I have sbt # 177352. It has a 34" bbl. and it does have a T on the bbl. It also has the screw in the end of the forearm and a screw on the top right of the action just behind the bbl. I think this one was built in 1915.
bigedac

Nope, it was built in 1917, according to the serial number.

Mike Franzen referred us to this old thread about early singles. My latest find is a high condition SC #176,128. The earliest in the Serialization Book is #176,127. I haven't checked to see what order books or stock books are missing around that period that could contain lower numbers. Strange that our members haven't reported more than a couple early numbers. #176,128 looks like it was rarely fired, is in very high condition. Bob Beach tells me it was sold on consignment in 1937 at Abercrombie and Fitch to a known shooter named Keithley. I have not found him in ATA average books, so he was probably not a competitive shooter. PGCA letter says it was originally shipped to Abercrombie and Fitch April 24, 1917. It was on an order of 25 single traps, all but one cancelled. #176,127, the earliest single known, was ordered by Orren R. Dickey on January 30, 1917. Orren Dickey and Abercrombie and Fitch were the highest volume dealers in graded Parker guns at the time. These two guns were in two different order books, #95 and #97. The serialization book does not include serial numbers from order books, so a close look at these two order books may uncover many more single barrels. Order books were used "two at a time", so #95 and #97 were probably in use during the 1917 period. Research continues.

The SBT auctioned by Rock Island yesterday has Griffin and Howe records available. Hopefully the new owner will check it out and report back to us

I just looked at mine and is part of your group. Serial 177967

FWIW Parker Bros. SBT 185608 pictured in The Parker Story, pages 403 and 405 has the T on the barrel flats.

Do any of these early SBTs have the finger grooves on the sides of the forearms as shown in the early SBT ads?

Dave, I was going to mention that as part of my threads on early singles. I have never seen the finger groove forend and I've been looking for 50 years, since I bought my first single.

"Do any of these early SBTs have the finger grooves on the sides of the forearms as shown in the early SBT ads?"

That's a great question. I've been looking at the Parker SBT's for about 48 years less than Bill, but I haven't run across one yet either.

From The American Shooter, April 7, 1917 --

Attachment 89054

Maybe the mythical A.W. DuBray gun had the finger grooves.

That single with the finger grooves must be out there somewhere.