Thought I'd try a "Longfellow Look"--
Parkers and Smiths and Foxes had their roots in the Northeastern States
And which of them is the best shotgun is a subject of endless debate The Parkers were the very first, from a man who made coffee mills and vises-- And developed by the genius of Mr. King, a man skilled in all mechanical devices Smith & Wesson's loss was Mr. Parker's gain, King was a master gun designer--And Hayes would later refine the guns; quality and function even finer With Starret mikes and Nicholson files; lampblack, gravers and benches And the engraving room, its walls adorned with calenders of winsome wenches With further North in Syracuse lived Mr. Smith, a financier of some fame He invested in a Baker gun design, the shotgun then bore his name The first guns had outside hammers, then came the sidelock hammerless design-- New owners the Hunter brothers built a factory in Fulton, with efficient production in mind But the Battle Island venture soon took its toll, the Hunters sold the firm The fickle finger of financial fate hit them hard, and made their creditors squirm But the great Elsies lived on, winning shooting awards and medals replete Until the Great Crash of '29, when the Grim reaper took over Wall Street While Ansley Fox was a first-rate wingshot, but somehow lacked financial accumen--But he produced a first class shotgun, soon the favorite of sportsmen They were well designed with fine steels and walnut, truly a gun for the ages-- With sculpted frames, piano wire springs, and made only in standard gauges LC Smith stayed in Fulton in the '30's, but both Fox and Parker would move-- Fox went Utica, Parker to Ilion, in hopes that profits might improve WW11 was the doublegun's death knell, Dec. 7 1941 was the key As America now fought the Axis, in the air, on the land and the seas Our returning G.I.'s favored repeaters, the older guns now put aside But class and quality will always show, a fact not to be denied For scarcity and the law of supply and demand may here be the truest of tests-- But the prices now paid for such treasures may not denote which are the best So in answer to the question: Fox, Smith, Parker- which is the finest to be found?-- My answer is like the tree in the forest- if it should fall with nobody around-- 'Tis a question impossible to answer with logic, like an affair of the heart The burl of fine walnut, the cold glint of blued steel, that's where the attraction may start Fine guns stir the soul like Mozart, each of these makers denoted as grand And the one that I love for the moment afield is the one I am holding in hand--- |
Nicely put. Is Parerkitis but a variant of full blown doublegunitis? Here there resides No LC nor AH. Can one take just a sample or is that utter folly?
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Jack, I tried and failed miserably. First Winchester, then Smith, then Fox, then Lindner, then Francotte, then Greener, then Westley, then Cogswell, then Browning, then Ithaca, then the Spaniards. Hang tight, don't be tempted. Keep searching for Parkers.
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Parker and Fox Paper
OK, we thought Parker catalogs sold for big bucks. Look at ebay item #260600470026 to see what our PGCA buddy Dave Noreen paid for a Fox pocket catalog.
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