Any Gunsmith's In The House?

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olds

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
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My fiance was just given an older shotgun by her father. He told her that his Dad had it made before he (her Dad) was born in 1919. I can't find any info on it. It's is, side by side, bore is .71875", in front of the triggerguard it says" WYETH MFG CO ST JOSEPH MO", on the sides, next to the triggers it says "COSMOS". On top of the barrel, from what I can make out, it says ******SEH STEEL. The barrels are 30.125" long and the overall lenght is 40.25". The only Wyeth I found in MO makes drugs and no mention at all of a Wyeth Cosmos on google. Pics.
I can email higher resolution pics if needed.
 
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Fausto

Elite Member
Nov 29, 2000
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Okay, I had my boss take a look at the photos. According to him, Wyeth was a relatively small manufacturer of firearms that (as you discovered) no longer exists. He did state that, to his knowledge, there has never been maker of custom doubles in the US oweing to how amazingly labor-intensive it is to get the barrels aligned properly. With that said, if this was indeed custom made, it may be quite valuable....if it is an "off the rack" gun, he guessed its value to be somewhere between $500 and $1000.

Not much info, sorry...good luck with your research.:)

Fausto
 
R

rahvin

Elite Member
Oct 10, 1999
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I found links to a Wyeth Hardware that was founded in the 1880's and existed at least into the 70's in Saint Joseph that made Saddles (in the 70's). They may have commisioned guns from local smiths and sold them in their hardware store. *shrug* not sure.
 
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Fausto

Elite Member
Nov 29, 2000
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I found the same thing:

1515. *COLT BISLEY REVOLVER. Ser 263794, caliber .38/40, 4 3/4? round barrel. With factory letter showing shipment to Wyeth Hardware, St. Joseph, MO April 1, 1905. CONDITION. Retains almost all of an old, possibly factory refinish. The markings are sharp but some of them are thin. The grips, bore and action are excellent. 4-41182 FS100 (1,500-2,500)
 
olds

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,114
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Thanks for the info. I did see the references to the hardware store and a catalog company but nothing directly related to guns.
 
F

Fausto

Elite Member
Nov 29, 2000
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Have you taken it apart yet to see if there are other markings? There may be proof marks on the underside of the barrels (underneath the forearm) or possibly on the inside of the receiver. Might be worth a peek if you haven't already done so.

Might want to put a post on rec.guns or any antique gun-related forums to see if you get any responses there as well. Couldn't hurt.

Fausto
 
T

Talon

Golden Member
Oct 29, 1999
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Like many others, Wyeth Hardware, under their own labels, resold firearms manufactured by others. This link has references to them using the names Electric City Single Hammer, Syco and Wyco.

This link has references to a Cosmos line in a catalog by British manuacturers Cogswell and Harrison, who still appear to be in business. Their website has a reference to their Cosmos line.

Cogswell and Harrison
 
olds

olds

Elite Member
Mar 3, 2000
50,114
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126
Fausto1
I only pulled the butt plate off. Nothing there. The foregrip doesn't want to come off easily at this point and I don't want to damage it.

Talon
Thanks for the links.
 
Flamefiter43

Flamefiter43

Junior Member
Oct 21, 2023
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olds said:
My fiance was just given an older shotgun by her father. He told her that his Dad had it made before he (her Dad) was born in 1919. I can't find any info on it. It's is, side by side, bore is .71875", in front of the triggerguard it says" WYETH MFG CO ST JOSEPH MO", on the sides, next to the triggers it says "COSMOS". On top of the barrel, from what I can make out, it says ******SEH STEEL. The barrels are 30.125" long and the overall lenght is 40.25". The only Wyeth I found in MO makes drugs and no mention at all of a Wyeth Cosmos on google. Pics.
I can email higher resolution pics if needed.
Click to expand...
Did you ever get any additional info on this shotgun?? I also possess one with a serial number of 67285. Trying to determine the manufacture date.
 
IBMJunkman

IBMJunkman

Senior member
May 7, 2015
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******SEH STEEL

Are you using * because you can’t read the engraving?

The SEH makes me think Tecumseh. Maybe there was a Tecumseh Steel?
 
Flamefiter43

Flamefiter43

Junior Member
Oct 21, 2023
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I can see most of what I need to see, but information about the shotgun is very limited. I am trying to determine year of manufacture. Any help is appreciated!
 
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[DHT]Osiris

Lifer
Dec 15, 2015
17,258
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Flamefiter43 said:
Did you ever get any additional info on this shotgun?? I also possess one with a serial number of 67285. Trying to determine the manufacture date.
Click to expand...
Well, it looks like Wyeth was a wholesale dealer, probably got the firearm stamped to make it all official as to where the thing was sold from. You'd need to know the actual brand of the firearm first, then you might be able to figure out the mfg date based on the sn.
 
Flamefiter43

Flamefiter43

Junior Member
Oct 21, 2023
3
0
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[DHT]Osiris said:
Well, it looks like Wyeth was a wholesale dealer, probably got the firearm stamped to make it all official as to where the thing was sold from. You'd need to know the actual brand of the firearm first, then you might be able to figure out the mfg date based on the sn.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, the pitting is sufficient to exclude reading the info on the barrel.
 
brianmanahan

brianmanahan

Lifer
Sep 2, 2006
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BO7rmKK.jpeg
 
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[DHT]Osiris

Lifer
Dec 15, 2015
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Steltek said:
Don't know if it will help, but this site has a 1914 Wyeth annual product catalog image available:

Wyeth's Annual Catalog : Hardware Edition, Catalog No. 104 | papd

digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org

It is a big file and takes a while for it to load in the viewer. Amazing the stuff that they were selling at that time....
Click to expand...
Impressive catalogue, looks like they set a standard for at least visual quality of goods. I'd love to have access to a catalogue of stuff like that now, it'd all cost a small fortune at this point though.

Judging by the images of the firearm stocks, good chance you could narrow down a product in there.
 
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