What a beautiful example of an exceptionally rare 2nd Variation, "North China Industries" Type 19 semi-automatic pistol with an original WWII Chinese mainland made leather holster and shoulder strap. This is probably one of the rarest of all the WWII Japanese/Chinese made pistols. These pistols are so rare that only approximately "11" of the First Variation are known and only approximately "7" of the Second Variation are even know outside of China. Since the Allied Forces were constantly disrupting all the Japanese supply lines throughout the War on all fronts, combined with the huge number of Japanese troops directly in China; the Japanese seized upon developing indigenous manufacturing capability, directly on the mainland. Obviously the intent was to be able to supply the considerable number of weapons required to control China they began developing/producing this series of pistol in late 1944/1945, as a suitable substitute for the Type 14 Nambu pistol. It is theorized that these pistols may have been made by one of the Chinese companies in or around Beijing or Shanghai. They are a very unique pistol indeed in that, visually they look similar to the standard Japanese type 14 Nambu pistol, however they actually represented a significant technological leap forward in rapid manufacturing of wartime weapon by employing a redesigned "one-piece" frame forging, which eliminated several key parts that required numerous separate machining operations along with redesigning of the trigger assembly. In addition this design eliminated the magazine safety completely and moved the take down lever to the right side of the frame and also included an improved/relocated safety level location. These redesign efforts would have dramatically shortened the overall production time of the pistol, dramatically increasing monthly production rates. This series of pistol is described in great detail on pages 258-267, in the excellent book; "Japanese Military Cartridge Handguns 1893-1945" by Derby/Brown. (There is also a chart listing his gun by serial number 023 and the assembly number 66.) This exact holster is photographed on the bottom of page 265!.The left side of the frame has the "larger" 2nd series frame markings, that read "North China Type 19" over serial number "023". The lower front grip strap has been stamped with assembly number "66" which is also found on the top, rear section of the bolt, the back side of the cocking knob, the left side of the trigger and the aluminum base of the magazine. It is fitted with its original Chinese made, hardwood grips that have Chinese/Japanese Kanji marks penciled on the back side of the left grip. This outstandingly rare pistol is accompanied an even more rare all original, Chinese made soft brown cow-hide leather holster, that has a soft cloth lining inside. The cloth lining inside the flap has several Chinese characters hand written in there.

Excellent with 98% of the original blue finish overall with only wear on the edges and high spots. The Chinese hardwood grips are also excellent with 95% of the original varnish with minor scratches and handling marks on the lower areas. The holster is near excellent with a nice original smooth brown leather surface showing only very minor age cracking in a few areas with tight stitching overall. Certainly one of the rarest of the WWII Japanese handguns ever found today.