Pre 24 Engraved 5"

[treysl78]

I bought this revolver from the collection of the late Darrel Pocock of Abilene, TX. I did not get much information on it.

It was shipped with a 6.5" barrel and no engraving. It was sent back to the factory November 1974. 11 74 is stamped under the grips on the frame. No service records from then are available according to Don M.

Is there any other way to find out what was done at the factory service dept in 1974? (I assume that the barrel was cut and a blue job done after the engraving.)

Mr. Pocock's notes stated that Winston Churchill engraved the revolver. Mr. Churchill passed away Aug. 2023. Does anyone know how to verify if he did engrave this one? Also, does anyone have a person that I can contact to inquire about more information in regards to Mr. Churchill? I would love to know who A. H. Jr. is!

Thanks to RKmesa and Wiregrassguy for helping with the post.

 

[22hipower]

Nice, certainly looks delicately and precisely cut as we would expect of Mr. Churchill. But if RKmesa can't confirm that then it is unlikely that anyone else here can. Perhaps Mr Churchill's family has access to his engraving records? I've read, somewhere, that while he was a world renowned master engraver he likely didn't complete more than a hundred or so pieces. Good luck.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

 

[Truckman]

I'm glad to see another of my late friend Darrel's guns in the hands of a forum member...I have a number of guns from his estate...We were both fans of the .44 Special...

Since it shipped with a 6.5" barrel, and has a service date of 11/74, it is possible that the barrel was replaced at that time with the 5" instead of being cut...The 5" barrel was an option at that time, although few were ordered as such...Is the lettering centered on both sides (I can't tell from the pictures)?...And is there a serial number stamped inside the ejector rod housing?...Are there any other marks inside the housing?...One of my Models of 1950 was shipped in 1953 as a 5" that had been cut from a 6.5" before shipment and had a Baughman Quick Draw base added at the extra expense of $10.50...

In 1955 it went back to the service department where it presumably was changed to a 3.5" barrel...Unfortunately the service records for that year are lost to history, and I cannot confirm it...And yet the gun's original S/N is stamped inside the ejector rod housing along with the appropriate service marks, and the lettering on both sides is perfectly centered...Right now it's a mystery gun...

My gun also came from Darrel's collection following his untimely death...I got my information by lettering it and then requesting a deep dive into company records...I suggest you do the same for yours...Each of Darrel's guns was unique and their history should be investigated and preserved as thoroughly as possible......Ben

 

[treysl78]

Thanks Ben for the info. The barrel has the correct serial number and the "Smith & Wesson" placement is correct for a 5 inch barrel. No other marks can be found. I think you are right in that it was probably replaced and not cut. I was lucky enough to acquire quite a few of his revolvers and a couple of my friends also got a few. I have all of them documented to him in my records.

I will request some more info "deep dive" from Mike.

Thanks

 

[A10]

That is a fine revolver, and is a birth year gun for me. I HAVE been called an A.H. before, though not Junior....

 

[gibraltar]

If you want to contact me sometime tomorrow, I can discuss the revolver with you. I gave the eulogy at Winston's celebration of life this past fall and had a 45+ year friendship with him. The work is definitely Winston's. Tom 239-850-4770

 

[treysl78]

Thank you Tom, I will.

 

[RKmesa]

I bought this revolver from the collection of the late Darrel Pocock of Abilene, TX. I did not get much information on it.

Mr. Pocock's notes stated that Winston Churchill engraved the revolver. Mr. Churchill passed away Aug. 2023. Does anyone know how to verify if he did engrave this one? Also, does anyone have a person that I can contact to inquire about more information in regards to Mr. Churchill? I would love to know who A. H. Jr. is!

If you want to contact me sometime tomorrow, I can discuss the revolver with you. I gave the eulogy at Winston's celebration of life this past fall and had a 45+ year friendship with him. The work is definitely Winston's. Tom 239-850-4770

Trey - Tom (gibralter) is an expert on WC and his engraving. I had a wonderful talk with him a couple of months ago and thoroughly enjoyed our discussions of WC and fine engraving in general.

Thanks for sharing that beauty.

 

[2152hq]

The scroll design around the gold work appears the same as some that WC did on a SxS for CSMCo near the end of his career.
I received that SxS & parts and was asked to finish a few things on it when I was still engraving for CSMCo.
I took some pics of the parts, most just extreme close-ups that an engraver would likely appreciate...cutting style, detail in cutting, etc.

I can post some of them if you like for comparison.

added:

Here's a couple pics I found on this computer of the engraving. One one closeup of the leaf/scroll cutting. The others are of the K9 that is on the bottom along with closeups of detail.
I'll find the others. Probably on the other computer drive.

 

[treysl78]

Those pics are awesome. The work on the first one is identical to mine. I know my pictures are not good (I need to get a better camera besides my iphone 8). Thanks for the comparison.