According to the included factory letter, this pistol was shipped as a single item to "Lt. Granger Adams", address unavailable, on August 6, 1907. Information provided by the consignor suggests that the rank is a typo; research shows a Granger Adams with the U.S. Army at that time period, but he was already a Lieutenant Colonel. An 1876 graduate of West Point, he spent several years in artillery in addition to serving as an artillerist with USMA, followed by occupation detail in Cuba and deployment to the Philippines, with him going to the latter with the 5th Field Artillery in the year when this pistol was made and shipped. This period of deployment, while technically "peaceful" (in that it lacked large scale punitive expeditions), saw a great deal of lawlessness from Moro outlaws in the countryside. Later, he served as President of the Field Artillery Board, returned to the 5th as a full Colonel, served as commander of Fort Sill and its Field Artillery School, and ended his career as a Brigadier General stationed on the U.S./Mexico border in 1916. The latter was not a case of reassignment, as the staff and students of the Artillery School were reassigned to defensive duty following a series of high profile raids on American towns by Pancho Villa, resulting in a crash fortification of the border and the mobilization of the Punitive Expedition into Mexico, with Adams and his students holding the line while legends like General Pershing and George Patton took the fight to the bandits. Additionally, Adams is noted as a contemporary of General William Crozier, a fellow Class of '76 USMA graduate, who would serve as one of the driving forces behind the refinement of the Browning patent semi-automatic pistol submitted by Colt, which shaped the evolution of the world famous 1911 pistol; consignor notes state that Adams himself was a participant in the trials. The Philippines in particular were one of the 1911's particular birthing grounds due to complaints about the relative lack of stopping power of the 38 caliber round by Americans facing off against Moro jungle fighters, and Philippine troops were among the first units to receive Colts in quantity for testing. The individual serial number records in William Goddard's book "The Government Models" support the letter, though repeating and magnifying the typo as "Lt. Grange Adams". The 1905 Colt was the result of previous rounds of military feedback, representing one of the transitional steps from Browning's Model 1900 to the 1911, as wells as being cutting-edge firepower for the day. While not explicitly documented in the included consignor notes and research, this quite likely was the pistol on Adams' hip while serving in the Moro Rebellion and during the defense of the American South from Pancho Villa's forces; in all likelihood, the reputation of his soon-to-be adversaries in the face of small caliber revolver fire inspired the investment in the first place. Fixed sights, with a two-line, two-block address and patent marking on the left side of the slide ahead of the circled Rampant Colt and the caliber markings on the reverse, with "VP/6" on the trigger guard, niter blue small parts, a casehardened round knurled hammer, unmarked full-blue magazine and a pair of checkered grips. An unmarked brown leather flap holster is included.

Very fine, with 70% of the bright original high polish blue finish, with areas of brown and gray patina, minor handling marks and light spotting. Wear on the front and top of the slide appears consistent with regular use with a holster, as well as greater evidence of spotting on the back strap. 60% original nitre blue is present on the small parts and solid case colors are on the hammer; both showing bright wear appropriate to use. The grips are very fine, with a few dents on the crisp checkering. The holster is good, with broken stitching towards the tip and mild scuffing and cracking. Mechanically excellent. Overall, the pistol has a look of being well traveled, but also properly maintained, as would be expected of a well-traveled American officer with a taste for advanced firepower.