Manufactured by Nagoya Arsenal in September 1937, (Showa 12.9), this pistol is a solid representative example of an early "small trigger guard" Type 14 Nambu, with a knurled and ribbed cocking knob, straw finished small parts, ribbed grips and a nickel finished magazine, the latter being numbered to match the pistol. A signed affidavit from S. Herbert Hitch of North Carolina, notarized in June of 1977 is included. To quote the affidavit, "The above weapon was presented to me (Lt. S. Herbert Hitch, USNR) in December 1944 by Communist Chairman Mao Tse-tung in Yenan, China." In December of 1944, Hitch was a lieutenant with the United States Naval Reserve and was the U.S. Navy observer attached to the United States Army Observation Group, aka the "Dixie Mission". The objective of Dixie was two-fold; first, it was the first attempt to establish official relations between America and the Communist Party of China, second, to assess the People's Liberation Army in terms of wartime and post-war usefulness as an American ally. On paper the mission was a success, as the mission was able to make face-to-face contact with a veritable who's who of the Chicom braintrust and leadership cadre and return with a broader understanding of both the Party and the PLA. In practice, the mission turned out to be career poison for the participants, as their notes (specifically, that the Party seemed less corrupt than Chiang Kai-Shek's Kuomintang) and suggestions (specifically providing direct material support for the PLA, including weapons and ammunition) led them to be denounced as communist sympathizers. As a member of the mission, Hitch spent 7 months in and around the PLA stronghold at Yenan, including one excursion behind the Japanese battle lines to observe PLA forces in action. Hitch was approached directly by Chairman Mao in December of 1944, who hoped to use him as an envoy directly to Washington, D.C.; Mao theorized (correctly) that the Americans in China were thoroughly attached to the Nationalist Chinese faction for political reasons, and that he would need to go higher to make real progress. After acquiring permission from his superiors (but not the men in charge of the mission), Hitch carried a letter from Mao to Washington, meeting directly with Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal and John Carter Vincent, architect of the Dixie Mission and later Director of the Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, and then with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His own personal recommendation was to arm the Communists out of stockpiles of Japanese weapons and ammunition seized in the Pacific Campaign, as the lion's share of PLA armament was already equipment stolen from the Japanese. The trip back to the States turned out to be a bust; Hitch never returned to China, and the United States continued with its policy of throwing its total support behind the Nationalists. In March of 1977, Hitch presented the pistol as a gift to Harry Derby, III, author of "Japanese Military Cartridge Handguns 1893-1945" and "Hand Cannons of Imperial Japan". According to an additional letter from another previous owner, Derby consigned the pistol for sale at a gun shop in Charlotte, North Carolina, where it was purchased in August of 1982. Included with the pistol are the aforementioned letters, a copy of Hitch's obituary, and the book "Dixie Mission: The United States Army Observer Group in Yenan, 1944" by David Barrett, which includes multiple pictures of Hitch on the mission.

Fine, with 70% of the original blue finish, showing spotting, handling marks and edge wear. The grips are good, with mild dings. The grips and firing pin assembly are unnumbered, with the cocking knob being a mixed numbered replacement. Mechanically excellent.