Julia Auction Catalog

[Bill Murphy]

Austin, I can see it just fine from MD. The bottom view is what I want my next gun to look like.

[C.O.B.]

No catalog here yet. I always enjoy drooling over the Parkers and Winchesters. Wouldn't it be great to actually have disposable dollars?

[Opening Day]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

Eric, lot# 1276 is a very late Remington Parker, 241995, being very near the end of production. Could Remington have been using the cyanide case hardening technique then? Or maybe Delgrego finished the gun after the war...?

Yes they did but they never produced colors like that Could be Delgrego but then that would not be an original Parker gun. I have guns in the 240,000 range to 242200 and the colors are not even close.

[Dean Romig]

My 'question' was in response to Eric's doubting the originality of the colors on that gun as being original.

I too, was under the impression that Remington used the cyanide process of case color hardening, at least in the late thirties - early forties. I am completely open (no arguement from me) to the suggestion that the colors are original.

(no offense intended Eric )

[Hammer Gun]

Seems we need to be careful, so as to not "buy a pig in a poke"

[Opening Day]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

My 'question' was in response to Eric's doubting the originality of the colors on that gun as being original.

I too, was under the impression that Remington used the cyanide process of case color hardening, at least in the late thirties - early forties. I am completely open (no arguement from me) to the suggestion that the colors are original.

(no offense intended Eric )

No offense taken but as I said I have three or four guns in that serial number range and "none" look like the colors in the Julia catalog maybe there was a mixup and the wrong pictures of the receiver of another gun got posted there by mistake as they laided out the catalog with all the thousands of pics they deal with that could happen. I don't know the only thing I do know is those two shots of a Parker receiver are not original colors. Let's hope the pics did get mixed up.......

[Richard Flanders]

I'll take the grade 5 hammer gun! There's a pretty nice VHE16 in there also.... too bad it's a 16ga... Good auction to get "upgraded" guns it seems. I also see Butch Cassidy's Colt SAA; that should be a hot item...

[Austin W Hogan]

This is based on 50 years of living in the Mohawk Valley where I shot smallbore and benchrest at Pine Tree with many Remington custom shop people, and did business with Lefever Arms until Mr Bob Lefever's retirement. This has been followed by 20 + years of visits to DelGrego's.
Frank Lefever was Superintendent of Ilion Remington until he opened his shop a short distance away in Frankfort. He was frequently recalled as a consultant when production problems occurred at Remington. His shop was complete and he had jigs to maintain alignment of frames that they case hardened. I have an Ithaca Lefever A restored by Lefever in the 1970's which matches Parker case color, blue, and stock finish. The Lefevers and the DelGregos were good friends and they exchanged work.
The original DelGrego shop was in the basement of the DelGrego home. It had no facilities for forging, blueing or case hardening. Most of this work was done by Lefever until Bob Lefever's move in the early 1980's. Runge then carried frames polished by DelGrego to Remington (where he was still active in the custom shop) to be case hardened. Mike Walker did similar favors for the Harts.
I might speculate that some Ilion Parkers were blued and case hardened by Lefever. Others may have been case hardened at the Arms, as similar cyanide colors are found on Remington rifle bolts of that era.

Best, Austin