Unusual A grade

[Bill Murphy]

I have Kevin McCormack's brother, Tom, to thank for finding my "unengraved" CH grade. The three of us were at a VA gun show when Tom mentioned that he had seen a nice "Trojan" on a table at a fair price, $800 as I recall. I wandered over and saw the unengraved gun with skeleton butt on an English Walnut straight grip stock. The rib stamp was Acme Steel. Nice gun to say the least. At another VA show, I told Tom about a fairly nice Damascus GH on a table. He went over and paid about $225 for what turned out to be a GH with brown Parker Special Steel barrels. It turned out to be a scarce short barreled #1 frame. I guess that was my payback. Oh well, we're still friends.

[Bill Murphy]

According to Chuck, the original owner was credited $25.00 for the engraving delete. I can make no sense of that figure. My CH was credited $37.50 for the engraving delete, 25% according to the letter on that gun.

[Dean Romig]

At the time of production of the two guns in question, might the possibility of a differential in the rate of pay for a top engraver explain the difference in dollars credited?





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[Bill Murphy]

I don't think there is any period in time that $25.00 would buy the engraving on a $400.00 Parker. I think this customer just didn't get a very good deal.

[Pa SxS]

I went back and checked the original order to make sure I didn't make a mistake (just ask Egger, I do make mistakes) that the 25 was a dollar value and not a percentage. A 25% discount would make more sense. When they wrote up the order, at the far right of the order they have the gun at 400 then under it 25 then subtracted for a total of 375 so it's a dollar value not a percentage discount.

[John Allen]

Don't forget that in those days craftsmen were not paid nearly as much relatively as they are today.Also,in terms of manufacturing costs,engraving and wood are two of the least expensive components of the gun.The real dollar value is in the barrels and lockwork.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

I don't think there is any period in time that $25.00 would buy the engraving on a $400.00 Parker. I think this customer just didn't get a very good deal.

We have always had the option to agree to the terms of a contract, or not to agree with the terms. Tha buyer, in the case of the $25 credit, apparently agreed to it. He accepted the 'deal' and had no complaint.





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[Bill Murphy]

The person who ordered the gun was filthy rich, and I guess he didn't care about the price.

[Brush Buster]

I don't believe you could have "Parker Bros. " engraved for $25.00 !!!!!!!It's funny ,when you look at the gun in the advertised photos you may not realize it's an " AAH " immediately but you can sure tell it is not a standard V Grade !!!!!!!!!!!! I wonder if the lines of the receiver are more rounded or defined than an "Average " Parker ? ,it looked very sleek and perfected ,I would love to see a picture up against a VH Grade just to really get a look at the subtle differences ! It sure is a Gem !

[Bill Murphy]

I thought I would update this interesting thread. I think Russ Jackson knows who bought the gun. I confess. The gun turned out to be owned by Dean Sage, a famous sportsman, author, and all around multi millionaire in the late 1800's. Google him for some fantastic stories about fishing in New Brunswick and Sage's private fishing grounds there. The Albany Parker guy only owned his gun for a year before his death in 1902. The gun is wonderful, with a smear of case color on the floorplate and everything else obviously carefully field used. The stock finish is original, never refinished in 118 years. The "no engraving" on the order was apparently disregarded by the makers, because the sides of the safety button are neatly engraved in scroll, but almost invisible. Mr. Sage probably never noticed this little touch. My CH, made a few years later, adheres to the "no engraving" order, with only Parker Brothers engraved on the side of the action, no sneaky engraved parts visible. The gun was apparently made with a skeleton buttplate because the very tip of the inletting is visible at the end of the wood at the heel. The length of pull with pad is 14 1/4", so reinstalling a skeleton buttplate would make the stock very short, probably 13 1/8 or so. The old leather covered Jostam pad will stay put. There is no information on the fate of the gun after 1902, but probably Dean Sage's brother took it over. The gun shows absolutely no sign of abuse, and even the barrel blue is about 97%. It's not an easy gun to shoot because of a heavy trigger pull in the right barrel. It will probably be just right for our Friday morning Chinese Skeet events, using the left barrel only. This was quite an interesting thread, with both positive and negative comments about the gun and the price realized. I appreciate my friend Craig Larter's comment that the gun is probably worth a few thousand dollars more than the final bid. I agree with him entirely. Thanks to our members for an interesting conversation. A special "Thanks" to John Allen for outing the gunbroker ad for us. Bill Murphy