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Only 735 Smith & Wesson Registered Magnum revolvers were produced with an
8 3/4 inch barrel, the longest barrel length offered.
LOT 1496
Spectacular Well-Documented Alaskan Sea Captain Roe Dykeman Identified Original Owner Smith & Wesson .357 Registered Magnum Double Action Revolver with Box, Factory Letter and Registration Certificate - Serial no. 47018, 357 magnum cal., 8 3/4 inch sold rib bbl., blue finish, walnut grips. This Registered Magnum, registration number 526, is one of only 735 Registered Magnums manufactured with an 8
3/4 inch barrel. The accompanying factory letter, which is addressed to well known S&W collector Michael Priwer, lists this revolver with an 8
3/4 inch barrel, McGivern gold bead front sight, square notch rear sight, blue finish, walnut stocks and grip adaptor when shipped on October 14, 1935, and delivered to Captain Roe Dykeman, Seattle, Washington. The revolver was ordered by DuPont corporation executive R.R.M. Carpenter, DuPont Building, Wilmington, Delaware, as a gift for Capt. Dykeman. Also with the revolver is the original factory Registration Certificate, very rare certificate mailing tube and other documents related to the revolver. Both the certificate and mailing tube are addressed to Capt. Roe Dykeman of Ketchikan, Alaska. The certificate confirms the serial number, registration number, barrel length and sights. The original letter R.R.M. Carpenter
wrote to Capt. Dykeman requesting the specifications for the revolver is
on R.R.M. Carpenter’s letterhead, and the original S&W letter to Dykeman acknowledges shipment of the revolver. The letter from Dykeman’s daughter, which is addressed to firearms dealer Ray Brazille, provides details about her father’s life and how he came to own the revolver. These details are retold in an article written by Mike Priwer and published in the S&W Collector’s Association Journal (Fall 1998). Priwer was in direct contact with Dykeman’s daughter when he wrote the article as confirmed by the correspondence he had with her to obtain the family history. Dykeman was a well-accomplished Pacific Northwest maritime pilot. His “extensive”
414 knowledge of Puget Sound and Alaskan areas “made him in demand
with hunting and fishing parties, but also with conservation groups.”
In the 1920s and 1930s Dykeman was the skipper of the charter yacht Westward. On one particular trip Dykeman met American executive R.R.M. Carpenter. Dykeman made quite the impression on Carpenter because at the conclusion of their first meeting Carpenter decided a “gift of a special gun might convey his gratitude to the Captain for seeing that the party got to the best locations to successfully obtain the game and fish that they sought.” The “gift of a special gun” was this revolver, the newest, most powerful handgun at that time. As told by his daughter, “My father prized the gun as an object of value and because of its source. He took extremely good care of it.” Towards the end of this life, Dykeman bequeathed the gun to his son-in-law. The revolver remained in the family until Dykeman’s daughter sold it in 1998. Robert Ruliph Morgan Carpenter (1877-1949) married Margaretta Lammot duPont, the sister of the DuPont company president, in 1906, and after an active and highly successful career at DuPont, retired from its active management in 1931, devoting his time
to civic affairs and game hunting, and completely retired from his wife’s family company in 1946. Carpenter, an 1899 MIT engineering graduate, joined DuPont in 1906 as a district purchasing agent and rose through the ranks quickly, becoming a director in 1914 and a vice president in 1916. During his tenure, DuPont transformed from a strictly explosives company to a diversified chemical operation that still operates today. He was an avid hunter who amassed a grand trophy room in his home and organized hunting and fishing expeditions for the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. His excursions were published in the 1938 book “Game Trails from Alaska to Africa” which documents the 1935 trip where he crossed paths with Dykeman. On board the Westward were four to five hunters/ fisherman, and the results were five bears, two eagles, one large seal and 432 trout (“most released!”). A copy of the DuPont board of directors drafted resolution detailing Carpenter’s career in the wake of his death
is included. The revolver has matching serial numbers on the butt, right grip panel, cylinder and barrel. The inside of the frame is marked “REG. 526.” Comes with the Type
I box featuring
an image of
the Magnum
fitted with a
grip adaptor and Magna grips. The underside of the box retains the correct white label numbered to the gun (“47018/R-526”).
CONDITION: Excellent, retaining 99% original blue finish showing very light wear at the sides of the muzzle and a light cylinder drag line. 99% plus original case colors remain on the hammer and trigger. The grips are also excellent with limited handling marks and crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. The box is fine with some staining and minor edge wear. An outstanding Registered Magnum with highly prized, well-documented provenance that will be a standout addition to even the most advanced S&W collections!
Estimate: 12,000 - 20,000