Newly acquired .38 M&P Special

[Masterpiece]

bigmacque,
Well I guess I'll answer your last question first!! Years & years of collecting S&W's teaches you to look for every detail!!

Secondly,I'm glad to hear it wasn't another Florida Pawn Shop Story!! I've been through a few of these over the years and came up empty!! Maybe everyone who retires to Florida now takes their gun collections with them. That way when they need a few bucks they just take a few to the local pawn shop to cash them in!!

Lastly,I wish someone I knew looked in their closet one day and said "I guess I'll see if anyone at the office could use these"!! Well at least you're the one she thought of!! Good for you!! Now since you got such a great deal,by the sounds of things,you can afford to get Roy to "Letter" it & find the rest of the goodies for in the Box!!

P.S.,
Don't forget to send a PM to Charlie Flick (ordnance guy) with the Full Serial Number of your Revolver so he can check his Victory Database & maybe he'll come up with some more information for you. He lives in Florida as well and maybe if you two aren't too far apart & he has any questions you could meet to show it to him. Just a thought!!

 

[bigmacque]

Just out of curiousity, any idea how long it takes for Roy Jinks to work his magic?

He does have a cool job though!

Given what I've learned so far, I seriously doubt this one will ever leave my collection ... at least as long as I'm able to maintain it.

Thanks again for all the info received.

 

[ordnanceguy]

Big:

Thanks for your PM providing me with the complete serial number on your nice revolver. That makes it easier. With that information I consulted the Victory Model Database, which my pal LWCmdr45 and I maintain, and found that the four inch .38 Special guns in your serial range were being shipped in the January-February, 1942 time frame.

My expectation is that your revolver will likely letter as having been shipped to the Defense Supplies Corporation at Washington, DC. Most of the guns in this range letter in that fashion. Later on the DSC guns are recorded in the factory records as shipping directly to the ultimate users. Those were typically civilian law enforcement agencies, defense plants, public utilities and other facilities that had an arguable need for scarce sidearms.

I hope that when you get your factory letter you will let us know what it says. That kind of information allows us to continually refine the Database to broaden the body of knowledge on these interesting guns.

 

[Masterpiece]

bigmacque,
See,I told you Charlie would help you out!! As far as a Letter I think I've been hearing it takes approx. a month,but that's not etched in stone!! I haven't requested one in quite a while so I can't say for sure. When you're ready type in "Factory Letter Request" in Search & about half way down the first page there is a Thread concerning Factory Letters & it will direct you to a link to print out a Request Form to send to Roy. I always found it simpler that way. Make sure you give him all the info Barrel Length,Caliber,Serial No.,Etc. The more info you send the better I've always found. Maybe someone here might even chime in and give you the direct link without doing the search. Good Luck & glad we've been of some help!!

 

[bigmacque]

Charlie, thanks so much. I will definitely keep you all posted as soon as I know.

Thanksagain.

 

[bigmacque]

Just an additional note: when I sent my form, I added my model 66 just for kicks. I'm hoping that's not really anything special -- because the Model 66 truly was a Florida pawn shop find!

 

[Masterpiece]

Hi bigmacque,
I knew you had a "Florida Pawn Shop" Revolver around there somewhere!! Ha!Ha! I think every collector in Florida has at least one!! Can't wait to hear the results of your Pre-Victory Letter!!

Masterpiece

 

[bigmacque]

Got my letter! And it's some really good news .... I'm going to do a little research and see if I can get acquainted with LtCol Cooke!

 

[bigmacque]

And the Model 66 that I asked about? It's okay, nothing special, but it is a very nice gun. The letter does note that the grips and the thumb button are different than what was shipped .... but it is a P&R model. So it's def worth the $250 I paid for it.

 

[twaits]

You should now do some research on D.I. Cooke. Was this by chance the gentleman that had passed away and left the two revolvers?

 

[Masterpiece]

bigmacque,

"Very" Interesting Letter!! Well,it looks as though you have something to work with as far as it's provenance & hopefully you'll be able to obtain some more interesting background with some research!! Keep us posted with anything else you may turn up in regards to Lt.Col. Cooke's Background.

Take Care & Good Luck!!

 

[ordnanceguy]

Big:

Congrats on getting such an interesting letter, and thanks for posting it as it helps us to refine the Victory Model Database. The estimate I gave you earlier of shipment in the January-February, 1942 time frame turned out to be pretty accurate, a reflection of how accurate the Database has become.

The good Colonel Cooke, whoever he was, must have been somebody with some juice, or his organization had some juice. Getting 18 revolvers authorized for shipment just 44 days after the Pearl Harbor attack means he must have had some type of very good reason to be getting these arms.

The address stated in the letter is rather odd: 514 PPC Building, Vermont Ave, Washington, DC. You will need to find out where the PPC Building was located on Vermont and then maybe you can learn who or what organization was located there in early 1942. Keep in mind that the shipping ledgers were hand-written so sometimes Roy has to struggle to interpret the handwriting. I say that only as a caution to encourage you to not be strictly bound by the way the address was stated in the letter. For example, it might turn out to have been "PPC Building, 514 Vermont Ave", or maybe it was the "PPG Building", etc.

Anyway, have fun tracking this guy down and keep us posted on what you come up with. Ain't history neat??

 

[bigmacque]

I do love history, Charlie, and I'm going to have fun with this. My cousin is the Chief Scientist at the National Archives and my son is a credentialed researcher at the Library of Congress, so I think I'll have some fun detailing this find.

The PPC building is the Public Policy Council Building, and it was located on Vermont Ave in 1942, so that's consistent. You'll definitely hear more from me as I dig out details.

Unfortunately, no, LtCol Cooke was not the deceased from whom I received this. So getting to how my employee's step-father got it will be the journey.

Thanks!

 

[DCWilson]

I consider that a jackpot letter, well worth the $50 you spent for it. The average letter can tell you a receiving agency, distributor, or hardware store, but it's rare to get a letter that identifies an individual recipient. Good on you!

There is an SSDI record for D.I. Cooke, 1896-1991, last residence Santa Barbara, CA. But of course the one you want could be indexed under his full given name, not just his initials.

It is possible to do conservation work on tattered boxes. The peeling red surface can be reattached with thin water-based glues and an artists brush. Busted corners can be reattached with fabric tape or archival paper on the inside corners; don't use pre-gummed patches. Get some good archival glue powder and mix your own. It helps to be able to slide your patch around and fit it carefully to its corner before pressing it into position.

That box, by the way is called a display box or patent box. S&W actually had a patent on that design. It was designed to stand open on a dealer's shelf so potential buyers could see the gun in its box.

Charlie, I think the address is "Room 514 PPC Building." Part is obscured by the modesty patch for the gun's full serial number