This Smith & Wesson Registered .357 Magnum revolver was shipped to famed exhibition shooter and shooting instructor Ed McGivern. McGivern (1874-1957), "the World's Fastest Gun," was fascinated by fast shooting after witnessing a shootout in Sheridan, Wyoming, and he learned sign painting from his father. He lived in Lewistown from 1924 until 1949. Even after gaining fame for his shooting, he earned much of his living painting for Graham's Sign & Poster Shop and later his own business called McGivern Outdoor Advertising. He is easily one of the most famous and renowned exhibition shooters and handgunning authors of the 20th century and also trained law enforcement officers locally and with the FBI. He published "Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting" in 1938, and an autographed copy of this book is included (the revolver is pictured on page 45). He held many records in his day for fast and accurate shooting and still holds some, such as drawing and firing 5 shots into a 1 inch group at 20 feet in less than half a second (recorded as 9/20th of a second in August 1932). He could shoot dimes thrown into the air and preformed fast shooting demonstrations with guns in each hand. He preferred double action revolvers and claimed he could shoot faster with a revolver than any semi-automatic pistol could keep up with. In fact, his rate of fire is said to be faster than an AK-47. One of his recorded stunts was hitting a can thrown roughly 20 feet in the air six times with a Colt double action revolver before it hit the ground. Elmer Keith said McGivern was "the fastest and finest double-action revolver shot that ever lived and probably ever will." Some of his handguns are on display in the National Firearms Museum, and very few of his guns are in private hands today. The accompanying factory letter states the revolver (Reg. No. 2902) was shipped on May 25, 1938, and delivered to Ed McGivern of Lewistown, Montana, with a 5 inch barrel (currently 3 1/2 inches), McGivern bead front sight, deep "U" notch rear sight (currently a square notch), blue finish, and checkered walnut Magna grips. The letter goes on to state, "It was authorized as a 'no charge' shipment by D.B. Wesson and marked for fast double action shooting." In the letter S&W historian Roy Jinks noted he was unable to confirm that the revolver was returned to the factory for the purpose of receiving a shorter barrel. He stated that it was not uncommon with shooters such as McGivern to alter firearms from the original factory shipped configuration. Although the revolver is without the factory rework star proof, gun expert Chuck Karwan concluded that the quality of the work shows that the barrel was shortened and refinished at the factory, in a letter he wrote to collector and previous owner of the revolver Thomas E. Floyd. Karwan wrote, "The clues to indicate this are the way the rib in front of the front sight has been removed in front of the front sight precisely the way the factory 3 1/2" barrel was configured during the period and the fact that the same area appears to have original factory bluing." The hammer spur is offset on the right side, one of the alterations Ed McGivern is known to have performed on many of his S&Ws and is further confirmation of his ownership and usage. The revolver was one of McGivern's firearms listed at his death (a copy of this list is included). Other accompanying documents shed light on the history of this revolver. There is letter from McGivern to D.B. Wesson requesting "a five inch barrel Magnum revolver [for] shooting tournaments coming in June and July in Great Falls, Billings, and Missoula." D.B. Wesson's May 23, 1938 dated response to McGivern explained a 5 inch Magnum revolver was available, it would be equipped with a McGivern front sight and deep U notch rear sight and he would "also send along a Baughman Quick Draw front sight and square notch rear in case the F.B.I. boys would rather see you work with their standard equipment." The quick draw sight is not included and presumably the referenced square notch sight is on the gun. The S&W order form and invoice confirm the configuration as listed in the factory letter as well as delivery to Ed McGivern. Additional correspondence between Floyd and Karwan related to Floyd's search for more information about the revolver as well as a buyer for the revolver is also included. There are several articles written by and about Ed McGivern. Also included are several original loose pages from D.B. Wesson's personal scrapbook. Glued to these pages are period articles and photographs mostly related to D.B. Wesson's media campaign to drum up public support for the Registered Magnum. In 1935, when the Smith & Wesson factory introduced the .357 Magnum revolver. Wesson went to great lengths to prove the power of this new revolver and cartridge. His promotional exploits were covered nationwide. A photograph of special interest shows Ed McGivern standing with members of a police department participating in marksmanship training. The revolver has an unnumbered right grip panel and matching serial numbers on the butt, cylinder, and ejector shroud. The revolver along with other Ed McGivern owned ephemera was displayed at the 2015 NRA Annual Meetings held in Nashville, Tennessee. The NRA Certificate of Recognition for this display is included. These .357 Magnum revolvers were introduced in 1935, were custom manufactured, and were discontinued in 1939 as they were deemed to costly to manufacture. The .357 Magnum was the most powerful handgun cartridge at the time, and this “state of the art” handgun quickly gained popularity with law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, looking for a sidearm to deliver more stopping power and popularized big game handgun hunting. Simply put, these Registered Magnums forged the legacy of the .357 Magnum cartridge. Provenance: Ed McGivern; The Thomas Floyd Collection; Lee Jarrett and David Carroll; The Dave Ballantyne Collection; 2015 NRA Annual Meetings

Very fine as factory reworked/rebarreled. The revolver retains 95% of the blue finish showing some loss at the muzzle and some high edge wear. The hammer and trigger retain 75% of the vivid original case colors. The grips are excellent with some minor handling marks (mostly on the bottoms) and overall crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. Do not miss your chance to own a well-documented and desirable Smith & Wesson Registered .357 Magnum Revolver shipped to renowned handgunner Ed McGivern!