Research Begins With Good Sources

Core Smith & Wesson References

• Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 5th Edition
  Jim Supica and Richard Nahas
  Best general reference for model identification, engineering changes, serial ranges, collector values, and production context.
• Smith & Wesson Hand Guns
  Roy C. McHenry and Walter F. Roper
  Useful early history of Smith & Wesson handguns and company development.
• The Gun Digest Book of Smith & Wesson
  Patrick Sweeney
  Helpful collector reference for Smith & Wesson models, shooting use, mechanical features, and modern collector context.

Period Magazine Sources

Selected serial-number and special-production records are supported by contemporary or later collector research published in period magazines. When a magazine supports a lookup result, the result card identifies the publication, issue, and PDF page.

• GUNS Magazine
  Used for documented historical serial ranges and individual examples.
• American Handgunner
  Used for documented shipment examples, engineering history, and special production such as the Texas Ranger and U.S. Border Patrol commemoratives.

Magazine evidence is identified by content type and checked against the original PDF page before it is described as visually verified. Magazine articles remain research sources rather than substitutes for factory records.

Factory Letter Resources

A factory letter is the best source for documenting original shipment date, destination, and configuration when surviving factory records are available.

• Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation
• Smith & Wesson Collectors Association Factory Letter Information

Collector Organizations

• Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation
  Primary source for Smith & Wesson factory letter research.
• Smith & Wesson Collectors Association
  Collector organization focused on research, preservation, and education.

Period Documents

Period catalogs, advertisements, manuals, and factory literature can help confirm how a firearm was marketed, described, configured, and understood during its original era.

• Factory catalogs and price lists
• Period advertisements
• Instruction sheets and owner manuals
• Shipping boxes, labels, and paperwork
• Police, military, and agency documentation

Research Tips

• Treat a serial number result as a starting point, not a final identification.
• Compare the firearm’s barrel markings, sights, finish, stocks, caliber, and frame features.
• Look for model markings inside the yoke cut on later revolvers.
• Use a factory letter when original shipment details matter.

Independent Research Notice

Seeing the Elephant is an independent educational project. It is not affiliated with Smith & Wesson, the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation, or the Smith & Wesson Collectors Association.