Strange Smith § Wesson n°1 22 short cartridge box

[lechat]

I buy a strange old box from a old collection.

It's a Smith £ Wesson box and I never see the same anywhere.

Somebody can give me some informations ?

 

[lechat]

thanks in advance

 

[iby]

box

If it is authentic and to my eye it might be...
Then it is an outstanding early box of 22 short

 

[glowe]

Almost looks too good to be true. Any history for the box? The interior of the pasteboard bottom looks different from the top. Also, many boxes will have symmetrical lead dots associated with the bullet heads and the box shows not the slightest mark on the inside?? Modern pasteboard starts out with a grey appearance that takes decades to turn yellow. That always happens since the pasteboard is acidic. Lastly, the label looks very faded while the sides of the box look almost perfect. May be totally original, but would be nice if someone here has a same era box to compare details.

 

[lechat]

I asked myself exactly the same questions as Glowe. I bought in the UK from a specialist WW1 and WW2 militaria dealer a lot of antique US revolvers boxes that came from the same collection (Hopkins, SW and Forehand boxes). In the lot, there was this box. I don't know more. It seems old and was not manufactured yesterday. The label has traces of use that follow the folds of the box and there are some traces of lead from the cartridge heads but quite light. It is done in a very professional way. But it could also be the work of an collector and not a box manufactured by Smith and Wesson.

 

[lechat]

What would be really interesting is to know if anyone has the same in their collection

 

[wlw-19958]

Hi There,


I think (like others) this box is too good to be true. First off, the
box and its red leatherette covering show very little sign of being
used. I would expect to see more signs of the bullets leaving their
telltale imprint (like lead rub marks, grease stains from the lubricant,
etc.). Usually, the corners show the most signs wear (for obvious
reasons) and this box miraculously shows no signs of wear. Lastly,
the label shows a lot of wear but the rest of the box does not. I have
seen original No: 1 bullet boxes and the label looks correct but those
boxes are not much larger than the label. This implies the box isn't
original.

I think the dimensions of the interior of the box may answer
some of the questions. To me, the box appears too deep
for .22 Short cartridges and may be too long and/or wide
to hold the 50 cartridges snugly

Also, the leatherette covering I don't think was used by S&W
factory for their ammunition. IIRC, they used a black washed
paper on the outside of their box (about the same color as the
blackish background on the label on top of the box). But I have
only seen pictures of original boxes and they were in a compartment
in the wooden pistol box.

Smith and Wesson made cartridges only for a short time. The
department that made cartridges was run by C. D. Leets, and
after only a few years, was detached from S&W and incorporated
as a separate company under C. D. Leets' name. From that point
on, the name "C. D. Leets" appeared on the ammo boxes.

Considering all this, I am skeptical about the authenticity of this
box.


Cheers!
Webb

 

[marinevet]

To me, the box appears too deep
for .22 Short cartridges and may be too long and/or wide
to hold the 50 cartridges snugly

The label says 100 cartridges.........

 

[AJ]

Nope.............https://www.wardscollectibles.com/22-box-id/USA/S&W.pdf Look here.

 

[mrcvs]

Ammunition was to be consumed. A cheap box and a label. That's it. No embellishments such as leather or leatherette would be historically correct.

 

[glowe]

Some of the early boxes actually had a wood insert, drilled to fit 100 rounds so the box would be bigger and deeper than a tightly packed box of ammo. I have an early UMC box and tried to fill it with 100 rounds of 22 Short, but it took about 125 to fill the box. I later found out about the drilled wood insert. Having never seen a full box of S&W No 1, I do have images of one recently sold that had a statement about the wood block. Here is one early S&W box for review and comparison.