[Ron Wood]

What a beautiful old piece, and great photos! There is a reasonable likelihood that it is a test example...the bruise on the right grip panel is typical of the mark left by the closure stud on the original Rock Island Arsenal holster. (Added:Sorry Wes, you made your keen observation while I was composing my rambling reply)

At a minimum it deserves a good cleaning to halt the active rust. Judging from the photos and the appearance of the sideplate I would think that the rust has occurred in the not too distant past and it has been the victim of an amateur attempt to "spruce it up" that stopped with the sanding of the side plate and then was poorly stored allowing the rust to develop. What a shame, because obviously the weapon had no significant wear prior to being allowed to rust.

To restore or not to restore...that is the question (sorry Will, it is an easy quote to paraphrase). It is up to the integrity of the current and future owners. It has already suffered the effects of non-collector abuse, so in reality further modification, i.e. restoration, should not impact its intrinsic worth and would certainly preserve a link to its past history in a condition commensurate with its importance. On the other hand, making it something it isn't is not honorable unless it is passed on with full disclosure of the restoration, hence the reference to the integrity of ownership that demands that the history of condition and restoration should accompany it from this day forward.

It is a tough call, glad I don't have to make the decision.