Judging only by the curved characteristic of the lower slide contour in front of the frame, I think you have properly identified a first year production FN1910.

 

wow, that is the earliest FN1910 I ever saw. interesting that it came with an FN1900 magazine. I didn't know they would even fit. great catch!

 

Interesting to see the incomplete/shallow stamping in the first line of the slide address, as if this early gun was marked by using a very worn die with some broken lettering. Perhaps even a die from an earlier model pistol?

It doesn't seem like a die should wear out in only 8-900 stampings. But I admit that I do not know the longevity of these roll stamping dies. The second line of the address has very crisp/deep lettering.

On P.214 of Vanderlinden's FN Browning Pistols, the earliest mags did not have the FN logo or caliber marking.

 

CONGRATULATIONS! Indeed it is a first-year production Model 1910. What you see on the left side of the slide legend is that the letters were retraced by hand, a common practice many years ago. It is most noticeable on the "Fabriqu" of Fabrique and especially on the "Br" of Browning, where only those two letters were retraced.

This serif roll marking was more prone to wear and this is wear, not a light roll marking. The slide also shows significant wear on the deep proofmarks, another indication of heavy use. From what I can see on the slide, I do suspect that it was refinished in rust blue a long time ago. At least somebody filled in the tracing with bluing also a period job. But that is in no means a negative on such an old and rare piece.

PS: I want to add that I have seen old refurbished pieces, done in rust blue that fooled me. Only when finding records of the work did I know that the work was done, yet still undetectable.
Anthony

 

I am curious about the mag release, can we see a detail? The little I can see appears to be much wider than what is common...

 

Indeed the FN 1900 magazine works perfectly in the FN 1910. There is no difference between the two except that the FN 1900 mag has a locking slot which was not needed with the FN 1910. It would most likely not have been shipped that way, as the unmarked FN 1900 mags usually date from before 1907-1908.

Anthony

 

All interesting information on the Browning 1910.
Joe

 

very nice to see, and well done finding it

 

Thanks for all the input and comments. I had not noticed the tracing in the roll marks. Good to know the mag will work and is at least period to the gun. I think I will just keep that mag with this gun as it most likely has been in it for a long time.

Here are some pics of the mag release. One by itself and another with a 1930s 1910 to the left of it for comparison. There is a slight difference in how the serrations were cut.

Thanks again for the feedback.

 

Wonderful score, Steve. If the slide was reblued, it would sure fool me, as I see no signs of refinishing at all. Always more to learn, though.

It's been a long time since I encountered such an early 1910. About 10 years ago on Gunbroker I saw one in the 400's (think it was 410, but not positive).