Smith & Wesson .44 Double-Action Frontier Model Revolver decorated by Tiffany & Co. (serial no. 8401), with Case and Cleaning Rod ca. 1893 Smith & Wesson This revolver is exceptional as one of the most elaborate Tiffany-decorated firearms of the late nineteenth century. Made for Smith & Wesson’s display at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, the pistol stands as an unrivaled example of the silver firm’s distinct contribution to the decoration of American firearms. This transformative gift to The Met from the Robert M. Lee Foundation not only deepens the Museum’s holdings of Ti

Smith & Wesson .44 Double-Action Frontier Model Revolver decorated by Tiffany & Co. (serial no. 8401), with Case and Cleaning Rod ca. 1893 Smith & Wesson This revolver is exceptional as one of the most elaborate Tiffany-decorated firearms of the late nineteenth century. Made for Smith & Wesson’s display at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, the pistol stands as an unrivaled example of the silver firm’s distinct contribution to the decoration of American firearms. This transformative gift to The Met from the Robert M. Lee Foundation not only deepens the Museum’s holdings of Tiffany-decorated guns, as a masterpiece in its category it expands The Met’s ability to tell stories about design in America during the late nineteenth century and to explore the intersections between fine art, industry, engineering, and revolver marks a peak in Tiffany’s tradition of selling decorated weapons, which by 1893 had been a staple of the firm’s product offerings for nearly fifty years. Tiffany had played a leading role in the design and sale of decorated weapons in the United States since the 1840s. During and after the Mexican War (1846–48) and in the wake of the Civil War (1861–65), the firm was the foremost American supplier of presentation swords, and beginning in the early 1860s it initiated partnerships with the American firearms manufacturers Colt, Derringer, and Smith & Wesson, becoming a major pistol evidence suggests that Tiffany decorated handguns in the 1860s and 1870s, but no Tiffany-marked firearm from this period is known and many may have been sold unmarked, with their factory finishes. The firm further expanded its firearms offerings in the 1880s, collaborating with Smith & Wesson and other makers to sell pistols customized with elaborately decorated grips made of silver and other precious materials. Intended for wealthy customers and for promoting the firm's creativity and know-how at international ex

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