#282 L. Swett was a dealer of guns and general merchandise in Vicksburg,
Mississippi and as far as I know never made guns himself. The guns that
I have seen by this maker were all Henry Deringer agent marked guns.
This speciment is very typical of a genuine Henry Deringer such as with
ramrod, German silver furniture, and pineapple finial on the trigger
plate.
The barrel markings are in three lines and it appears to be one stamp
because each line is so perfect when compared with the other. The
markings are as follows:
Made for
L. Swett & Co.
Vicksburg, Miss.
This name represents an agent primarily since no guns not of Henry
Deringer manufacture are known. Newspaper advertisements of that period
show he operated in the late 1850’s. It is interesting to notice that
Mrs. Jefferson Davis carried a Swett derringer in her purse. The gun is
now on display in the old capitol museum in Jackson, Mississippi.