The L.C. Smith Collectors Association
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    Feeble Attempt to Clarify a Misnomer Archived Message

    Posted by SGT on August 29, 2007, 10:22 pm

    While perusing the latest issue (September/October, 2007) of the Shooting Sportsman, I noted a paragraph promoting the LC Smith guns display presently featured at the National Firearms Museum; and specifically the following sentence “The glass display holds guns owned by Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable, the Syracuse Hammerless Quality No. 7 from the cover of Houchins’ book….etc”. It is unfortunate that the gun featured on the cover of the Houchins’ book has been mistakenly labeled as a “Syracuse” gun, as this fabulous gun was not even a gleam in the eye of the master engraver who conceived its unique decoration when Smith guns were still being produced in Syracuse. How do we know that? Well, the first clue is the Fulton address atop the barrels, a clear indication that at least the barrels on this gun were not made in Syracuse; but the undisputable proof of this gun’s lineage is the fact that the original invoice for this unique gun still survives. The gun was ordered from Schoverling, Daly, and Gales on July 12, 1894 (several years after the gunworks were relocated to Fulton); and shipped to its new owner on August 28, 1895, more than a year after the order was placed. The gun was identified on the order as a “7 Grade Special Extra Gold” (no grade stamp or mark is noted on the gun, only the gold inlayed word “Special”), but this gun is not a Syracuse Quality 7; and in fact, the only common feature this gun has with the Syracuse style Smiths besides the Quality 7 reference is the fluted frame bottom feature. When this custom gun was started in 1894, the new frame style had already been adopted and placed into production; an obvious fact quickly noted by comparing the distance between the top edge of the side-plates and the breech balls on this Fulton model to that of a Syracuse model. Thru at least 1897, the gun works produced “Quality” grades in conjunction with the new number, named, and A series of grades; and we can easily see from this fine example why some customers preferred the “old”: quality grades to the newer styles. And for comparison, the purchaser of this unique Quality 7 gun likely could have purchased two of the new model A-2 ejector guns for the $762.18 he paid for this “Special” (labeled Special because it was engraved in coverage and quality equal to the Quality 7, but in a unique (“special”) pattern outside the standard Quality 7 pattern, and with extensive gold inlay).

    Lest the reader be mislead, in no way should my personal opinion be interpreted as an attempt to disparage what is an absolutely superb Smith gun book, for I have a good understanding of, and much appreciative for the enormous effort John put into this book; but in my opinion, even though the date of 1894 is noted with photos of this gun in the new “The Legend Lives” book, this example should not have been referred to as a “Syracuse” example and included within the Syracuse guns chapter for the above noted reasons, as doing so will forever confuse all but the most knowledgeable collector and forever be a source for the perpetuation of incorrect references such as noted in the museum exhibit and Shooting Sportsman.

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