This is a beautiful example of an all original Japanese Grandpa Nambu rig, complete with matching pistol, magazine and original matching serialized combination shoulder stock/holster. This specific rare example of the 1902 Grandpa Nambu pistol is fully described in detail on pages 44-51 of the excellent work "Japanese Military Cartridge Handguns 1893-1945" by Derby and Brown with this specific pistol listed and described on the bottom of page 50. The top of the receiver has the standard four intertwined cannon balls of the Tokyo Artillery Arsenal with the three small Kanji acceptance proofs on the right side of the slide above the serial number. The front grip strap has a small Thai, Charka property marking over a small acceptance proof, (as noted in the reference above) and it is theorized that these pistol were part of a early Siam or Thailand contract that was filled with already produced arsenal stored or manufactured to fill specific orders. This may account for the higher serial number ranges of these contract pistols and the exceptional overall condition of this complete rig. These early 1902 Nambu pistol shoulder stock/holsters were heavily influenced by the 1896 Mauser pistol design that utilized a similar combination wooden shoulder stock/holster that attaches to the rear of the grip strap. The stock on this example appears to be of the later, larger version that has been serial numbered in only two places: 1) on the underside of the collar around the telescoping metal extension and 2) on the rear edge of the shoulder strap plate, which still has the original leather shoulder strap attached. Unlike the Mauser design these Japanese stocks have a short all metal telescoping extension that allows the overall stock to be more compact when stored, which can be fully extended to the correct length to function, akin to a short rifle design. This early Grandpa Nambu has the very early desirable features such as the very small trigger guard, the tangent rear sight graduated from 1-5 (100-500 meters) marked on top, the small lanyard fixed loop that has been attached to the rear of the frame, the convex or domed shaped cocking knobs, the small trigger with the rounded edges, the intact front grip safety and the early style magazine release with the walnut base on the magazine. It is estimated that only a total of approximately 2,400 Grandpa Nambu pistols were ever produced with this pistol as being "one of only four" noted in the reference above that fall into this transitional serial number range and "one of only two" with matching shoulder stocks, certainly making this an extremely rare example of a Grandpa Nambu. These pistols were produced with an all rust blued finish with straw colored small parts such as the extractor, trigger, bolt lock, magazine catch assembly, sear bar and pin, and recoil spring guide and are all heat treated to a golden straw color. The grip panels and base on the magazine were made of walnut. The shoulder stock is made of Rosaceae, which is a subgroup of the Cherry wood family.