OLD COLT: WE PROVIDE THE PUBLIC WITH AN ONLINE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE FOR OLD COLT GUNS.
This Colt 1908 Vest Pocket features Colt's post war tank blued finish. It's noticeably darker then the Colt Pre-War fine brush blued finish. This pistol has a pair of square top hard rubber grips with a nickel grip screw. Note the ramped front sight and the smooth sighting groove. It might be interesting to note that the earliest Vest pockets used this identical sighing groove and front sight design. The trigger and grip safety are case colored while the thumb safety is also tank blued. The slide has a single line address on the left hand side.
This pistol was Delivered To: Mr. B.F. Conner who was the Executive Vice President in charge of the plastics division at that time. Plastics were a very big deal in the immediate post-war period and were a very profitable part of Colt's product line. The date of shipment was July 20th, 1948 and the Date of Manufacture was July 19th, 1948. This pistol was a single gun shipment which was charged to his expense account.
Extra remarks on the factory letter state: According to our production records, subject pistol is the only 1908 Hammerless Automatic pistol recorded that was manufactured and shipped from the factory in 1948.
It is of further interest to note that Mr. Conner was an employee of the Colt Company for a number of years. During his tenure, he held several positions that included serving on Colt's Board of Directors, Executive Vice-President, and President of the Colt Company from 1949-1955.
Photos attached are of Ben Franklin Conner at his desk while serving as Colt's President. Also are a few photos of him shooting with "Carbine" Williams.
