What it was like when a 100 year old Parker was bought.

[Robin Lewis]

Just imagine what it would take to own a Parker shotgun, of any grade, in this environment!






*THE YEAR IS 1916*

The year is 1916 "One hundred years ago."

What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1916:

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years.
Fuel for cars was sold in drug stores only.
Only 14% of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8% of the homes had a telephone.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower
The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.
The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year.
A dentist made $2,500 per year.
A veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year.
And, a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95% of all births took place at home

Regarding healthcare 90% of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were
condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard."

Sugar cost four cents a pound.


Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason (we have them beat).

The Five leading causes of death were:1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars ...
The population of Las Vegas , Nevada was only 30.
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was neither a Mother's Day nor a Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.


Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach, bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health!" (Shocking?)


About 18% of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help...

[Dave Noreen]

That is a bit misleading where they give the average wage from 1910, when the country was just recovering from the crash of 1907. By 1916 things were booming with many new factories being built and others expanded for production to feed that war in Europe.

[Kevin McCormack]

And not a few gunmakers were feeling the pinch in the former abundant supply of Krupp Flusstahl Essen.

[Robin Lewis]

That is a bit misleading where they give the average wage from 1910, when the country was just recovering from the crash of 1907. By 1916 things were booming with many new factories being built and others expanded for production to feed that war in Europe.

I'm just the messenger, I didn't gather the data. My sister sent me this and I thought I would pass it on, I found it put owning a Parker back then in a better light. I suspect more people can afford one today than could back in 1916.

[Russell E. Cleary]

The cost of a Parker in 1916 may have been inhibitive for the average gunner, but compensating for that could have been another historical datum. I believe I read that prior to WW I 90% of American were born on farms. Many may have traveled daily into the city or village to pursue various trades or professions, but all those folks grew up in close proximity to firearms, garden pests and game animals. Thus, many may have been inclined to limiting their gun purchases to such as a Harrington & Richardson single shot, but many others would have had ample opportunity to use and may have had a preference for a Parker.

Anecdotal illustration, here: My father's favorite Parker gun, of the four he acquired (which included a DHE 12, a VH 12 and a VH 16), was a # 2-framed Trojan 12 gauge. It was purchased from a local farmer who was born in the late 19th Century and used the gun for pest control. He sold the gun to my father after his son-in-law, a soldier stationed in 1950s Germany, brought back for him from Europe a more au courant Sauer.

Postscript: Months later the farmer said he didn't like "that new gun" -- the Sauer. After repeating the phrase a couple times in quick succession Dad got the message, and just smiled and said, "sorry".

REC

[Mike Franzen]

many others would have had ample opportunity to use and may have had a preference for a Parker
REC
With a total production of 3093 guns in 1916 not that many had the opportunity to purchase a Parker. Reading what Robin posted it makes me wonder just how good the "good ole days" really were.

[Chris Travinski]

The cost of goods then was really high in comparison to income.

[Bill Zachow]

Economically, you must consider the inflationary effect on life then and now. $.22 then is the equivalent of $4.79 today or about $9000/year. When Henry Ford gave his workers $5 per day, that was equal to $109 today. The Engineer was earning $108,000 annually and the accountant, $43,000. For additional perspective, my DH 12 cost only $1,479 as it had been discounted by Parker Bros. as many were. Thus, Parkers were somewhat affordable by the more affuent. One final item. Today almost 100 percent of kids graduate from high school, but way too many can not read or write.

[Craig Budgeon]

Bill, you may want to check into the high school graduation rates. Urban schools averaged 53% and suburban schools averaged 71%. Cleveland urban schools graduated a mere 38%.We would have far fewer problems in this country if we could graduate 80% of our kids.

[Dean Romig]

We would have far fewer problems in this country if we could graduate 80% of our kids.


It depends largely on who's teaching them and what they're teaching.


As an example of what has recently been taught (or what the student gleaned from the lesson...) I heard today on a radio talk show that "Ideology was the main issue in World War II between the Nazis and the Jews and that's why the Jews lost."

In my opinion people as ignorant as that should never have been allowed to graduate.
Not only did the education system fail that person - it failed every person he communicates with.





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[Craig Budgeon]

Dean, when I came home from Germany in 1968 we ranked 17th in the world in secondary education. Since then we require our teachers to have more advanced degrees, have built more modern schools, have spent more per pupil than any country except Sweden, built an Education Dept. at the federal level, and lowered student standards so teachers could receive their incentives. According to Lou Dobbs Tonight in June we now rank an impressive 27th in the world. With this I think I will shut my mouth.

[John Campbell]

And now, a word From Albert:

[Dave Noreen]

All those shooting a Parker Bros. double in 1916 didn't get them new. My Grandfather, a Minnesota small farmer, tried one of those new fangled Winchester pump guns as a young man, didn't take to it, and traded it at Kennedy Brothers in 1901 for an 11 year old Parker Bros. PH-Grade that he shot from then until he died in 1954.

[Rick Losey]

back to the original post's thoughts

i have seen various versions of historical economic statistics but i think we need to admit that guns like Parkers, even a VH, were never the everyman's gun. Inexpensive imports and lower priced American guns by makers like Steven most likely outsold Parkers by an exponential factor. Now days I see on waterfowl boards where younger posters are proudly showing off their new gun- be it a Mossberg or a Turkish import that they saved hard for

as an example - my first double was a well worn Fox Sterlingworth which back then cost me about a week and a half's take home pay. before that, I hunted with a Mossberg 500 pump

many of us look at this through our own perspective, and need to take into account that lots of us have (as did in many cases the original Parker buyer) reached a point in life where we have some disposable income for our sports.

[Craig Budgeon]

In 1916 I doubt many hunters travel more than 10 miles round trip to get to there hunting sights and I'm sure used guns which became available locally were the ones that were purchased when new was not affordable.

[Bill Holcombe]

Both of my grandfathers were born before 1910. One of them hunted most of his life with a Parker that resides with my uncle(I don't know why he doesn't hunt or do anything with it but oh well) and the other grandfather hunted his entire life with cheapo(his words not mine) single shot break action JC Higgins guns from sears.

Both were men of similar means, both were ranchers, 1 was a driller on oil rigs and the other was a certified welder, and neither ever hurt for finances. But they both approached their hunting guns very differently. The one with the Parker, that was the only shotgun he ever owned and it was always loaded by the front door behind a book case (he also owned 1 hunting rifle and 2 hand guns and that was it). My other grandfather owned I have no idea how many guns total over the year, but I know when we cleaned out the house after my grandmother died he had 9 JC Higgins 12 gauges stashed around that old farm house all loaded.

As for the education discussion, our education system isn't the problem. Teacher do a heck of a job, but if momma and daddy don't care and value their child's education the teachers can't do much about it.