Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a working man’s gun dressed up in Sunday clothes. This is a silver-plated Smith & Wesson Model 1½ pocket revolver that received the full treatment from Louis Daniel Nimschke, America’s premier firearms engraver of the 1870s. The Model 1½ was Smith & Wesson’s volume seller – over 100,000 made as plain utility revolvers for coat pocket carry. This one’s different. Nimschke transformed what was essentially a $15 spur-trigger .32 rimfire into a presentation piece that cost more to engrave than most people made in a month.
You can spot Nimschke’s signature work immediately – the starburst on the frame bottom, fanned kidney shapes, precise cross-hatching, and scrollwork covering every surface. The dog’s head on the left sideplate matches documented examples in R.L. Wilson’s book on his work. What makes this revolver fascinating is the contradiction. The .32 rimfire was marginal for self-defense, and the spur-trigger mechanism was better suited for emergency backup than primary carry. Yet Nimschke gave this modest pocket gun the same artistic attention he lavished on high-end Colts and Winchesters.
This was part of a special shipment to J.P. Lovell & Sons in Boston in 1870 – likely showroom pieces meant to demonstrate what Smith & Wesson could produce when money was no object. Sometimes a humble pocket pistol deserved the best engraving job money could buy.
Most of our POTDs utilize images from our friends at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse their current auctions – who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!
“Nimschke Signed Engraved Smith & Wesson Model 1 1/2 Revolver.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4095/109/nimschke-signed-engraved-smith-wesson-model-1-1-2-revolver. Accessed 12 Aug. 2025.
