Pictures Added - Engraved 3-1/2" Pre-27 BBQ Gun from Tulsa

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rgm36

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My first Blinged out BBQ gun!

I had the good fortune to stumble across this .357 Magnum at the Tulsa gun show last week.

It is lettered by Roy Jinks as being a Special Engraved Variation .357 Magnum, shipped to Jesse Harpe Co, Tampa Fl in 1953 along with 4 other 3-1/2" Pre-27s

It couldn't be better than this. It is ...

#1 - 3-1/2"
#2 - Possible Factory Engraved
#3 - Nickel plated
#4 - Gold plated
#5 - Pinto - screws and ejector rod in blue
#6 - Real Ivory grips

If your going to BBQ, BBQ big!:)
 

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All I can say is what kind of money did that thing drag down at a major gun show?' Very pretty.
 
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Very pretty gun.

I find the lettered gold plating the most interesting.

Read in the past on here that the gold plating is a bit more delicate than the others. Looks really good to me.
 
bruce5781 said:
Just Beautiful ! Sort of dispels the theory that the factory put small logos on all of the engraved ones.

Regards,
Bruce
Click to expand...

The seller was told by a couple "experts" at the show that this could not be a factory engraved gun because of the larger logo on the right side and became very discouraged.

Though the Roy Jinks letter the seller provided clearly says it is a "Special Engraved Variation" from S&W, he believed what the show "experts" told him and rid himself of the gun to me for a substantially reduced price.

Thanks to the so called experts, I got a great deal.

The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson 4th Edition clearly shows factory engraved guns with large right side logos on pages 64 & 66.
 
paplinker said:
Very pretty gun.

I find the lettered gold plating the most interesting.

Read in the past on here that the gold plating is a bit more delicate than the others. Looks really good to me.
Click to expand...

Though Roys letter verifies this to be a Special Engraved Variation from S&W he also states that the engraving and gold plating was "completed" (not performed) after it left the factory.

Either the gold plating done outside the factory required "some" engraving to be completed afterwards - or it is a typo by Roy to include the word "engraving" in that sentence.

Yes, the gold plating is delicate! It is worn thin at the sharp edges of the cylinder. No burn marks on the face of the cylinder indicating this has never been fired!
 
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I would like to see the letter because something sure seems strange here. You have to ask yourself, if factory engraved, who did the work? Well I can tell you right away, it wasn't LeBlanc, it wasn't White, it wasn't Russ Smith, it wasn't Rentzschke. Who is left? Jarvis? I doubt that too.

Can you post a pic of the letter? I am concerned there is a typo as others have said.

Another consideration is that if the gun is factory engraved, the letter should specify the amount of coverage, either A, B, or C. Judging by what you said, the letter does not specify?
 
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The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson 4th Edition clearly shows factory engraved guns with large right side logos on pages 64 & 66.
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None of those examples actually support your gun's originality. On page 64, there is a factory engraved triple lock. That gun is from a different era, and is likely before the practice of moving the logo from the sideplate. Remember that triple locks were last made in 1915. That gun was likely done by Oscar Young, and so it is 1912 or earlier because Oscar Young died in 1912.

Also on that page is a gun engraved by Siegfried Werner, which has a large logo on the right side. This gun was not done in house and was likely engraved as a completed gun, or one that was in the white. I believe it was a finished gun at its start because of the large side plate logo. Although Werner could have placed this logo there, I doubt he would have for obvious reasons.

On page 66 there are guns done by Piquette with a logo on the right side, but we must remember that these engravers all did guns outside of S&W. Its entirely possible these guns were sent to him post factory. The caption doesn't say they were factory engraved, only who did them.

Gun engraving is a separate world and its important to be a student of it, prior to being a purchaser of it, just like with most other things.
 
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I believe the only engraver on staff in 1953 was Harry Jarvis. The .357 Magnum was not engraved by him as his style is completely different. I think when Roy said the engraving was completed after it left the factory means the revolver was shipped as a plain gun and engraved and plated later.

Bill
 
I bought the gun knowing full well that is may not be a factory engraved gun - so I negotiated a price reflective of that.

It doesn't matter to me whether it is or not - I like the gun and got a great price on it.

That being said - one can not over look the statement by Roy Jinks stating; We have researched your Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum Post World War II Pre-27, Special Engraved Variation...

Note the capitalization of "Specialized Engraved Variation" as though it is a title and not a description.

It is possible this gun left S&W as a nickel engraved gun and was gold plated after it left the factory. Remember that Roy states that the engraving and gold plating were "completed" (not performed) after it left the factory.

So either Roy is wrong when he stated it is a Special Engraved Variation - or he is wrong when he stated that the engraving was "completed" afterwards - or he is right saying both.

I don't want to be the one to tell Roy that he is wrong?:o
 

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rgm36 said:
I bought the gun knowing full well that is may not be a factory engraved gun - so I negotiated a price reflective of that.

It doesn't matter to me whether it is or not - I like the gun and got a great price on it.

That being said - one can not over look the statement by Roy Jinks stating; We have researched your Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum Post World War II Pre-27, Special Engraved Variation...

Note the capitalization of "Specialized Engraved Variation" as though it is a title and not a description.

It is possible this gun left S&W as a nickel engraved gun and was gold plated after it left the factory. Remember that Roy states that the engraving and gold plating were "completed" (not performed) after it left the factory.

So either Roy is wrong when he stated it is a Special Engraved Variation - or he is wrong when he stated that the engraving was "completed" afterwards - or he is right saying both.

I don't want to be the one to tell Roy that he is wrong?:o
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It seems fairly clear to me that the engraving and the plating were done after it left the factory. After all, they would have charged more for a gun with more work, and this looks like standard pricing to my eyes.

RKMesa probably has more engraved guns here than anyone else, maybe he will provide us with some more letter background?
 
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