The right side of the frame has the ornate inscription "J./BAXTER/GARDNER" accented with floral flourishes. Gardner had a long career during the 20th century in corporate advertising. He was employed at the Skelly Oil Co. before becoming the advertising director for Spartan Aircraft Co. during the golden age of aviation and served as vice president of advertising and sales promotion for Frankfort Distillers Corp. in New York City as well as for Cluett, Peabody & Co. of Troy, New York. Skelly Oil Co. was found in 1919 in Tulsa, Oklahoma and was acquired by J. Paul Getty in the 1930s. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Spartan Aircraft Co. was founded in 1928 and was best known for its late 1930s to early 1940s luxurious Spartan Executive aircraft made famous by owners like aviation titan Howard Hughes, industrialist J. Paul Getty, and King Ghazi of Iraq. Frankfort Distilleries was founded in 1902 and produced the famed Four Roses Whiskey. Cluett, Peabody & Co. was a longtime manufacturer of shirts including the famed Arrow brand. The revolver will factory letter as shipped on June 26, 1893 to Markt & Co. of Berlin, Germany, with no record of the engraving. The engraving was added per Gardner's request when the revolver returned to the factory in 1952 for refinishing. The left side of the grip frame has a factory return date for January 1952 ("1.52"). A pair of S&W Heavy Duties are known to have a similar J. Baxter Gardner inscription and a Kit Gun was shipped to Gardner in 1951. J. Baxter Gardner certainly had influence at the S&W factory. The revolver is fitted with target sights: a pinned beaded blade front sight and an adjustable "U" notched rear sight. The barrel rib has the two-line S&W address/patent dates legend. The right grip panel is numbered to a different gun, and the barrel latch is unnumbered. Matching serial numbers appear on the butt, cylinder, and barrel. Provenance: The Supica Collection

Very fine, retaining 99% plus of the factory reapplied nickel plating with scattered handling marks. The hammer and trigger guard retain 95% plus of the case colors. The replacement grips are excellent with minimal handling marks and crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent.