Smith and Wesson .38 Caliber Safety Third Model Double-Action Revolver, serial no. 83097, with Case

Manufacturer Smith & Wesson American
Decorator Tiffany & Co.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 372

This is one of nine revolvers custom-decorated by Tiffany & Co. for display at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Exhibited as an example of Tiffany's most innovative designs and techniques, it is singular in having a grip sheathed in embossed, chased, etched, and enameled sterling silver. The enamel work on the grip, which is distinguished by subtle, sophisticated tonal gradations, is among the finest ever produced by the firm. Three years earlier, the American commissioners at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889 had noted the novelty of the "artistic blending of colors in the articles of enameled silver" shown by Tiffany's. No other Tiffany-decorated revolvers in this technique are known.

Smith and Wesson .38 Caliber Safety Third Model Double-Action Revolver, serial no. 83097, with Case, Smith & Wesson (American, established 1852), Steel, silver, enamel, nickel, wood, leather, copper alloy, gold, American, Springfield, Massachusetts and New York

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Right side (barrel facing R)