Storage of S&W Letters??

[ditrina]

I don't have a bunch.. but I was wondering if you have letters from Mr. Jinks .. How do you store them so they don't get damaged.. The couple I have will need long term protection as they will be for my grandchildren, someday..

Thanks..

 

[Cooter Brown]

Plastic sleeves in a binder seems like it would work pretty well.

I only have one letter but I put it in a plastic sleeve and then in a manila folder. The plastic will protect it from the acid in the folder.

 

[DCWilson]

Plastic sleeves in a binder seems like it would work pretty well.

Plastic sleeves and three ring binders -- the perfect solution to document storage.

But scan and store them on portable media, too. Or if you believe in this "cloud" thing that is the next big deal in information technology, let somebody else store them for you on their servers -- Google, Microsoft, whoever.

 

[BaldEagle1313]

Just be sure it isn't cheap, bargain table plastic sleeves. You want the plastic to be smooth and not feel "tacky". If your fingers don't glide smoothly over it with no effort, find a different brand. The cheap plastic will stick to the paper over time and you'd find the ink on the letter will be stuck to the plastic, damaging the letter if and when you try to remove it from the plastic sleeve.

I don't know what type of printer is used to print the letter. If it's a laser printer it won't be as much of a concern. Ink jet, big concern.

 

[bettis1]

Sal,

I keep them in clear plastic page protectors in a loose leaf notebook. I file them in ascending dates of production. That way they are easy to retrieve if I want to pull them to show with the guns in a display. (I have considered filing them by frame size but haven't done that yet.)

Since my primary position is a collector I feel strongly that any older gun that I feel fits in my collection, say from the late 1950's back, deserves a letter. So, it is scary to think about it but the total invested in all the letters is several thousand dollars and may even exceed the average invested in each of the guns. However, the $35-50 per gun will certainly appreciate the value of the individual gun by that much.

Bob

 

[Combat]

So.... What y'all are saying is, just lying on the bottom of my sock drawer ain't a good place. I guess I need to swing by the Dollar store.

 

[bettis1]

Well, Combat, another thing you might think about would be to find another place to keep your socks instead of in your letter drawer.

Bob

 

[rags]

Do you have a Foodsaver vac system? If not, send 'em up here!

rags

 

[handejector]

I staple them to the wall.

 

[smith17]

I have mine sorted per rarity of the format of the letter. For instance, the 3 page M&P letter comes before the 2 page M&P.
Ed

 

[bettis1]

I staple them to the wall.

Lee,

If you put them in the plastic before you staple them to the wall it will keep the wind and rain out better.

Bob

 

[NORWICH CADET]

bettis1 , thanks for your comment. I needed a good laugh. I keep them in plastic sleeves as others in a file which I seldom look at. So seldom that I forgot I had one on a pistol and ordered another?? Now I have 2.

 

[hsguy]

I staple them to the wall.

Please don't tell me the outhouse.

 

[rags]

I staple them to the wall.

...or that!

rags

 

[Shooting Padre]

A safe deposit box at your bank may be a good solution.

 

[ditrina]

Please don't tell me the outhouse.

This thread has gone.right to the cra...errrrrrr outhouse... .. I would expect no less from this bunch..
(Proud to Be Here I IS)
I'll be out back taking the staples from the outhouse door>>>>>>>>>

 

[Rodentman]

I like that the letters use a courier non-proportionally spaced type. Makes them look "old fashioned" as though they came from a typewriter. You remember typewriters?

 

[bettis1]

And what makes you think that Roy DOESN'T use a typewriter?

I envision him sitting at Wesson's desk hammering out those letters on a "Murder She Wrote" vintage machine.

Bob

 

[CajunBass]

I store all mine at Roy Jinks place.

 

[rburg]

Guys, think your way around this problem. Yes, I use plastic sheet protectors, and they're a pain. Especially when you want to remove them.

I saw the problem differently, and solved it a little differently. I took my then sizable pile to work one day and made 2 copies of each letter. Then I brought them back home and filed the originals in a binder and put it in the safe. Then I punched holes in the first set and bound them in a binder in serial number order, regardless of the frame size. Then the 2nd set went in a binder by caliber. For a number of years the binder in serial number order traveled with me to gun shows, and otherwise resided next to my easy chair (the one with the laptop.)

Several people had pointed out to me the worst mistake I could make was carrying the originals to gun shows. They seem to get lost at an amazing rate. Because that also happened to copies, I think they're doomed. The exception was when a gun was "pre sold". Then the gun and the letter and anything else pertinent went in a box and taped.

Copies are great for making notes on. Don't do that on an original.

Another question that might be considered thread drift is selling the gun with the letter. Do you feel paranoid and not want others to see your home address? That one struck home a while back (I'm not hard to find) when I was aimlessly wandering a gun show. There on a table sat a very familiar looking handgun. Just like one I sold a few years before that. And right underneath it was a factory letter. Addressed to me! Ugh. I've bought guns that way in the past, and I've bought guns with the name and address cut out. Probably with an exacto knife.

With a copy of the letter, you can do that without any damage to the original. The classy way is to give the buyer the copy, then promise (and follow through) by sending him the original in the mail. The very next day!

Nailed to the outhouse wall explains the new aroma in my gun room! I never expected that.