Coltautos.com Gun of the Month - January 2017
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Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless .32 ACP serial number 1468 - marked "Browning's Patent" with April 20, 1897 patent date. High polish blue finish with fire blue small parts, plunge milled serrations, Type I checkered hard rubber stocks. Pistol was manufactured September 26, 1903, the first year of production.
Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless .32 ACP serial number 1468 - Right side view of pistol. Note how this example has a thumb safety with an opposing thumb screw, which was used later in production.
Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless .32 ACP serial number 1468 - Factory letter indicates this pistol was one of 3 shipped September 26, 1903 to the W.A. Able and Company, Syracuse, New York. It was manufactured on September 26, 1903.
Original entry from the Colt Production Book for the Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless .32 ACP pistols. There is no leading "1" as it's at the top of the page, so "468" is "1468", manufactured SEP 26, '03. The "214." is the notation that was made in the production book which corresponds to the entry in the factory repair book (pictured below).
Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless .32 ACP serial number 1468 (right side) - close-up of opposing thumb safety screw, a replaces part that was part of a repair performed at Colt's on July 9, 1906. See below:
In July of 1906, Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless .32 ACP was returned to Colt's by F.J. Whitnall. The original Colt Factory Repair Record book on page 214 indicates:
The Fourteenth Census of the United States 1920 - Population lists Frank J, Whitnall as having a Gun Shop in New York City.
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