[Captain Bob]

Austin,

With this thread you are soliciting comments for PP on the issue of provenance, here are a couple:

What kind of provenance provides acceptable connection of an individual gun to an individual owner? Is the use of an individual gun by a distinguished person at an event acceptable provenance?

It seems to me that the use of photographic evidence to establish primary provenance of “ownership” of an object by a distinguished person must be viewed very cautiously, especially in these days of digital image manipulation. A photograph of a person simply holding an object does not have the weight of an original bill of sale. A photograph of Hemingway game fishing in an anonymous power boat does not prove any other connection with the boat other than that he was once photographed in that boat. A original serial numbered bill of sale or a specific listing in an estate document certainly establishes ownership provenance to an object; multiple and various photographs of the individual using the object or reference to the object in public documents support the provenance of the importance of the object to the individual and hence might elevate the potential “value” of the object to a potential buyer. Then over time the strength of the “provenance of the provenance” of an object increases or decreases each time the object is subjected to public examination and the “accepted” strength of this will generally be reflected in the price realized. In the case of “Bo-Whoop” this is its first submission to a public test and beyond the priced realized next week we will not really know how its provenance stands up until it has been tested a couple times again.

I received an e mail message inquiring if PGCA was using this photo to establish a "Hemingway Parker". I replied that this cover layout was established to fit cabinet and other professional photo prints of the Parker era. The Parker and the ducks for that matter, may have been the photographer's props, as in the prior covers.

You do not provide the original text of this message; but I find it interesting and a little annoying that someone seemingly by the nature of their question to you has jumped to the suspicion that the presentation of a previously not well know charming “local” photograph of Hemingway festooned in dead ducks and holding a just barely recognizable Parker is somehow an effort to provide, establish or strengthen the provenance of a particular Parker gun. PP’s presentation of this photograph was simply a delightful and enjoyable surprise. Yet I realize that the question of the current market values of the Parkers we search out, acquire, have, study, shoot and care for as temporary custodians is ever present below the surface, but sometimes it really becomes intrusive, tedious and just a pain in the a$$. In the end, the only true test of value is the amount the next buyer hands us or one of our heirs.