A Long Time Ago...1911 Ivory Grip Question
A long time ago, this gun...
...a Colt Commander in .38 Super...
...came into my father's possession.
It was made, I believe, in 1952, the same year I was born, and I remember seeing it when I was very small.
When I saw it then, and when it came into my possession many years later...
...it had these grips on it. They are of ivory, and are carved in an Oriental dragon design.
The only marking that could possibly identify a maker is a simple figure "8" on the back of each grip panel.
The panels are a little thinner than factory grips, and necessitated that the grip screw bushings be dressed down, apparently with a file. I removed them and installed standard bushings to put more durable and serviceable grips on the gun.
Oh, by the way, just in the manner of showing off a bit...
I acquired these genuine stags a bit later. The origin of the stag grips is easy to see. They came from Ajax.
Does anyone have any informed ideas about the ivories, as to their origin, age, and value?
...a Colt Commander in .38 Super...
...came into my father's possession.
It was made, I believe, in 1952, the same year I was born, and I remember seeing it when I was very small.
When I saw it then, and when it came into my possession many years later...
...it had these grips on it. They are of ivory, and are carved in an Oriental dragon design.
The only marking that could possibly identify a maker is a simple figure "8" on the back of each grip panel.
The panels are a little thinner than factory grips, and necessitated that the grip screw bushings be dressed down, apparently with a file. I removed them and installed standard bushings to put more durable and serviceable grips on the gun.
Oh, by the way, just in the manner of showing off a bit...
I acquired these genuine stags a bit later. The origin of the stag grips is easy to see. They came from Ajax.
Does anyone have any informed ideas about the ivories, as to their origin, age, and value?
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...Origin, an elephant [:D] Sorry, could not help my self.
Being carved nicely, and with the "age" coloring...I'd say they could very well be 40-50+ years old...or older looking at the color.
As for price, ivory is not getting any cheaper and has not been imported since 87 (?).
...Nowdays REALLY nice quality ivory with nice grain (1911 grips) sells for $200 and up. GOOD fitting, finished ivory will run an average of about $250....cheesey ivory can run a little less.
Most nicely carved ivory will run $300 up...unless you buy from Prestigewest...and he is PROUD of his ivory and thinks it's worth $500 to $1,000...[:0][:D]0 -
Daddy acquired the gun in the mid-1950s, and it had those grips on it when he got it.
I sorta figured, from the time frame and the design, that maybe they came from postwar Japan or Korea.0 -
...that could very well be, as a lot of the carved ivory came from the orient..and even some regions of Europe; though the orientals were the masters at carving/working with ivory. If I were to guess. I'd say they were carved maybe turn of the century up to just pre war...very nice by the way...beautiful color...[;)] 0 -
Believe it or not , I have those same design with mother of pearl on a Walther PP (dragon).... exact design...interesting...nambu
p.s. I will be putting these up for auction soon.0 -
Well, I can deduce a few things.
They were made after 1911.
The dragons appear in the Chinese or Thai style.
The type of ivory could tell a lot. Indian elephant or whale tooth. If elephant, probably mainland Asia. If whale tooth, Japanese.
My first guess is that a GI commissioned them during Korea if you saw them in the fifties. It's possible that they could have been taken off a dead Chicom or North Korean since they had some Government models and transferred to the Commander. It's also possible they were commissioned by a China sailor off a gunboat (AKA San Pebbles).
I see at least $150 there if you've done the hot needle test.0 -
Craftsmen in China and Japan made these (and other ivory items) for sale to military people stationed in the orient and in tourist shops. They also used to be available in Mexican tourist towns years ago with snake and eagle motifs. If you watch ebay these Asian ivory 1911 stocks turn fairly regularly and will go for $150-$250 depending on condition and quality of work. They are usually free of a manufacturer's stamp as frequently it was a single man operation rather than a "company" making them.
I like ivory on my 1911s although I don't have any fancy carved stocks like those.0 -
The stocks are similar in color to fossilized ivory of some sort. I have a set of Colt grips made of Walrus Ivory, but mine does not have the "very old" look that yours does. 0 -
I would agree with Mike and say they are more than likely Chinese and possibly Thai. The Japanese don't use dragons as heavily in art as the Chinese do, particularly dragons that look like that. In my untrained eyes' opinion, I would call that a Chinese dragon. It could have also been made in Hong Kong and would fit the post war time frame as well. You'll probably never know for sure, but it's reasonable to assume they would bring a few hundred dollars.
I have been to Hong Kong at least six times for different periods of time each visit and I have been all over asia several times as well.
Hardly an expert by any means though.0
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