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10 Gh BH HAMMERLESS GRADE 5
Unread 03-10-2015, 10:19 PM   #1
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Stanley Kellogg
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Default 10 Gh BH HAMMERLESS GRADE 5

Part of the provenance on this gun from Mark Conrad states that: "according to Order Book No 34 the gun was shipped to the Worlds Fair and Columbian Exposition in Chicago IL on March 1893 and he goes on to list a number of other Expositions in 1896 and 1898 prior to the sale of the gun to a Mr. C.A. Godfrey in 1901.
Mr. Conrad could not provide a valuation or indication of the No's Mfg'd.
My parker research indicates 2 BH Grade 5's were made and 6 BHE grade 5's were Mfg.
Gun Digest confirmed 2 BH Grade 5 were Mfg.
Can anyone confirm that this information is indeed correct.
I have the original stock and repaired skeleton Butt Plate. A second stock by Dave Wolf was made to my dimensions so I could shoot and hunt game birds.
If you would like pictures you may 'e' Mail at: stan.kellogg@earthlink.net
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Unread 03-10-2015, 10:39 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stanley Kellogg View Post
Mr. Conrad could not provide a valuation or indication of the No's Mfg'd.
My parker research indicates 2 BH Grade 5's were made and 6 BHE grade 5's were Mfg.
Gun Digest confirmed 2 BH Grade 5 were Mfg.
Can anyone confirm that this information is indeed correct.

I think Mark Conrad rather 'would' not provide a valuation on your Grade 5 Parker - not that he "could" not. Anyone in an official PGCA position - and he was the PGCA Research Chairman at that time - are subject to an 'oath of office' prohibiting them from doing so, nor of verifying originality of a gun's configuration and condition (originality) without actual substantive documentation.

I think you have left out a critical qualifier in your question of quantities of BH and BHE guns made, for there were hundreds made.
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Unread 03-10-2015, 10:49 PM   #3
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Okay, now I see in your title line that you are discussing 10 gauge guns of Grade 5 hammerless. According to the tables at the end of the Grade 5 (B) section in the Grades area in The Parker Story, twenty-five were made.... that we have records of.

But this is a far cry from the counts of 2 and 6 - totaling 8 guns so there is still a qualifier that I'm missing.
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Unread 03-11-2015, 09:17 AM   #4
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Stanley, I am having a hard time getting my arms around Mark's supposed comments and your research. You would do us a favor by posting a scan of his letter. There are not only many more B grades than you mention, there were 3 hammerless B grade tens, just at the 1893 World's Fair. What is the serial number of yours? Would it possibly be 74,613 or 67,971?
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Unread 03-11-2015, 06:45 PM   #5
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Thank you for your kind reply.
The serial is indeed 67971. I apologize about the use of "could" vs. "would".
The provenance I received from Mark Conrad was both detailed and appreciated and I, being a new member, Mr. Conrad kindly provided me with the ground rules under which he operated and suggested I "use the links on your website for dealers who deal with parkers". I have not yet done this, but did call one dealer some years ago who was not particularly helpful - hence my addressing this question to the "Forum". My interest is not in overall numbers of BH and BHE's made (and indicated by yourself that the quantities are in the hundreds); but simply numbers of BH Grade 5's made. If there is reference material you can direct me to, I would greatly appreciate your advice. I am an amateur in the business of collecting
Thank you and best regards, Stanley Kellogg
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Unread 03-11-2015, 06:52 PM   #6
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Ps to the above:
Mark Conrad did not comment on my research on the above. My efforts at research came years later. For Mr. Conrad, I bundled up some pictures of the Parker, with the serial and his reply is dated July 28 2011. The time frame for the disparity is that I work primarily overseas.
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Unread 03-11-2015, 08:59 PM   #7
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Stanley - So as to avoid any confusion as to "BH Grade-5" guns - such a term of identification is redundant. The Grade-5 Parkers were first made in the late 1870's and they were lifter-action hammer guns. These progressed eventually to the top-action hammer guns and finally to the top-action hammerless guns such as yours.

First the Parker guns were entered into the ledger books as "dollar quality" guns and priced according to the level of engraving, quality of the wood used in the stocks, barrel steel, and checkering intricacy. This was a confusing way to record the quality of a particular gun because so many varying discounts were given by Parker bros. and this was entered in the books often as the price at which the gun was sold.... so how does one determine the level of quality by a sale price after $XX was subtracted from the retail price? Hence the number grade was adopted.... and then the letter grade became the way a Parker was identified.

But the Grade-5 gun would also carry the letter grade of B. In referencing the hammer guns it was simply a B but in referencing a hammerless gun it would be BH - the "H" identifies it as a hammerless gun.

So, you see, a "BH Grade-5" is a redundancy in terms. All Grade-5 hammerless guns, excluding SBT guns, regardless of gauge, barrel steel, number of triggers, stock configuration, etc., etc. are BH guns.... unless it is equipped with ejectors, whereupon it will carry a BHE designation - the "E" of course identifies it as an ejector gun.
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Unread 03-12-2015, 08:21 AM   #8
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Any gun built for an Exposition, let alome multiple exposition me, is surely a looker.
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Unread 03-12-2015, 09:35 AM   #9
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Brian, you have that right. By the way, Stanley, the two serial numbers I posted and also #74,614 were the three BH 10 gauge Parkers displayed at the 1893 Columbian Exposition. I sent you a Private Message with some additional information. The lists of Parker guns at various "shows" is available in Volume 2 of The Parker Story. Do you have pictures of your gun available to post on our forum?
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Unread 03-12-2015, 10:29 AM   #10
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I don't think anybody can give you a reliable figure for what someone else would pay for your gun. In my experience, there can be a wide range of prices for similar guns. The only reliable number anyone can give is what they would be willing to pay for that gun. Just my .02
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