Parker sign?

[Forrest Smith]

http://www.prlog.org/10306301-parker-brothers-aa-pigeon-gun-advertising-sign-realizes-7543-in-soldusacom-auction.html

What can anyone tell me about this sign? A new one on me, where were these distributed or used?

Thanks,

FS

[Robert Delk]

I have seen only pictures of it close up and I would bet it is a "fantasy " item. It just does not look "quality" enough or of the period as far as design and paint.Advertising signs of that period(1890's-1910) are pretty fancy and very well done and this one just does not look like it from the pictures I have seen. I could do better on my own and I am not that great at lettering.I would never believe that Parker Brothers would allow something so ordinary and unattractive to advertise their best gun.

[Bill Murphy]

I dunno. I would like to own one, but I've never seen any early documentation of such a sign. I wonder in what part of the country the first one showed up. That may be a clue.

[Robert Delk]

I have had access to many turn of the century advertising pieces and this one does not add up.Too plain and not large enough for something commissioned by a company like Parker Brothers. They were too proud of their product to have something like this out there. The lettering is just not well done and a very unattractive font.Look at their logo on other company advertising and see what they probably would have come up with.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

If you look close at the gun, the carving on the stock is D or C grade type. It's not the fleur de lis that a AA pigeon would have had. If Parker had made these signs to advertise that particular gun I think they'd have made the gun on the sign at least look like one. Fantasy item that somebody paid wayyyyy too much for.

Destry

[Bill Murphy]

The gun looks like the lamp Parkers, which were D grades with receivers not quite to scale. The lamp guns are 22" long. This looks like one of those for sure. I'll be in the workshop if you need me. How do you spell Invincible?

[Dave Suponski]

Like Bill I have never seen such a sign either.The couple I have seen were all lettering.And Destry brings up a good point..You would think the gun would at least be close to a AA Grade.

Robert,I don't doubt your expertise.Have you seen one of these signs in person?

Bill, Lamp guns?

[Robert Delk]

I have seen close up photos of one of these signs. There is a lot of interest in early advertising signs and one of the bigger auctions is right here in Iowa for this kind of stuff. Early signs were usually very well done and very decorative. The lithograph process allowed bright colors and the lettering was usually a very decorative style and not plain like the sign in question.Sign painting was an art and these men were artists and very skilled. Reverse painted on glass,gold leaf,elaborate borders,embossed tin,these are the things that are usual for turn of the century signs and some company like Parker with the money and expertise available to them would not have had a sign like this made. Check out the pictures of the extant Winchester signs that have been verified and sold at auction. Parker would not have settled for less,no way.

[Dave Suponski]

Robert,Thanks for the education..:)

[Forrest Smith]

Bill-tell or show us more regarding the lamp and bookend Parkers!!!!

Robert-I agree the sign is crude and not norm of the quaility of Parker things, BUT...take a look at some of the photos of Parker exhibits at such as the 1896 Sportsmens Exposition (EDM's Old reliable book pg 100)maybe these signs could've been used at such a venue? I've seen another old photo from a Parker exhibit from some sportsmans expo with fairly crude decor. It sure would be neat to see what kinds of supporting materials there might have been at these exhibits!

FS

[Robert Delk]

I have seen first hand signs from Fox and Smith and several from Winchester and I can't believe that Parker would use something as crude as this sign appears to be in photos. I can't comment on the signs you refer to but I would bet that close up they are not as crude as they appear in the photo.There was always some attempt at at decoration on turn of the century signs and as I stated sign makers were artists and took great pride in their work.The art of chromolithography came into full flower in the late 1800's and was used by most companies to advertise their wares. it was inexpensive and there was a lot of competition to come up with the most artistic and eye catching motifs for the public view. The original are always better than the repro's but there are a lot of ersatz tin signs advertising guns that don't look to bad on the wall but you should see an original in good shape!

[Destry L. Hoffard]

The same auction house that sold this sign sold an LC Smith poster a couple auctions ago that looked "questionable". This sort of thing is their stock in trade, they sell a lot of great original stuff but don't seem able to keep the "questionable" items off their sales for some reason. I'm not saying they sell fakes of course......


Destry

[Robert Delk]

I think the key here is to establish the provenance of such items.These kind of things just don't show up out of thin air if they are legitimate.Show the chain of ownership over the years and a better determination can be made as to legitimacy.

[Bill Murphy]

Forrest, maybe someone will post a picture of a lamp with Parker shotgun in cast metal, showing the 22" length of the gun, about what the sign gun should measure since the sign is 27" according to the description. The lamp looks like a 40s thing with a weighted base and usually a double bulb fixture with pull chain. The bookend gun is smaller than the sign gun and I edited my post to eliminate discussion of this Parker.