RM Vivas
US Veteran
I get by with a little help from my friends. – Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles, 1967.
I was extremely fortunate to get a text and phone call several weeks ago from some SWCA folks who were at a gun show and spied a gun they thought I might be interested in. They had seen an inscribed gun that had what looked like NYPD shield numbers stamped on it and thought it was something I would be interested in. They sent me images and I indicated that it was something I was interested in.
Here is where it gets cool... They said they’d pick it up for me and send it to me and then shelled out a few hundred for the gun on the belief that I would timely reimburse them (which of course I did!!). How cool is that? Someone went into their pocket and pulled out some hard earned shekels to front me a gun with nothing other than a verbal assurance from me that I’d square up ASAP.
I mean, I’ve done stuff like that for other folks, but usually much lower priced guns. This was just too darn cool and when I see those folks at Concord, booze and broads are on me.
So, what did these remarkably thoughtful and trusting souls find for me?
First off, a word about the images. For some reason, this gun was difficult to shoot images of. The bluing job really caught the lights and made things difficult. My first thought was that this was a re-blue but the more I look at it and the more I study the fitted parts and screw holes, the more I think this may simply be a very nice deep carbona blue job. Anyway, the gun appears better in real life than in the images.
So, we start with a fairly straightforward pre-war Smith & Wesson Military & Police, serial number 639886. The gun was part of a shipment of 25 to George Herold on 11APR32. Herold was one of the dealers in Iron Alley (Centre Market Place) and in the pre-war years would be one of the dealers who supplied kids with their guns, either as direct sales or at the behest of the Equipment Bureau.
Grips are in surprisingly good shape and match the gun.
The gun sports the usual matching serial numbers on frame, cylinder and barrel.
Then we have the shield stampings….
Note that shield stampings on this gun appear in TWO locations. 18401 stamped on the backstrap, almost certainly a Patrolmans shield number, and S266 stamped on the butt, with the S indicating a SGT shield number.
Unfortunately, because this gun went to Herold directly instead of to the Department, there are no Department sales records showing us who bought the gun. There really isn’t a central Shield Directory (although I am working on that).
So how do we determine who owned this classic piece of pre-war problem-solving equipment?
Well, the fellow seems to have his name on the gun!
This is very interesting. I’ve seen inscribed guns that were Trophy Guns and I’ve seen inscribed guns that were retirement pieces or promotion pieces. Not sure what this one is.
To solve the mystery, we have to figure out who this guy is. Since the gun is being presented ‘From’ someone, it must therefore be going ‘To’ someone and that someone appears to be Andrew M. Aldrich.
A review of The City Record for 02FEB1921 p. 1039 has the scores for those who took the Patrolmans exam. Andrew M. ALDRICH of 2127 East 37th Street, Brooklyn, scored %80.80, placing him number 758 on the Eligibles List.
In 1935 he was a Patrolman in the 112th Precinct, pulling down about $2,345 per year and living in Richmond Hills, Queens.
Note that his date of appointment was 01DEC1931, the same date inscribed on the gun. I haven’t figured out who William Wakley is yet. There is no one listed by that name as a City employee or in the Brooklyn directory for that year. There is a William Wakley, Jr. within the Fire Department but I’m not sure if that’s a lead or not.
Anyway…
In 1940 his command and address hadn’t been changed (though his command did relocate) but he got a bump to three grand per year.
The trail within Department notes grows a little cold there, but I have a great deal more digging to do.
I did manage to get ahold of Patrolman ALDRICH’s grandson and we had a good chat. He was kind enough to send some images. Unfortunately, he had no information on who WAKLEY may be but he had some rocking images!!!
Patrolman Andrew M. ALDRICH. Note the shield number on his tin and the cap device: 18401. Great visual confirmation that he owned this.
Eventually he was raised up a SGT……
A few years on patrol can really put miles on a man! Still, rocking the Valentino style ‘stache! Again, note the SGT shield number: 266, same as on the gun. Provenance baby!!!
In 1948 he helped rescue a family from a gas filled apartment on Mulberry Street in Lower Manhattan. By this time he was a SGT out of the 5th Precinct and was still rocking the Valentino ‘stache…..
The family had a copy of the original news photo…….
‘Stache within regs and still looking good even under pressure!
So, that’s the latest SMITH acquisition. I have more research to do but I am finding myself with now having 3 or 4 pre-war NYPD M&P’s; a rather interesting feat consider the pre-war M&P’s were only around from 1926 until the start of WW2.
Thanks for looking!
Best,
RM Vivas
I was extremely fortunate to get a text and phone call several weeks ago from some SWCA folks who were at a gun show and spied a gun they thought I might be interested in. They had seen an inscribed gun that had what looked like NYPD shield numbers stamped on it and thought it was something I would be interested in. They sent me images and I indicated that it was something I was interested in.
Here is where it gets cool... They said they’d pick it up for me and send it to me and then shelled out a few hundred for the gun on the belief that I would timely reimburse them (which of course I did!!). How cool is that? Someone went into their pocket and pulled out some hard earned shekels to front me a gun with nothing other than a verbal assurance from me that I’d square up ASAP.
I mean, I’ve done stuff like that for other folks, but usually much lower priced guns. This was just too darn cool and when I see those folks at Concord, booze and broads are on me.
So, what did these remarkably thoughtful and trusting souls find for me?
First off, a word about the images. For some reason, this gun was difficult to shoot images of. The bluing job really caught the lights and made things difficult. My first thought was that this was a re-blue but the more I look at it and the more I study the fitted parts and screw holes, the more I think this may simply be a very nice deep carbona blue job. Anyway, the gun appears better in real life than in the images.
So, we start with a fairly straightforward pre-war Smith & Wesson Military & Police, serial number 639886. The gun was part of a shipment of 25 to George Herold on 11APR32. Herold was one of the dealers in Iron Alley (Centre Market Place) and in the pre-war years would be one of the dealers who supplied kids with their guns, either as direct sales or at the behest of the Equipment Bureau.
Grips are in surprisingly good shape and match the gun.
The gun sports the usual matching serial numbers on frame, cylinder and barrel.
Then we have the shield stampings….
Note that shield stampings on this gun appear in TWO locations. 18401 stamped on the backstrap, almost certainly a Patrolmans shield number, and S266 stamped on the butt, with the S indicating a SGT shield number.
Unfortunately, because this gun went to Herold directly instead of to the Department, there are no Department sales records showing us who bought the gun. There really isn’t a central Shield Directory (although I am working on that).
So how do we determine who owned this classic piece of pre-war problem-solving equipment?
Well, the fellow seems to have his name on the gun!
This is very interesting. I’ve seen inscribed guns that were Trophy Guns and I’ve seen inscribed guns that were retirement pieces or promotion pieces. Not sure what this one is.
To solve the mystery, we have to figure out who this guy is. Since the gun is being presented ‘From’ someone, it must therefore be going ‘To’ someone and that someone appears to be Andrew M. Aldrich.
A review of The City Record for 02FEB1921 p. 1039 has the scores for those who took the Patrolmans exam. Andrew M. ALDRICH of 2127 East 37th Street, Brooklyn, scored %80.80, placing him number 758 on the Eligibles List.
In 1935 he was a Patrolman in the 112th Precinct, pulling down about $2,345 per year and living in Richmond Hills, Queens.
Note that his date of appointment was 01DEC1931, the same date inscribed on the gun. I haven’t figured out who William Wakley is yet. There is no one listed by that name as a City employee or in the Brooklyn directory for that year. There is a William Wakley, Jr. within the Fire Department but I’m not sure if that’s a lead or not.
Anyway…
In 1940 his command and address hadn’t been changed (though his command did relocate) but he got a bump to three grand per year.
The trail within Department notes grows a little cold there, but I have a great deal more digging to do.
I did manage to get ahold of Patrolman ALDRICH’s grandson and we had a good chat. He was kind enough to send some images. Unfortunately, he had no information on who WAKLEY may be but he had some rocking images!!!
Patrolman Andrew M. ALDRICH. Note the shield number on his tin and the cap device: 18401. Great visual confirmation that he owned this.
Eventually he was raised up a SGT……
A few years on patrol can really put miles on a man! Still, rocking the Valentino style ‘stache! Again, note the SGT shield number: 266, same as on the gun. Provenance baby!!!
In 1948 he helped rescue a family from a gas filled apartment on Mulberry Street in Lower Manhattan. By this time he was a SGT out of the 5th Precinct and was still rocking the Valentino ‘stache…..
The family had a copy of the original news photo…….
‘Stache within regs and still looking good even under pressure!
So, that’s the latest SMITH acquisition. I have more research to do but I am finding myself with now having 3 or 4 pre-war NYPD M&P’s; a rather interesting feat consider the pre-war M&P’s were only around from 1926 until the start of WW2.
Thanks for looking!
Best,
RM Vivas
