WWII Rare \"CRAGHEAD\" M1916 Holster, Circa 1944 Unissued NOS (New Old Stock) For Sale

WWIIUSMC M1916 HOLSTER (“CRAIGHEAD”)& LACE

Undated,Circa1944

RAREcontractor!!

NewOld Stock, Unissued!!

JohnR. Craighead Co., Inc.

ofDenver,Colorado

Army,USMC

Thisis one of the RARE manufacturers! Produced only in 1944. Thismid- to late-war Holster was made as production was winding downdramatically!

+It is also the only M1916Holster thatwith the distinctive \"rectangular\", i.e. \'rounded\' boxcontaining the \"U.S.\"surchargeon the Flap!

+CRAIGHEADisalso the only only contractor that stamped a “logos’ beneath asecondary “U.S.”surchargeon the reverse of the Holster

+OverallUNTOUCHED condition!TheseCRAIGHEADHolsterssimply do not turn up often in any condition!

+Sixteencontractorsmanufactured a wartime total of almost two million (1,830,536)M1916Holsters ata per unit cost ranging between $1.55 and $1.68 each.

+It is known that JohnR. Craighead Co., Inc. ofDenver, Colorado was awarded a single contract in March 1944 andproduced only 68,056holstersof the 1,830,536totalthat were manufactured.Only 3% of the M1916 Holsters from WWII were made by CRAIGHEAD!Bycomparison Boytmanufacturedover 430,881 holsters, Enger-Kressmanufactured341,000, and Graton-Knightmanufactured188,437!

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+This deeply embossed Holster from the factory in Denver, was what wasissued to theARMY,theU.S.MARINE CORPS,andtheNAVYduringWW2.

+This particular Holster was produced contemporaneously with some ofthe bitterest fighting in both Southern France,Central Europe and the Pacific Campaigns --and M1916Holsters wentaloft in the cockpits of USMC/USNaviators,AAFfighterpilots, and on the hips of bomber crewmen in every theater of thewar. NOTE:Therewere noM1916Holstersspecificallystamped on the Flap class=\"western\" align=\"left\">ThisM1916Holsterwasworn by MarineandArmyOfficers, NCOs,personnelwithcrew-servedweapons, AviatorsandPilots,manyof whom chose to carry a large frameM1911.45 ACPina belt holster such as this one. The M1916Holster wasalso worn by any Marine or Soldier who could lay his hands on a sidearm!

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PARTICULARSof CONDITION:

*Deeply embossed \"U.S.\"surchargewithin a ‘rectangular,rounded box’ insteadof the typical \'oval\'onthe Flap!

*Crisply and deeply stamped in San-seriffontcapital letters on the rear is the manufacturer\'s name of \"CRAIGHEAD\"alongwith the company\'s \"logos\"ofan ‘antlerwithin a lariat/rope circle’andan ADDITIONAL\'U.S.\'...butno year. As mentioned above, this holster was manufactured in 1944,the only year that theJohnR. Craighead Co., Inc.wasawarded a contract for M1916 Holsters!

*AMINTCowhideLACE ispresent!

*ZEROscuffs on the leather\'Block\' thatcants the pistol outward or on the inside of theFlap!Aweapon has never been placed inside this example!

*Thestacked leather-block \'Plug\'atthe toe of the Holster is present and has not been removed.

*ZERO‘crazing’atthe fold of the Flap!

*The Leather at the point of attachment of theM1910Belt HookisSTRONGand100%FREEofcracks, wear or\'crazing\'!

*ZERObreaksin the\'Hole\'onthe Flap for the blackenedBrass STUD!

*ZEROscuffs,personalized markings, scratches, cuts, or crazing to the leather!This supple example has never been \'neatsfoot oiled\' or \'saddlesoaped,\' both of which tend to break down the fibers of the leather!

*TheFLAPSTUD,all four of theRIVETS,thetwoEYELETSforLeatherLace TIE-DOWNarestillSECURELYSET!

*Only minimal traces ofVERDIGRISonthe Rivets!

*ZEROrust,bends, or corrosion to the flawlessfinish of theperiod-correctpainted SteelM1910 BELT HOOK!

*ZERObreaksin theCORRECTORANGE LINEN THREAD.Current Holsters and reproductions are seen withWHITEPOLYESTERthread!

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Madein the USA Since 1876 – John R. Craighead Leather Company\"JohnR. Craighead Co., Inc. Manufacturer and Wholesaler of Leather Goods\"

Afew years earlier gold was discovered in our mountains and the rushbegan. “PikesPeak or Bust”was the slogan on the wagons heading west. My great grandfather heardthat saddle makers were in short supply. So he moved his family westand opened a small shop. He was soon making harnesses, gun belts,holsters and chaps, as well as saddles.

Thecustomers kept coming back because his quality and workmanship wasthe best.

Fourgenerations later the ranchers and cowboys are still our customers.But for the last fifty years we have had another customer: toys are made of real leather which means greater strength. Asour little cowboy plays, the leather becomes soft and supple.

It’sno surprise that once the child grows up, these outfits becomekeepsakes to be handed down to their own kids.\"Todaywe strive for the same quality and workmanship as we did in 1876.\"~ John J. Craighead – Great-Grandson of the founder.

TheJ.H. Wilson Saddle Company wasfounded in 1876 by James H. Wilson. His company made saddles andharnesses until about 1919 when he passed away. His son-in-law wasJohn R. Craighead. He re-opened the company in 1920 using his name asthe company name. He made belts. His son, Wilson Craighead, beganmaking kids’ stuff in the 1950’s.

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EXCEPTIONALresearch by Scott Meadows,“AWord on Holsters: Part 2”at“pre-98”

HISTORICALCONTEXT AND ACTUAL USE

\"Fromthe time that war broke out in late 1941 until sometime in late 1943almost all the holsters used by the American Forces in the field wereleftover from WW1 as were most of the pistols. It is very common tofind a vet brought back WW2Coltina WW1 era issued holster. From an historical context a holster was aholster, they used what was available in the supply chain. 70 yearslater we collectors like to tidy things up a bit and stick WW2 madepistols in WW2 made holsters.\"

WHAT’SRARE?

...Themost commonly seen were made by BOYTaswell, dated \'42 and \'44. Because of how the contracts wereawarded production dates of 1942 and 1944 are most commonlyencountered while 1943 dated holsters are scarce and 1945 markedholster are as well, primarilybecause many makers stopped dating holsters sometime in 1944. AllWW2 made holsters were constructed of russet tan oil finishedleather. There were 16 known US contractors for these holsters havingtheir maker marks stamped on the back of the holster.Some arevery common and some are rarely seen. ExamplesofJohnR. CraigheadCo.contracts M1916 holsters are regarded today as among the “RARE”and VERY RARE” holsters..in any condition.

• A.L.P. CO. (Atchison Leather Products Co., Atchison, Kansas)

• BRAUER (Brauer Brothers Mfg. Co., St. Louis, Missouri)

• BOYT (Boyt Harness Company, Des Moines, Iowa)

• CRAIGHEAD (John R. Craighead Co., Inc., Denver, Colorado)

• CRUMP (Benjamin T. Crump & Co., Richmond, Virginia)

• ENGER-KRESS (Enger-Kress Company, West Bend, Wisconsin)

• FINK (Fink Leather Shops, Kansas City, Missouri)

• GRATON & KNIGHT CO. (Graton & Knight Manufacturing Co., Worcester, Mass.)

• HARPHAM BROS. (Harpham Brothers Co., Lincoln, Nebraska)

• MILWAUKEE SADDLERY CO. (Milwaukee Saddlery Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

• JOSEPH H. MOSSER (Joseph H. Mosser Co.)

• S-B CO. (Straus-Bodenheimer Saddlery Co., Houston, Texas)

• SEARS (Sears Saddlery Co., Davenport, Iowa)

• TEXTAN (Texas Tanning & Manufacturing Co., Yoakum, Texas)

• WALSH (Walsh Harness Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

• WARREN LEATHER GOODS CO. (Warren Leather Goods Co., Worcester, Mass.)

TheG.I. .45 in World War IIbyBruce Canfield, appearing inAmericanRifleman,April6, 2010\"...ahandgun was essentially a supplemental sidearm and was generallyemployed in actual combat action only when the more effective riflesand automatic arms were unavailable, out of ammunition or damaged. AnOct. 23, 1943, Marine Corps document titled “Reporton Infantry Weapons in Combat” gavea brief synopsis of the various arms used by a Marine RaiderBattalion on New Georgia Island. The section pertaining to the.45ACPsimplystated: \"Held up very well, but used very little.”

\"Aleather hip holster, theModelof 1912,wasstandardized soon after theM1911’sadoption.This holster had a swivel attachment to make it better adapted tocavalry use. Just before America’s entry into World War I,theModelof 1916holsterwas adopted, which differed from theM1912primarilyin the deletion of the swivel feature. Both were fitted with wirehooks that attached to the grommets on the bottom of the standardwebbed pistol belt or cartridge belt. There were sufficient numbersof World War I-vintageM1916holsterstomeet the demand until the U.S. became actively involved in World WarII. TheM1916holsterwasput back into production and almost 3 million were made by 16different commercial firms between 1941 and 1945. These holsters wereembossed with a large“U.S.”onthe cover flap, with the name of the maker and year of production onback.

\"Aleathershoulder holster for the .45 pistol,designated as the“M3,”wasadopted in 1942 for use by aviators, tankers and others who preferredcarrying the pistol over the hip holster.Animproved shoulder holster design was standardized in 1944 as the\"M7.\" The pistol was secured in the shoulder holster bymeans of leather strap with a snap fastener. The shoulder holsterswere also embossed with a large “U.S” on the front, with theidentity of the manufacturer and year of production on the back.

\"...Itwas not uncommon for soldiers and Marines to be armed with bothcarbines and .45 pistols. Nevertheless, the desire to replace thepistol with the carbine continued throughout the war. This wasevidenced in a Jan. 26, 1943, Marine Corps document...

\"Despitethis official stance, pistols were issued in ever-increasing numbersduring the war. As an example, the U.S. Marine Corps’ TOE(Tableof Organization and Equipment)in1942 authorized 798 .45 pistols for a Division but, by 1945, theauthorized figure had been increased to 1,707. So much for efforts toget rid of the pistol. The situation was much the same in the U.S.Army where the carbines and .45s were procured and issued side byside in large numbers. The total number of M1911A1 pistolsmanufactured during World War II was 1,878,742. Clearly, the .45 wasan integral part of America’s World War II infantry small armsarsenal!\"

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NOTE: Any overage in postage will be refunded!