GUN SPRING 2017
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/11/2017
SUPERB UNISSUED SINGER MODEL 1911A1 PRESENTATION SEMI-AUTOMATIC PISTOL.SINGER MFG CORP1911A10 045ACPMODERN; C&RCal. 45 ACP. This pistol has all blue finish with 5″ bbl, standard fixed sights with the slide marked "S. MFG. CO. / ELIZABETH, N.J., U.S.A." and without military acceptance proofs. Mounted with orig Singer checkered brown composition grips without donuts and without reinforcements inside. Accompanied by its orig Singer all blue magazine. Pistol has checkered slide stop, thumb safety, hammer spur, recoil spring keeper, magazine release and arched main spring housing with lanyard loop. This pistol is typical of the very small number of pistols made by the Singer Manufacturing Company, but lacks any marking any marking except the slide legend and a small "0 0" on the frame under the left grip. In April 1940 "an educational contract" was placed with the Elizabethport factory which called for the preparation of one complete set of tools, fixtures & gauges and the manufacture of 500 complete pistols (SN S800001-S800500), plus spare parts. The purpose of this contract was primarily to provide tools which would be available for further larger production orders and to familiarize the Elizabethport personnel with pistol manufacture. With the advent of WWII this original 500 pistol contract was re-designated for military issue. A few un-numbered pistols were made as overruns of the original order. After the war, most of these leftover pistols were simply brought home by Singer executives. This particular example was retained by Singer Chief Engineer/Production Manager, Mr. Wilbur Peets. Mr Peets was employed by Singer for 47 years before retiring in 1961. The Pistol remained in the Peets' family until a subsequent private sale in 1981. Accompanied by copies of factory documents regarding Singer's production of the 1911A1 pistol, Mr. Peets' 1981 obituary, and documentation regarding the timeline and chain of possession of the pistol from 1981 until its offering at this auction. PROVENANCE: The Frank H. Wheaton, III Collection. CONDITION: A magnificent Singer presentation example. Overall a superb condition Singer Presentation Pistol that appears to be as it left the factory with the exception of a very small ding and wear mark. Small pit on left side mostly hidden by slide stop. Small ring scratch on front grip strap. Light pitting on side of mainspring housing. No apparent wear even to edges. No evidence of firing except for possibly proof firing, but no p mark on bbl. Slide has spot of finish deterioration on left front that appears to have been factory touched up as well as a shadow on right side that appears to be an artifact of when the hold open notch was factory hardened. Tiny spot on right muzzle and small ding on right rear. Receiver and slide have 99+% orig factory finish. Small amount of thinning on front strap. Stocks are Singer manufactured with typical Singer wavy checkering pattern. Grip screws are about as perfect as they can be. Magazine has typical Singer large headed rivets and large view holes. Sides of magazine show sanding marks that were not completely polished out. The condition is amazing with only a few very minor blemishes. Orig stocks are in near perfect condition as is the bbl. This pistol was obviously well-stored and never used or altered in any way. 51516-15 KXK (50,000-80,000)