S&W grips factory clear?

[WestKentucky]

A coworker has a revolver that got into the family “early 1900s” as an ancestor was a local sheriff and the gun was his duty arm. Personally owned gun, bought when he became sheriff. Timing could put the gun being absolutely anything from a pre-10 back to the older topbreak guns, and coworker is not a gun person, and she only keeps it for sentimental reasons. She asked me if I had ever seen an old Smith and Wesson revolver with clear grips, and I immediately thought of polycarbonate aircraft windshields being used in the wars, but she insists that the grips are S&W factory grips. I have never seen, heard of, or expect to ever hear that S&W ever made clear grips for revolvers, especially in the early 1900s when pressed Bakelite and wood were standard and MOP or ivory were among the expensive options. I just don’t see it being a factory set of grips if they are in fact clear. Was there ever a factory clear grip?

I have asked for pictures.

 

[Pat Riot]

I highly doubt they are factory grips.

When I read this I remembered that during WW2 soldiers would get grips made from airplane windows. They would put them on 1911s mostly with a photo behind them so they could see a picture of a girlfriend or wife in the grip.
Here is a couple of links about it:
https://www.pewpewtactical.com/what-are-sweetheart-grips/

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/american-civil-war/sweetheart-grips.html

The only reason I remembered this is a WW2 display I saw at a gun show and they displayed grips like that.
Perhaps those grips were / are “Sweetheart Grips”?

Edit to correct auto communista mistakes.

 

[halfmoonclip]

West', great tale, anxious for pictures or your in-hand evaluation.
I vote with you; have never seen or heard of clear factory grips, and, as old as this revo sounds, it is even less likely.
It sounds like a WWII deal; some amazing scrounging went on from aircraft glazing.
Moon

 

[BobWright]

Kennedy General Hospital was located in Memphis during, and after, World War II. Recovering veterans for all services were treated here. One of the hobby shop/therapies was the making of artifacts from Lucite, or Plexiglas, as used in aircraft windows. The demand was great enough that sheets of Lucite were purchased for the hobby shop. Also popular was the making of revolver grips. These were often infused, how I don't know, by insertion of four leaf clovers or miniature rose buds into the grips. Some had opaque ivory colored backings or black colored backs; others clear clean through. And many of these showed up on the grips of Memphis Police Department officers' Smith & Wesson or Colt revolvers. Also some basket weave stamped black holsters were made at the hopital.

But all such grips were after market grips. Smith always used walnut, then goncola alves for grips.

Bob Wright

 

[WestKentucky]

Kennedy General Hospital was located in Memphis during, and after, World War II. Recovering veterans for all services were treated here. One of the hobby shop/therapies was the making of artifacts from Lucite, or Plexiglas, as used in aircraft windows. The demand was great enough that sheets of Lucite were purchased for the hobby shop. Also popular was the making of revolver grips. These were often infused, how I don't know, by insertion of four leaf clovers or miniature rose buds into the grips. Some had opaque ivory colored backings or black colored backs; others clear clean through. And many of these showed up on the grips of Memphis Police Department officers' Smith & Wesson or Colt revolvers. Also some basket weave stamped black holsters were made at the hopital.

But all such grips were after market grips. Smith always used walnut, then goncola alves for grips.

Bob Wright

That is awesome, and since Memphis is only a 3 hour drive I would venture a guess that the hospital is a very likely source for these grips. That is quite an interesting piece of history. The wealth of information some of our members have makes me jealous, and this is one of those times.

 

[BobWright]

The wealth of information some of our members have makes me jealous, and this is one of those times.

All it takes is time and a good memory. You'll get there.

Bob Wright

 

[WestKentucky]

I have some photos now, and the gun is one of the earliest hand ejectors I have ever seen. It shows it’s age, but it’s one of those situations where the gun is stunning in that it shows it’s age but also still looks good. I will ask the owner for permission to post pictures. Serial in the 181xx range.

To the original question, the grips are certainly not factory, but they are old. I suspect they were molded because they are exactly the same shape, size, checkering, etc as the Bakelite grips I have seen. I would not at all be suprised to hear that somebody managed to hot mold a chunk of plane window in the actual S&W molds. The ribbed barrel on a hand ejector is beautiful, and the sight being mid-window is interesting.

 

[WestKentucky]

Permission granted. I’m starting a new thread on it and I will link it here.

 

[WestKentucky]

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/an-early-hand-ejector.888465/

New thread with pics.