples of his work.
Hopefully someone has info; I am looking forward to it.
Have a great day,
Hello Everyone,
Well I think we have a winner. On the advice of the Firearms Engravers Guild of America (FEGA), I emailed Mr. Hendrik Fruhauf in Germany who per the FEGA historian is "along with being, arguably the top engraver in Germany, is also the top historian of German engravers".
To my delight, Mr. Fruehauf, replied to my email very quickly and validated what Claus Willig said about the engraving being the work of Mr. Gustav Schildbach.
Per my last post, Mr. Willig said that Kurt Jager in Mainz Germany was a gunsmith and dealer and was the brother of Paul Jaeger in Jenkintown, PA who was also a well-known gunsmith and dealer in the USA. Paul would ordered engravings in Germany with Kurts help and that Kurt would essentially sub-out the engravings to Emil Willig, Claus Willig or Gustav Schildbach.
So now we know who the engraver is, I started doing some digging and guess what,,,,, that's right, no information to be found anywhere regarding Mr. Schildbach. So now I have to ask you guys if you know anything about Mr. Schildbach or if you have any other examples of his work.
Hopefully someone has info; I am looking forward to it.
Have a great day,
Hi Everyone,
It has been a while since I have been on; however, here I am again. As much as I don't want to say it, my dad has asked that I put the pistol up for sale. Sooooo,,,,,, with that said, if anyone is interested and willing to make a reasonable offer, I am all ears. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask and I will do my best to answer them. He would like me to sell the pistol as soon as possible; however, we are not in a rush.
Thank you as always and I look forward to reviewing any offers that come my way.
Cheers!!
It has been a while since I have been on; however, here I am again. As much as I don't want to say it, my dad has asked that I put the pistol up for sale. Sooooo,,,,,, with that said, if anyone is interested and willing to make a reasonable offer, I am all ears. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask and I will do my best to answer them. He would like me to sell the pistol as soon as possible; however, we are not in a rush.
Thank you as always and I look forward to reviewing any offers that come my way.
Cheers!!
What??? Nooooo, that beauty needs to stay in your family. It is a priceless heirloom (to you).
Does your dad own the gun or has it been in your possession?
To me, this is a sad ending to an amazing 3 year journey here. I really wish you did not have to sell it. Good luck.
Art Doc
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
To sell on the forum you need to put a specific price on it and post in the classifieds. I would suggest taking many photos and listing it on Gunbroker.
I'm in. I like it very much. Sal Raimondi
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