Forehand Arms Company Serial Numbers

F&W relentlessly knocked off Smith & Wesson’s.32- and.38-caliber double-action top-break revolvers in hammer and hammerless versions. Immediately after the Civil War, in which bloody battles raged within eyeshot of the nation’s capitol, and previously quiet city streets ran red, America became a nation of concealed-carriers.

Some gunmakers, such as Smith & Wesson, rode this wave of gun consciousness to enduring fame. Others did not. Consider Forehand & Wadsworth. The Forehand & Wadsworth factory was in Worcester, Mass. The Stately American Largely forgotten today, Forehand & Wadsworth was for a time one of the nation’s best-known manufacturers of small, concealable revolvers. In a market flooded with inexpensive pocket guns such as Avenger, Tramp’s Terror, Bang Up and Christian Protector, the guns of Forehand & Wadsworth managed to retain some respectability. Some of that reputation undoubtedly derived from the stateliness of the brand name, which was faintly British and unmistakably confidence-building.

The top of the 3& 1/4' barrel is marked: ' Forehand Arms Co., Worcester, Mass. The black hard rubber grips are also in excellent condition (98-99%) and have an'H&A' logo which stands for Hopkins & Allen. The Forehand & Wadsworth firm became Forehand Arms Co. K yairi guitars serial numbers. In 1890 and Hopkins & Allen bought that firm in 1902.

I can hear it now: “Stand back, vile ruffian! I am protected by Forehand & Wadsworth!” Exit ruffian, stage left. However, Forehand & Wadsworth was a true-blue American enterprise presided over by Sullivan Forehand, a bookkeeper with a knack for numbers, and Henry C. Wadsworth, a former officer in the Union army. These ambitious entrepreneurs rose to prominence in the firearms industry of the 1870s in a time-honored manner: They married the boss’s daughters.

And in that case, the boss was Ethan Allen, one of America’s most visible arms makers. Allen is not to be confused with the strong-willed Revolutionary War hero of the same name who compelled the British to surrender Fort Ticonderoga. This Ethan Allen was a pioneering gunmaker who opened his first shop in Grafton, Conn., in 1832. Allen’s guns were held in high regard, and about 1842, he entered a partnership with Charles Thurber. Their firm of Allen & Thurber relocated to the burgeoning metal-working city of Worcester, Mass., in 1847. Thurber retired in 1856, and the company became known as Allen & Wheelock when Allen’s brother-in-law, T.P.

Wheelock, joined what would become almost a dynasty of American gunmaking. F&W introduced a nice copy of Webley’s snub-nosed Bull Dog revolver. This sturdy little gun was available in a seven-shot.32 version, a six-shot.38 and a six-shot.44 that chambered the stubby.44 Webley. Genesis of a Company Enter Forehand.

Hired as an accountant at Allen & Wheelock in 1856 after a stint at Worcester’s Pratt & Inman steelworks, Forehand soon lost his heart to Allen’s daughter Nettie, and they were married in 1859. Wadsworth had already married another of Allen’s daughters, and when Wheelock left Allen & Wheelock in 1863, it seemed like a good time to take another look at the situation. Allen renamed the company Ethan Allen & Co., the “& Co.” referring to his sons-in-law Forehand and Wadsworth, who became his active partners. When Allen died in January 1871, the firm was renamed Forehand & Wadsworth in honor of the two new principals. The first guns bearing the Forehand & Wadsworth name understandably resembled the guns of the former Ethan Allen & Co.