Page 402 - 89-FLIPBOOK2

LOT 1502
Stunning and Well Documented Factory Panel Scene Engraved Smith & Wesson Pre-Registered .357 Magnum (Pre-War) Special Zero Serial Number (0374) “Club Gun” Double Action Revolver with Factory Letter - Serial no. 0374, 357 magnum cal., 4 inch solid rib bbl., blue finish, walnut grips. The accompanying factory letter lists this revolver with a 6 inch barrel (currently 4 inches), blue finish and checkered walnut grips (currently carved) when shipped on September 20, 1935, and delivered to “Mr. Bingham, Smith & Wesson, Springfield, MA.” M.H. “Bing” Bingham was a life long S&W employee who worked shooting championship matches with S&W vice president Douglas B. Wesson and shot on the S&W pistol team in addition to carrying out his daily responsibilities at the S&W factory.
S&Ws with “0” prefix serial numbers were “Club Guns” given or loaned to shooting clubs or shooters as samples or test guns. Notable shooters received several, and some of them show shipments to several people or clubs. The revolver was later engraved, restocked and rebarreled for long time S&W service department employee and Bingham’s protégé Charles B. McGowan. McGowan inherited Bingham’s firearms collection and had many of these guns, like this revolver, upgraded to his own personal specifications. In 2005 McGowan’s collection, which included this revolver, was sold
by J.C. Devine Auctions. McGowan had this revolver embellished by several noted, well accomplished S&W factory engravers including Harry Jarvis, Virginia LeBlanc, Russ Smith and Alvin Hebert, each contributing their own special artistic skills to the gun to create a one-of-a-kind S&W masterpiece, and stocked by Al Gagne, head of S&W’s stocking department. The engraving consists of floral scrollwork on the barrel and frame, triangle patterns on the sides of the barrel rib and ejector shroud and ornate flourishes on the cylinder. A big cat is engraved on the crane, and the right side of the frame has a cowboy scene as well as a whitetail buck. It has an optional humpback hammer. The back strap is engraved with McGowan’s initials monogram (see image). The grips have contrasting diamond inserts and a carved oak leaf and acorn motif.
CONDITION: Excellent, retaining 99% plus of the S&W blue and casehardened finishes showing a faint cylinder drag line and minimal handling marks. The attractive Gagne custom grips are also very fine with minimal handling marks. Mechanically excellent.
Provenance: The Dave Ballantyne Collection.
400 Estimate: 18,000 - 27,500