Manufactured c. 1945, this is one of approximately 31-50 presentation Model 1911A1 pistols produced by the Ithaca Gun Co. after completion of their World War II government contracts. These pistols were produced specifically for presentation to top company officials and Ordnance Department officers that played a roll in attaining and completing the government contracts that Ithaca had received. Throughout the course of the war Ithaca had received multiple contracts from the government for Model 1911A1 pistols, even though early on their quality was in question, having an alarmingly high number of pistols rejected by government inspectors. By September of 1943 Ithaca were pushed to make some changes to improve the quality of their production, which by the middle of 1944 seemed to dramatically reduce the number of Ordnance Department rejections. By the end of the war, Ithaca was the third largest producer of the Model 1911A1 pistol having made 335,466, following only Colt and Remington-Rand. This example certainly shows the culmination of learning and improvement Ithaca experienced through the course of the war, displaying a level of quality that is clearly evident. It is entirely finished in a highly polished deep blue with the only markings being "ITHACA GUN CO., INC./ITHACA, N.Y." on the left of the slide and the scarce, hand engraved, presentation serial number "I.G. 18" on the right of the frame. It is fitted with blade and notch sights, short stamped trigger, long grip safety, arched serrated mainspring housing with lanyard ring, wide checkered hammer, reinforced checkered grips, and an "S" marked full blue magazine.

Excellent, retains 99% plus of the original high polish blue finish with some scattered very light handling marks. The grips are also excellent with only the slightest handling marks and crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. One will look a very long time to find another finer example!