Lot 1954: Singer 1911A1 Pistol - Price $80,500

This is certainly "One Of A Kind" find as it's probably considered the "Holy Grail" of all Model 1911A1 pistols, Singer Model 1911A1 Serial Number "1" pistol. The Singer Model 1911A1 pistols are the most sought after of any Model 1911A1 pistol or for that matter probably any pistol that was produced and issued during WWII. It is a well known fact that the Singer Manufacturing Co. produced a total of 500 pistols under Educational Order W-ORD-396 in 1940. They exhibit the high polish Dulite blue finish with excellent fit finish and that all of these Singer produced pistols were issued to the US Army Air Corp as a service side arm for air crews. There are very few Singer Manufactured Model 1911A1s still available on the collector market in original condition (like this example!). This specific pistol is accompanied with a copy of the handwritten note from the consignor, who obtained it from the daughter of the original owner. The copy of the handwritten note in part states: "My daddy was a sergeant in the United States Army and was a tail gunner in WWII. He was issued a Singer 45 auto Ser. #01. He was given a choice to purchase it. He did, my mom shot turtles in Oklahoma, until she gave it to me in 1995, we used it until sold in 2010." The left side of the slide is marked: "S. MFG. CO. / ELIZABETH, N.J., U.S.A." in two lines just ahead of the slide serrations, and the top of the slide is stamped with a "P" proofmark in front of the rear sight. The right side of the frame is marked "UNITED STATES PROPERTY" over serial number "No S800001" and "M 1911 A1 U.S. ARMY" directly in front of that. The left side of the frame is stamped with the initials; "JKC" for Col. John K. Clement who was the US Army Inspector of Ordnance in the district that the Singer Manufacturing Company was located, and there is a single "P" proof just directly above the magazine release button. The pistol still retains it's correct original brown plastic grips made by the Keyes-Fibre Co., that lacks the reinforcing web inside, with no mold number and without the reinforcing rings around the grip screws. It still retains it's original High Standard barrel that has the single "P" proof on the left side with the "HS" manufacturing mark on the right side. It has the finely checkered arched mainspring housing, with the lanyard ring on the bottom, standard fixed GI sights with the wide spur hammer with borderless checkering. The trigger, safety and slide release are also checkered. It is complete with two original WWII magazines, the single letter markings on the front lip of each base plate are an "L" and "R" which represents the M.S. Little Mfg. Co. Hartford CT. and the Risdon Mfg. Co. Naugatuck Conn. respectively. This pistol is complete with the original as issued BOYT leather shoulder holster (missing all the straps) that is marked on the back side, "U.S. BOYT 43". The holster has the center section of a large brass plate belt buckle with the "US" emblazoned on the front.

Very fine with more than half of the faded original factory dulite blue finish remaining overall; 50% dulite blue finish showing on the frame with fine color mostly in the protected areas around the edges of the parts and on the frame itself and front section of the slide; the remaining blued metal finish on the overall pistol has browned out, e.g. the front grip strap, the main spring housing, edges of the frame with some thinning of the actual finish in high wear areas such as the sides, center section and top of the slide with the remaining finish actually showing a dark gray patina on the edges and high spots. The grips are fine with light wear across the tops of the grip panels themselves with no cracks or damage. It is completely original and has all the ear marks and wear patterns on the various parts that show it has been all together from the time it was issued until today and shows the typical wear that an actual Model 1911A1 would have received after 2-3 years of actual combat use on numerous bomber missions. Without a doubt this is certainly an all original "One of A Kind", Serial Number "1" Model 1911A1 that was manufactured by the Singer Mfg. Co. that would certainly be the center piece of any US WWII, Martial collection, or Model 1911A1 pistol collection. Whomever is fortunate enough to own this will have the "number one" (45) collection all in one!