Smith & Wesson Expands Relationship with Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation
Increases Opportunities to Preserve & Display Smith & Wesson History
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (July 27, 2016) – (ArmsVault.com) – Smith & Wesson Corp. today announced that it has expanded its long-standing relationship with the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation, an organization founded to preserve, organize and digitize original Smith & Wesson factory records. The Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation will assume full responsibility for the company’s Letter of Authenticity process, a service that began in 1965 when former company historian, Roy Jinks, began providing Smith & Wesson collectors with letters of authenticity to accompany their treasures. Jinks will continue to lead research and correspondence activities for the Letter of Authenticity service.
Smith & Wesson Firearms President Matt Buckingham said “The Foundation has worked tirelessly to preserve the Smith & Wesson archival collection for nearly a decade. At the same time, our Letter of Authenticity service, under Roy’s leadership, has become extremely popular and now requires added support. Combining these resources helps us to insure that our Letter of Authenticity service will support our loyal fans and collectors for a very long time. We are pleased to place this very important service in their capable and experienced hands.”
Over the years, the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation has helped raise over $600,000 in funding used to digitize the vast collection of original factory records at the Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Bill Cross, Chairman of the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation, said, “We are excited about this expansion of our relationship for two reasons. It allows us to welcome Roy Jinks to our team, and it allows us to channel revenue from the Letter of Authenticity process directly back in to our work toward preserving so many historical and treasured Smith & Wesson documents.”
To learn more about the Smith & Wesson® Historical Foundation and the Letter of Authenticity service, visit www.swhistoricalfoundation.com.
About Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select: SWHC) is a leading provider of quality products for the shooting and outdoor enthusiast, delivering a broad portfolio of quality firearms and hunting and shooting accessories, to the global consumer and professional markets. The company’s firearms division brands include Smith & Wesson®, M&P®, and Thompson/Center Arms™. As a leading provider of shooting, reloading, gunsmithing, and gun cleaning supplies, the company’s accessories division produces innovative, high-quality products under several brands, including Caldwell® Shooting Supplies, Wheeler® Engineering, Tipton® Gun Cleaning Supplies, Frankford Arsenal® Reloading Tools, Lockdown® Vault Accessories, and Hooyman® Premium Tree Saws. The company’s manufacturing services division provides forging, machining, and precision plastic service for outside businesses. Smith & Wesson facilities are located in Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, and Missouri. For more information on Smith & Wesson, call (800) 331-0852 or log on to www.smith-wesson.com.
About the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation
The Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation was created in 2007 by Ray and Sheryl Cheely, members of the Smith & Wesson Collector’s Association. The goal of the independent 501(c)(3) organization is to preserve, organize and digitize the 700,000 original factory records that are housed in the Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History. The Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation is not affiliated with Smith & Wesson Corp. For more information about the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation, visit www.swhistoricalfoundation.com.