Parker Trojan Model

[Tom Flanigan]

Brian.....I have no documentation except for Peter Johnson mentioning it in his book. A lot of what Johnson wrote is not totally correct. But he interviewed Charlie Parker and he might have misinterpreted things or just got them wrong. I thought he was wrong about the plain black finish also. But many years ago a bar owner showed me his Parker that his father bought new from the factory in Meriden. The gun was little used and still had all of the original finish. The barrels were plain black and rather dull. The frame had the same black finish. I know a refinished gun when I see one and this gun did not appear to be refinished in any way and the owner said it had never been touched. I could be wrong, but after seeing that gun and one other, I became convinced that at least a few of the very earliest Trojans had a plain black finish. They might have been prototypes but I don't know. Peter Johnson didn't invent his notion of plain black finished early Trojans. He might have heard that from Charlie Parker. It's a mystery.