Post by Gil Jesus on Jun 11, 2022 8:09:22 GMT -5
The Handgun, Part I
by Gil Jesus (2022)
Part I: The Order Blank
On an unknown date, Seaport Traders received an order blank, taken from an unknown magazine, from an "A.J. Hidell" for a Smith & Wesson .38 revolver with a 2" barrel.
Some folks have suggested that "Hidell" ordered a .38 Special for $39.95 but received a ".38 St. W" for $29.95.
The order blank does not show that, however.
The order blank was filled out to reflect an order for one ".38 St.W. 2" Bbl." for $29.95.
I believe that the "St.W" is a printing typo. Apparently, the printer got a handwritten list of weapons for the order blank and saw "S+W" and thought it meant "StW" and made an error when he cast the type.
That's just my opinion based on my Jr. High School experience in print shop. It's an easy mistake to make.
Because of this typo, you would have thought that the FBI could have tracked down what publication it had come from.
They didn't.
Another point about this order blank is that the requirement for a C.O.D. (cash on delivery) order is a deposit of 1/2 the price of the item. (Underlined in red, above.)
Ten dollars is not 1/2 of thirty.
The order blank also informs the purchaser that the "express charges" are "collect" (Yellow underline above.), meaning that any shipping charges would have had to have been paid by the purchaser at the time of delivery.
That's in addition to the $19.95 balance on the weapon and the C.O.D. charges.
In other words, the balance owed on the item and the C.O.D. charges would be collected by REA and paid to Seaport Traders and the shipping charges would be paid to REA Express when the package was picked up.
Another thing I find strange about this order blank is that it contains two different Commission Exhibit numbers, CE 790 (above) and CE 135 (below).
This is the first time I have run across this in my research and it still has me puzzled why they would need two different exhibit numbers for the same exhibit.
And after examining them closely side by side, I can report with confidence that they ARE the same exhibit. The only difference is that CE 135 is on a light background and CE 790 is on a dark background.
Coming in part II: The Commission's "Expert"