Historic, Authenticated North American Arms Model 1911

Description

12/16/24 - This is an original and authenticated example of the rare and historic North American Arms Co M1911! It is formerly from the collection Karl Karash, a well-known Colt collector who authored several collector guides. These are the rarest of all military contract 1911s, with only ~100 such pistols ever completed. In 1918, the U.S. government initially placed an order for 500,000 of these to be made by North American Arms Co. of Quebec, but they didn’t have the manufacturing or materials to even get the project off the ground. All completed examples were done so after the war, either as tool room examples or assembled from the parts on hand. This particular example comes with a complete inspection report by Scott Gahimer, with every aspect of the pistol detailed and included with the sale of this pistol. A snapshot of the report summary is included in the photos of this listing, but the full report can be made available upon request. In summary, the pistol is all correct and original except for the hammer, which appears to be a period Colt example, and the recoil spring. We'd estimate the original finish to rate at around 70-75%, with the most notable area of wear being the right side face of the slide. The very rare barrel is correct and original, with a minty bore. Terrific wood stocks with no cracks or chips. Correct and original magazine. Appears to have proper mechanical function but we will not be firing it.