Engraved S&W Model 66-2

[SpelHD]

I am trying to find out who engraved this revolver of mine. It looks to be hand engraved obviously and I captured what I think may be the Engravers Mark or Signature as it is not the same as the theme to the Engravings.

Can anyone help with this.

Thanks in advance.
Ray

 

[handengraver]

Habitually I engrave "Engraved by..." on the frame where the grip covers it.
Try carefully remove the grips, You might be lucky to see the origin.
I am strongly opposed to the "bench marks". Only real star engravers' marks get known.
The rest remains an enigma to the posterity.

 

[SpelHD]

Habitually I engrave "Engraved by..." on the frame where the grip covers it.
Try carefully remove the grips, You might be lucky to see the origin.
I am strongly opposed to the "bench marks". Only real star engravers' marks get known.
The rest remains an enigma to the posterity.

Thank you for the kind reply,
I am thinking that I will never find out who engraved my newly acquired revolver. There is no name under the Grip panels. I have seen that on others though.

Ray

 

[Roger Bleile]

Ray,

At first the engraver's mark looks quite cryptic but if you use some imagination you can envision that the mark loosely resembles a Conestoga wagon. That is the mark of Vernon G. "Vern" Wagoner, late of Mesa Arizona.

Vern was a WWII veteran who was initially trained as a jeweler and watchmaker. He was a self taught gun engraver who settled in Mesa in 1974 and became a full time gun engraver.

I have not heard anything of Vern for many years but given the age of WWII veterans, he may not be extant.

Vern was featured on pages 163-164 of my 1980 book, American Engravers.

 

[pkroyer]

WII veteran who was initially trained as a jeweler an

Ray,

At first the engraver's mark looks quite cryptic but if you use some imagination you can envision that the mark loosely resembles a Conestoga wagon. That is the mark of Vernon G. "Vern" Wagoner, late of Mesa Arizona.

Vern was a WWII veteran who was initially trained as a jeweler and watchmaker. He was a self taught gun engraver who settled in Mesa in 1974 and became a full time gun engraver.

I have not heard anything of Vern for many years but given the age of WWII veterans, he may not be extant.

Vern was featured on pages 163-164 of my 1980 book, American Engravers.

After you mentioned Conestoga wagon, it doesn't take any imagination to see it. Before that I couldn't see anything in the mark.

 

[SpelHD]

See, I knew someone would know something. When I first looked at it, I was thinking Covered Wagon? but then So many other things crossed my mind. What you said Roger makes a lot of sense to me.

Thank you so very much for your input. Now I will look in that direction for more research.

 

[SpelHD]

Here are a few pictures of her all cleaned up. I really have enjoyed the input

 

[John B.]

Roger, thank you.
You are truly remarkable.

 

[SpelHD]

Again Thank you so very much. I was able to locate an example of his LOGO or Signature and upon closer looking with Magnification, I can make out the initials after looking at the example It was written that he even sometimes put his initials inside the Wagon, backwards.

Here is a pic of an example that I found.

 

[wowilson]

I'll be darned...Mr. Bleile is something else.

 

[gcleaker]

Ray,

At first the engraver's mark looks quite cryptic but if you use some imagination you can envision that the mark loosely resembles a Conestoga wagon. That is the mark of Vernon G. "Vern" Wagoner, late of Mesa Arizona.

Vern was a WWII veteran who was initially trained as a jeweler and watchmaker. He was a self taught gun engraver who settled in Mesa in 1974 and became a full time gun engraver.

I have not heard anything of Vern for many years but given the age of WWII veterans, he may not be extant.

Vern was featured on pages 163-164 of my 1980 book, American Engravers.

Your assume rodger