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LOT 1310
Extremely Rare Early Production, I-Prefix World War II U.S. Ithaca Model 1911A1
Semi-Automatic Pistol - Serial no. I-856542, 45 ACP cal., 5 inch round bbl., Dulite
finish, plastic grips. Manufactured in early 1943, this is an outstanding example of an
extremely early production Ithaca Model 1911A1 pistol, one of only an estimated few
hundred at the very start of production which received an “I” prefixed serial number.
These pistols are discussed on p. 108 of “U.S. Military Automatic Pistols 1920-1945”
by Meadows, and serial number I-856531, only ten digits away from this example,
is pictured on p. 106 and 108. It is theorized in the book that the earliest Ithaca
manufactured pistols received the “I” prefix in imitation of the Singer produced pistols,
which all received an “S” prefixed serial number. The “I” prefix appears to have been
dropped shortly after production began when Ithaca was notified by the Ordnance
Department that it was unnecessary, making these “I” series pistols incredibly rare
on the collectors market. This early production pistol also has the desirable Dulite
finish, which is only seen on Ithaca manufactured pistols until around the 880,000
serial number range, when they switched to the more standard phosphate-based
parkerization. The left side of the slide is marked with the standard two-line Ithaca Gun
Co. address, and there is a “P” proof on the top rear. The left side of the frame has the
“FJA” inspection mark and “P” proof below the magazine catch. The right side of the
frame has a crossed-cannons ordnance
proof at the rear, U.S. property marking
over the “I” prefixed serial number, and
model/U.S. Army marking. There is a “1”
on the right front of the triggerguard bow.
The full blue barrel is marked “P” on the left
of the lug and “HS” on the right. It is fitted with standard blade and notch
sights, checkered slide stop, thumb safety, wide hammer, short trigger, and
arched mainspring housing, long grip safety, a pair of reinforced Keyes Fibre
grips (without the screw reinforcement rings, like Singer or US&S), and a full blue
“R” marked magazine.
CONDITION: Excellent, retains 97% of the original Dulite finish with some light edge/
holster type wear and a few scattered light handling/takedown marks. The grips
are very fine some light wear near the bottoms, a minor flat spot at the top of the
left panel, a few light handling marks, and otherwise crisp checkering. Mechanically
excellent. This is an extremely rare variation of an Ithaca produced U.S. World War II
Model 1911A1 that will not be found in even some of the most advanced
U.S. military collections!
Estimate: 25,000 - 40,000
The rare "I" prefix used in the
serial number is only found on
the first few hundred 1911A1
pistols produced by Ithaca and
is believed to have been dropped
shortly after the Ordnance
Department gave notice the
marking was unnecessary.