Stevens 350 Engraved like a Parker
 

I found this very interesting looking gun on GB today.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=527517270

I wonder what the history is behind it. Obviously it was engraved by someone who worked at Parker. Everything about the engraving is Parker. The dogs and birds are dead on identical and the scroll is as well.

One of Parker Bros. Engravers moonlighting?

I agree Brian. I have two or three small bore Grade 3 Parkers with dogs done by the same hand... My guess is Harry Gough. I'll have to check The Parker Story for the facts on Gough, but I believe if he was an independent contractor he wasn't beholden to Parker Bros. to engrave exclusively for them and could take in work from other manufacturers.

We see evidence of that being done by other engravers. Some changed employers while others simply did contract work for different manufacturers.

Both of these guns were manufactured in 1908.




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Here's an earlier thread regarding a Stevens 350 with PB like features.

http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12807

Erick

The trigger plate photo from that other thread looks to be the same gun as the subject gun in this thread. The one started in that other thread is different.

Brian,
In the earlier thread the trigger plate is on same gun as first photos in that thread. Definitely a different gun in poor condition. Two different 350's showing the same engraving pattern.
Erick

In J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. Catalog No. 51 where the No. 350 was introduced it wasn't an engraved gun --

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...s97f0ae1f.jpeg

The same gun with Twist tubes screwed into the mono-bloc was the No. 360 and with Damascus tubes the No. 370 --

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...s16cc2a63.jpeg

By Catalog No. 52 they added a No. 380 with Krupp tubes screwed into the mono-bloc. I suspect this was a special No. 350 for a Sportsmen's Show or Exhibition.

Very soon J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. dropped the mono-bloc barrels and went to their demi-bloc (chopper lump) barrels --

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ps20be7399.jpg

They issued a special Demi-Bloc shotguns Catalog and by General Catalog No. 52 (Revised Edition), and the guns became the No. 355 with Stevens Compressed Forged High Pressure Steel barrels --

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...sdsz01oan.jpeg

the No. 365 with Krupp Fluid Steel barrels --

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...syesgt9g4.jpeg

the No. 375 with Krupp barrels and some engraving --

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...sbaf9vj2w.jpeg

and the No. 385 with Krupp barrels and more engraving --

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...sgvejyad5.jpeg

By the last J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co. catalog, No. 54, these engraved and rotary bolted doubles had been dropped from the offerings.