.38 Special caliber, 4" barrel, S/N 393102. Blued finish, color case hardened hammer and trigger, checkered wood grips. Double action, 6-shot revolver with wing out cylinder. Right side of barrel marked SMITH & WESSON, with small S&W trademark logo on left side of frame, under cylinder release latch. Right side of barrel marked 38 S.&W. SPECIAL CTG. Barrel address in two lines reading: SMITH & WESSON SPRINGFIELD MASS USA / PATENTED FEB. 8 06, SEPT. 14 09, DEC. 29, 14. Matching serial numbers on the butt, under the barrel and on the rear of the cylinder, with the right grip pencil numbered to the gun. The frame recess and crane are both mating numbered 18564. Gun is profusely engraved with flowing deep relief foliate scrolls with nearly 100% coverage on the frame, nearly all of the cylinder with the exception of the flutes and with additional decoration at the breech and muzzle of the barrel, the butt, gripstrap, backstrap and triggerguard. The right side of the frame features a circular panel with a falcon as the central image. The backstrap is additionally engraved with the name: GEORGE A. WILLHAUCK. A quick check of census records finds that in 1940 a 50-year old George A. Willhauck was living in Boston, working as a "Collections Attorney" for the Boston Telephone and Telegraph Company. Willhauck had served as Sergeant Major during WWI in the headquarters company of the 71st Artillery - Coastal Artillery Corps. Unlike many coastal artillery regiments, the 71st was actually deployed with the A.E.F., arriving in Liverpool, England on August 15, 1918 and Le Harve, France on August 30. The regiment was deployed with tractor towed 8" howitzers, but the November 11 Armistice occurred before the regiment saw combat. As "collections" in the 1930s and 1940s often involved physically tracking people down and collecting payment face to face, carrying a firearm for protection was not a bad idea and hardly uncommon. The engraving on this gun is almost certainly factory work and it is likely that the gun was commissioned by Willhauck, or possibly by the telephone company for him. The quality and condition are exquisite and it is a fantastic example of work being done at Smith & Wesson in the pre-World War II period. A factory letter from Roy Jinks has been commissioned. Condition: Excellent. Retains most of the blued finish with some very minor wear and loss at high edges and contact points and some minor thinning, most notably on the backstrap. Hammer and trigger retain nearly all of their vivid case coloring. All markings and engraving remain extremely crisp and sharp. Mechanically excellent, fine bore. Grips fine with crisp checkering and pencil marked with matching serial number. Overall a fantastic engraved pre-War Military & Police 4th Change (M1905).
.38 Special caliber, 4" barrel, S/N 393102. Blued finish, color case hardened hammer and trigger, checkered wood grips. Double action, 6-shot revolver with wing out cylinder. Right side of barrel marked SMITH & WESSON, with small S&W trademark logo on left side of frame, under cylinder release latch. Right side of barrel marked 38 S.&W. SPECIAL CTG. Barrel address in two lines reading: SMITH & WESSON SPRINGFIELD MASS USA / PATENTED FEB. 8 06, SEPT. 14 09, DEC. 29, 14. Matching serial numbers on the butt, under the barrel and on the rear of the cylinder, with the right grip pencil numbered to the gun. The frame recess and crane are both mating numbered 18564. Gun is profusely engraved with flowing deep relief foliate scrolls with nearly 100% coverage on the frame, nearly all of the cylinder with the exception of the flutes and with additional decoration at the breech and muzzle of the barrel, the butt, gripstrap, backstrap and triggerguard. The right side of the frame features a circular panel with a falcon as the central image. The backstrap is additionally engraved with the name: GEORGE A. WILLHAUCK. A quick check of census records finds that in 1940 a 50-year old George A. Willhauck was living in Boston, working as a "Collections Attorney" for the Boston Telephone and Telegraph Company. Willhauck had served as Sergeant Major during WWI in the headquarters company of the 71st Artillery - Coastal Artillery Corps. Unlike many coastal artillery regiments, the 71st was actually deployed with the A.E.F., arriving in Liverpool, England on August 15, 1918 and Le Harve, France on August 30. The regiment was deployed with tractor towed 8" howitzers, but the November 11 Armistice occurred before the regiment saw combat. As "collections" in the 1930s and 1940s often involved physically tracking people down and collecting payment face to face, carrying a firearm for protection was not a bad idea and hardly uncommon. The engraving on this gun is almost certainly factory work and it is likely that the gun was commissioned by Willhauck, or possibly by the telephone company for him. The quality and condition are exquisite and it is a fantastic example of work being done at Smith & Wesson in the pre-World War II period. A factory letter from Roy Jinks has been commissioned. Condition: Excellent. Retains most of the blued finish with some very minor wear and loss at high edges and contact points and some minor thinning, most notably on the backstrap. Hammer and trigger retain nearly all of their vivid case coloring. All markings and engraving remain extremely crisp and sharp. Mechanically excellent, fine bore. Grips fine with crisp checkering and pencil marked with matching serial number. Overall a fantastic engraved pre-War Military & Police 4th Change (M1905).
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
