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Important Historic Note
In early July 1918, the U.S. Government issued a contract for 500,000 Model 1911 pistols to the North American Arms Co. Due to the armistice of November 1918, the contract was cancelled in December of 1918 with no examples of completed pistols having been accepted by the U.S. Government.
LOT 1339
Extremely Rare Documented North American Arms Model 1911 Semi-
Automatic Pistol Serial Number 34 - Serial no. 34, 45 ACP cal., 5 inch round
bbl., blue finish, walnut checkered grips. This is a very rare example of an Model
1911 semi-automatic pistol that was manufactured by the “North American Arms
Company Limited” of Quebec Canada. In early July 1918, the U.S. Government issued
a contract for 500,000 Model 1911 pistols to the North American Arms Co., of Quebec
Canada. The North American Arms Company leased the Ross Rifle plant to actually do the
manufacturing and as part of the contractual arrangement, the U.S. Government was to supply all the raw materials. However due to the material shortages they were only able to supply enough material
to produce approximately 100 sets of tool room parts, some of which were later assembled into completed pistols. Due to the ending of WWI, the contract was canceled in December of 1918 with
no completed examples of these pistols ever being accepted by the U.S. Government. However the U.S. Ordnance salvage board did accept/reclaim this large lot of parts and assemblies as part of the contract termination settlement and which were later disposed of. These 100 pistols were uniquely marked with only a controlling serial number on the left rear section of the slide along with the factory markings also on the left side of the slide. According to a January 2002 article in “The Gun Report”, Meadows indicates serial number 34 is one of only 16 examples known to exist. This specific pistol is marked on the slide “MANUFACTURED BY/NORTH AMERICAN ARMS CO. LIMITED/QUEBEC CANADA” along with control number “34” on the upper left rear end of the slide, the trigger, and the lower left
rear corner of the frame under the grip. The configuration of the parts and components were the same as the standard Colt Model 1911 models. The hammer is a wide spur version similar to the Colt production models, except it is without any checkering on the spur. The grip panels are the standard checkered walnut versions. The magazine is a blued Colt manufactured half tone pattern with a lanyard loop on the base plate.
CONDITION: Very good, with traces of the period refurbished blue finish mostly in the protected area with the balance of the metal surface a
silvery gray patina. The grips are also in very good condition with distinct checkering on both sides showing wear across the tops of the checkering and large diamonds. Mechanically excellent. This is the rarest manufacturer of a model 1911 semi-automatic pistol.
Estimate: 25,000 - 40,000
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AS PICTURED AND DESCRIBED IN "THE GUN REPORT" FROM JANUARY 2002