Dear Collector,

 I supply the following Reference material for 1911/1911A1 pistol Collectors,
detailed descriptions of each are listed below the summary section:

 1. Picture CD (The Karl  Karash collection) containing over 5000 high resolution
pictures of Mostly original 1911/1911A1 pistols and over 700 Government Model
pistols,  $20 Postpaid to Continental USA.  Cost to most foreign countries $26
using Global Priority envelope (Small).  Regrettably some countries (Such as Italy)
do not accept Global Priority Envelope, so be sure to ask about postage before sending payment.

2. Book, "Collectors Guide to Colt .45 Service Pistols", revised and expanded
Third Edition of 2003, 146 pages Hardbound book, By Charles W. Clawson,
$40.00 US Postpaid to Continental USA. with USPS Priority Mail.
Cost to most Foreign countries is $49.50 US using Global Priority Envelope.
Regrettably some countries (Such as Italy) do not accept Global Priority
Envelope, so be sure to ask about postage before sending payment.
Payment from foreign countries only can be handled by PayPal (Part of ebay.)

 PayPal is not available for domestic shipments.  Check or Money order
are the only acceptable methods of payment for domestic sales.

 2A. Combination Book and CD, "Collectors Guide to Colt .45 Service Pistols"
Book and Picture CD, with. USPS Priority Mail for $60.00 US$ to USA.  Cost
to most Foreign countries is $69 US using Global Priority Envelope.
Regrettably some countries (Such as Italy) do not accept Global Priority
Envelope, so be sure to ask about postage before sending payment.

 Payment from foreign countries only can be handled by PayPal (Part of ebay.)
PayPal is not available for domestic shipments.  Check or Money order
are the only acceptable methods of payment for domestic sales.

 To order a book, a book/CD combination, or just a CD, please send a check
or money order by USPS First Class Mail for the above specified amount to:
(DO NOT send checks by Certified Mail or by Priority Mail.  Certified mail can
delay delivery of your funds by a week or more and can sometimes cause the
letter to be returned,  First Class Mail and Priority Mail receive the same
handling so Priority Mail is a waste of money.)

 Karl Karash
288 Randall Road
Berlin, MA 01503

 The following is a detailed description of the reference material I sell:

 1. Picture CD: (The Karl  Karash collection) contains over 5000 high resolution
pictures of Mostly original 1911/1911A1 pistols and over 700 pictures of
Government Model pistols.  Clawson's Collectors guide (CG) has pictures
and illustrations but because of the limitations of printed media, the number
of pictures and their quality is severely limited.  (The book (CG) contains
 less than 200 items in less than 100 pictures, and all are printed with
low resolution dot density lithographic technology).  Compared to other
books, Clawson's Collectors Guide is profusely illustrated but the printed page
is an inefficient and expensive medium for presenting pictures.  The picture CD
contains nearly 6000 high resolution images of over 150 mostly original pistols
(Non original pistols are described as such.) 

None of the pictures are retouched or enhanced in any way except for cropping.  Great care was
taken in the lighting to ensure proper color balance.   Since the collectability
and value of a collectable pistol is based on its originality (To be original, the
parts must be the same ones that it had when it left the factory and the finish
must be the original factory finish.) (A reblued or refinished pistol is usually
worth no more than a utility shooter pistol, and with 1911/1911A1 pistols, this
often amounts to thousands of dollars for a single pistol.)  The purpose behind
this CD was to provide a portable reference collection for beginner and veteran
alike so that they can tell what original pistols look like.  Until a collector has
accumulated enough experience looking at original, restored, and counterfeit
pistols to enable him to differentiate between them, the collector is at the mercy
of the seller, and most sellers have an axe to grind because they have a vested
interest in selling the pistol.  Many beginners seek honest dealers whom they
can trust to sell them original pistols.  This is a very unwise strategy for collecting
pistols.  Only by developing enough personal knowledge and experience can a
collector hope to avoid being taken to the cleaners because of the rampant
fakery that exists today.  The CD contains examples of most common as well
as the most exotic variations.   Many if not most pictures of pistols found on
the internet are either non original or retouched electronically to make them
look like new, and they are almost never labeled as altered.  This makes them
all a poor basis for comparison.    $20 Postpaid to Continental USA.  Cost to
most foreign countries $26 using Global Priority envelope (Small).  Additional
copies of the CD after the forst purchase are $10 each postpaid to Continental USA.

2. Book, "Collectors Guide to Colt .45 Service Pistols", revised and expanded
Third Edition of 2003, 146 pages Hardbound book, By Charles W. Clawson,
$40.00 US Postpaid to Continental USA,with USPS Priority Mail.
Cost to most Foreign countries is $49.50 US using Global Priority Envelope.
Payment from foreign countries only can be handled by PayPal (Part of ebay.)
PayPal is not available for domestic shipments.  Check or Money order
are the only acceptable methods of payment for domestic sales.

 This collectors guide is by far the best available book on collectable
1911/1911A1 pistols. The only other book that is in the same class is another
book  by the same author that has been out of print for a number of years.
("Colt .45 Service Pistols, Models of 1911 and 1911A1)  The Collectors guide
contains most of the detailed information that is contained in the older book
(The older book is sometimes known as "The Big Book".) but lacks some
of the historical background of the development of these pistols.  The "Big
Book" however lacks any of the updated information that was added to the
Collectors guide in the second and third editions.  For the advanced collector,
the Big Book is well worth eventually buying, even at the highly inflated prices
that they usually sell for (over $500 when they are sold at auction.)

 I normally ship through the USPS (United States Postal Service) Media Mail
(Book Rate) after I have received funds to cover purchase and shipping.
I normally ship  "Media Mail" to keep the shipping costs to an absolute
minimum. I also offer "USPS Priority Mail" as an option.  I strongly
recommend the optional Priority Mail because it seems to get considerably
better treatment by Postal employees as well as gets delivered in a timely
fashion.  Media Mail becomes very slow around holidays, so be patient,
it usually takes about a week (and sometimes a lot longer around the
holidays,) for the book to arrive once shipped, but as any gun collector
can tell you, patience is a virtue.

 I can presently ONLY accept money orders or checks for domestic sales,
(Personal checks are OK.)  I will hold personal checks to allow them
to clear (about a week). 
However once an order has been submitted, a book will be reserved for you
regardless of  whether you pay by money order or personal check, so do
not worry, the book will eventually arrive.

 For foreign shipments, the only method I have for payment is ebay's
"PayPal", credited to my email account (kxk1@juno.com)
However PayPal is NOT available for Domestic shipments.  All funds
must be paid in US Dollars.  Note that PayPal automatically converts
foreign currency to US dollars.

 Notes:

Funds must be in US currency.

10% of the purchase price is donated toward the support of the best
1911/1911A1 website: www.coolgunsite.com

 To order a book, a book/CD combination, or just a CD, please send a
check or money order for the above specified amount to:

 Karl Karash
288 Randall Road
Berlin, MA 01503

 Be sure to include your Name and Shipping Address as well as any
other comments that you wish to include. Please remember "If you
do not include a shipping address, I cannot ship the book. 

 Please PRINT or TYPE (do not write) the shipping address as clearly
as you can.  If you have the ability to generate a printed label,
please include an appropriate printed address label that I can paste
on the package with the payment.  Please do not stick an adhesive
label to the letter, but cut out the label with the adhesive protective
paper attached so I can apply it to the shipping carton. 

 Printed address labels are encouraged as it will minimize the chances
of a mistake from happening.

 Both the Books and Photo CD are copyrighted and it is prohibited to
copy, post, transmit, share, or duplicate the contents of them in
any fashion whatsoever, either in whole or in part without express
written permission of the author.

 Each purchaser of the CD is allowed to copy the contents of the CD
on to the hard drive of one computer for convenience and increased
speed.  The number of books that are available is limited, so this offer is
subject to cancellation or alteration at any time.

 I also strongly recommend purchasing from the website:

 www.coolgunsite.com the third edition of the Krause Publications
"Standard Catalog of Military Firearms".   I am the editor of its
1911/1911A1 section and try to provide realistic prices for the myriad
of variations that exist with these pistols.  The new Third (2006) edition
is hot off of the presses. Despite the obscure title, this book is an
up-to-date price guide of 1911/1911A1 pistols and shows realistic
prices for dozens of 1911/1911A1 variations. I finally got my copy and
the editors actually did most of the things I wanted them to. The
result is truly outstanding.   Be certain that you order the "THIRD" edition.

 This price guide is an excellent companion to Charles Clawson's
books and it is available at www.coolgunsite.com  (for 30% off of list
or $19.79 plus shipping.)

 Should you need to discuss the order, wish to talk about 1911/1911A1s,
or you just want to chit-chat, Email is best.   I can sometimes be reached
at: 978-838-9401 but lately, I seem to be very hard to reach by phone.

 I usually check emails daily and try to respond promptly.

 Just a final few words of caution. The high resolution pictures will
lose a lot if you view them at any other magnification than 100% or
"actual pixels". This is due to an effect called pixelization that is
actually an aliasing phenomena. It is because the pixels on your
screen must have a one to one correspondence to the pixels of the
image in order to see the maximum definition.  Failure to use 100%
magnification will result in waviness or lack of definition.

If you have any trouble with the CD let me know and I will try and fix
whatever is wrong. I recommend copying the contents of the CD to
your hard drive as it will speed things up considerably. Let me know
if you have any trouble doing this, and don't hesitate to email me or
call if you have any problems.

Best Karl Karash

978-838-9401  kxk1@juno.com

There is an answering machine, but as I said, Email is best.

Updated 3/15/07