Posted by David Kennedy on September 4, 2008, 9:52 am, in reply to "Re: Letters"
Alex -
The person to talk to is not me, actually. You want to talk to Jesi Bennett, the Records Specialist, or Connie Miller, the Assistant Records Specialist. You can get them by calling 307-578-4031 or emailing cfmrecords@bbhc.org.
As for the value of records, Jim hit it on the head. sorta.
If you only have a few guns to get lettered, it will be a crap shoot. Buying a letter blind may bring disappointment as you may get less data than you already know. If you have more than a few letters you expect to get (or just want to find out which are worth getting lettered), a membership ($150) may be the way to go. A membership gives big discounts in the form of letter packs, but you can also call up and have a search done over the phone (a members-only privilege).
Before 1919, LC Smith was a bit erratic when it came to keeping records. Some of these records will list only barrel length, gauge, and grade. If you are lucky, there will be a date. Other areas of the records will include almost every measurement and who it went to. Seemingly, some of the ledger books were from the shipping or order area (more data) and some of the books were from the assembly area (less data).
Starting in 1919, there is a much higher level of consistency in the level of data in the records. They typically include barrel length, gauge, grade, option codes, dates of ordering, proof, pattern, and completion, and the recipient (sometimes a store, sometimes a person).