Manufactured in the Tokyo Artillery Arsenal circa 1903-1906, this pistol is listed by number in Appendix F of Derby & Brown's "Japanese Military Cartridge Handguns 1893-1945", sequentially with another Grandpa Nambu in this sale. Only about 2,300 Grandpa Nambus were made with low survival rate. Fixed blade front and tangent rear sights, the Arsenal markings on top of the chamber, front strap grip safety, checkered hardwood grips and a wood base Grandpa Nambu magazine with matching number on the back near the lips.

Very good with 80% of the blue showing heavy pitting on top of the frame, the sides of the barrel, and beneath the grips, bright edge wear and a very faint small, almost indiscernible "INTERARMS" mark on the front grip strap. The grips are fine with mild dings and sharp recut checkering. Mechanically very good. The next sequential Grandpa Nambu can be found in LOT 852 in this sale. Grandpa Nambu pistols were chiefly purchased privately with no regard for keeping groupings together, and many were destroyed, both during the course of use and at the end of World War II (one account from Derby & Brown mentions a 9,000-man garrison surrendering all their small arms to a Navy destroyer, where the crew cherry-picked 600 for war trophies and dumped the remainder in the ocean), making sequential pairs very scarce. A rare and attractive Grandpa Nambu.