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View Full Version : The Old Reliable Parker Gun Poster by Bert Sharkey


Sven Weber
09-25-2026, 01:41 PM
I found one of these "The Old Reliable Parker Gun Poster by Bert Sharkey" in some of the stuff I got from my grandparents. It seems to be fairly rare. Does anyone know more about this poster and would the market value is in todays market?

Thanks for any info.

Best,

Sven

Bill Murphy
09-25-2026, 04:28 PM
Original, repro, or a repro of a repro?

Sven Weber
09-25-2026, 05:13 PM
It looks original to me. I know it has been stored away for at least 40 years in a poster tube.

Dylan Rhodes
09-25-2026, 05:20 PM
What does the back look like?

Sven Weber
09-25-2026, 05:22 PM
When I get home I can take it out of the frame and take a picture from the back.

Dean H Hanson
09-25-2026, 05:33 PM
Sven, your poster is a reproduction. Still a wonderful piece. Thx for sharing.

Bill Murphy
09-26-2026, 08:22 AM
Can anyone tell us about the several versions of repro Sharkey posters?

Sven Weber
09-26-2026, 03:07 PM
Here is a picture of the back of the poster.

Sven Weber
09-26-2026, 03:09 PM
Sven, your poster is a reproduction. Still a wonderful piece. Thx for sharing.

I am always interested in learning things, what are the indicators that this is a reproduction?

Thanks for taking a look.

edgarspencer
09-26-2026, 07:13 PM
It hard for me to imagine the back of that poster, looking like that, on a reproduction.

Kevin McCormack
09-26-2026, 07:48 PM
Sven, your poster is a reproduction. Still a wonderful piece. Thx for sharing.

How can you tell its a reproduction? There is a definitive diagnostic sequence followed to authenticate repros from originals. Please share it with the rest of us so those of us who one one can tell - we're all eyes and ears!

Dean H Hanson
09-27-2026, 05:08 PM
A repro poster has the tell tale "coffee drips" on it from the original used. Below the squirrel with the nut, right of brown oak leaf. Another left of the orange/yellow maple leaf, also below the squirrel. And last the round mark right of "CONN.," on the bottom of a brown oak leaf. These marks are the easiest to see and define a repro. Others marks exist, but these are the 3 flags to look for. Please reference the repro I have for sale.

Kevin McCormack
09-27-2026, 07:48 PM
A repro poster has the tell tale "coffee drips" on it from the original used. Below the squirrel with the nut, right of brown oak leaf. Another left of the orange/yellow maple leaf, also below the squirrel. And last the round mark right of "CONN.," on the bottom of a brown oak leaf. These marks are the easiest to see and define a repro. Others marks exist, but these are the 3 flags to look for. Please reference the repro I have for sale.

Well done in both detail and description(s)! Thank you for sharing this process/procedure with the rest of us who may have or are thinking of acquiring this poster. As pointed out, they come up few and far between and the ability to recognize a repro from an original is currently in the +/- $2k range at auction.

Sven Weber
09-28-2026, 09:56 AM
That is great info to have. Thanks for sharing. I did a bit of digging and it turns out that a repro is also different in size. Do you know if that is true?

One thing I forgot to mention, the poster found is older than 40 years. This was in a tube with a couple of other posters that belonged to my granddad who has been dead for that long.

It's a nice poster and pretty old. Unfortunately not 1920s old. Any clue to the value of these old repros?

Kevin McCormack
09-28-2026, 07:49 PM
[QUOTE=Sven Weber; Any clue to the value of these old repros?[/QUOTE]

One repro listed a few weeks ago in fair to poor condition for c. $650 and one in excellent condition sold for c. $1000 framed at auction (Morphy's?) a couple of years ago. Josh listed an excellent condition framed original for sale about 8 years ago for c. $7K. A fair condition original framed sold by a major paper dealer at the Old Baltimore Show c. 15 years ago for $2500. So prices can be all over the map depending on condition and originality. When people who want them see them for sale, they don't last long. IMHO a very good repro properly framed and presented as every bit as satisfying as an original at a fraction of the cost.

Bill Murphy
10-09-2026, 04:31 PM
Back to "what is the size of the original" and "what is the size of the oldest repro"? What about the Muderlak repro?