Very Rare, Boxed Colt M1911 - 1912 Navy

Description

10/29/25 - This is an extremely rare example of the already rare U.S. Navy-issued Colt 1911 from 1912.  One of the first 6,000 1911s ever produced, and one of ~7,000 issued to the Navy in 1912, the first full production year of the 1911.  This also happens to be the first we have encountered in its original Arsenal box, as this pistol was taken directly out of Benicia Arsenal in the 1950s by the father of our consignor, Robert Reed Kelley, Col, MD.  The pistol has the original 1912 Navy frame and slide, with an arsenal replacement (HS) barrel.  The bluing has been redone at the arsenal, as you would expect.  Two-tone lanyard ring magazine.  Excellent wood grips.  Strong, shiny bore.  The box is serialized to the pistol.

Colonel Kelley was the practicing physician to Presidents Truman and Eisenhower, and was later offered the rank of General but turned it down as he wished to be a practicing doctor rather than be stuck behind a desk.  Kelley was living in San Francisco at the time that he began to build a collection of Colts and Smith & Wessons, and would practice target shooting at a range nearby after work every day.  He managed the Letterman Army Hospital, and while there, he became friends with all of the guards from San Quentin and Alcatraz prison, along with the Army guys from Benicia Arsenal.  He became known for his interests in these firearms, and accrued a beautiful collection of rare and exceptional pieces through these friendships.