Page 294 - Auction84-Book2

LOT 1567
Exceptional Documented Early Production Three Digit Serial Number 590
Colt Military Model 1905 Semi-Automatic Pistol - Serial no. 590, 45 ACP cal., 5
inch round bbl., blue finish, walnut grips. Manufactured in 1906, this is one of only
6,210 Colt “Military Model of 1905” pistols manufactured over a period of six years.
These pistols are a very important evolutionary step in the development of Colt automatic pistols and the Model 1911 as they were the first production Colt automatic chambered for the legendary .45 ACP cartridge. The left side of the slide is marked
with the two-line, two-block patent dates and address, with the circled Rampant Colt behind the serrations. The right side of the slide is marked “AUTOMATIC COLT/CALIBRE 45 RIMLESS SMOKELESS”. The left side of the frame is marked with the serial number
and the left of the trigger guard has a “VP” proof and “W”. It has rounded blade front
and rounded top notch rear sights, and the rounded checkered hammer. It is fitted
with a pair of diamond pattern checkered grips, an unmarked full blue magazine, and a smooth back strap not cut for a shoulder stock. On p. 219 of “The Government Models: The Development of the Colt Model of 1911” by Goddard, it is stated that this pistol was shipped on 25 April 1906 to the China & Japan Trading Co., Yokahama Branch. The China & Japan Trading Co. became incorporated in 1876, succeeding a firm that had dealt with trade of a plethora of goods in China since 1844. Around the time of The Boxer Rebellion the company was operating out of New York and had mostly come to concern itself with the trade of raw silks from China, cotton products from
the U.S., and likely a similar movement between Japan
and the U.S.
CONDITION: Excellent, retains 95% plus of the bright
original high polish blue finish, 85% of the original case colors, and 70% plus of the original nitre blue with the balance having thinned to a smooth grey patina, primarily on the leading edges of the slide and some spotting on the grip straps. The grips are also excellent with a few scattered minor blemishes in the overall crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent.
Estimate: 14,000 - 22,500
“The Road to the 1911”
A Sensational Investment Quality Benchmark Example of the Colt 1905 Pistol
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LISTED BY SERIAL NUMBER IN THE BOOK THE GOVERNMENT MODELS BY GODDARD