Parker ID help needed

[KCordell]

Hi,

I don't yet have the Parker book. Can someone help with the original configuration of this Parker? I understand it was engraved by Franz Martkl.

Thanks.

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn128/code337/45B5814E-59F0-4C17-B0F1-24CD2BDF761F-3991-000003267B249396_zpsb2ab2248.jpg

[Harry Collins]

28 gauge VH with capped pistol grip and 26" barrels.

[David Noble]

It was a VH 28 with 26 inch barrels and capped pistolgrip.

Edit:
OOPS, I'm a slow typer. Sorry, Harry.

Nice looking little 28!

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

Good looking engraving

[Harry Collins]

Let us see more of the Parker.

Harry

[Keith Bedard]

It sure is pretty so far. I would love to see more

[KCordell]

Thanks all for the comments and help. Gun was restocked, very nice job but I am not too fond of the forearm nor certain parts of the wood work. I have found the original stock and now trying to find the forearm. Problem is that a family member has the pieces and can't remember where he put them.... ;-). I will post pics after its found..

Also, I spelled the engravers name wrong it was Franz Marktl. I know for the purist, I guess the gun has been destroyed.. Oh well should make a fun upland companion.


Curious, does the book say how it's choked?

[Harry Collins]

No, but a letter may shed some light on the chokes/patterns.

[Daryl Corona]

Hey Kev;
Is that the Eckmeyer gun? If it is I seem to remember it being sk/ic. I remember Bill bringing the gun into Howard Donahue's gun shop in the 70's. He had that little setter which he loved to hunt quail with (back when we had quail to hunt around here). I think he had the gun choked for that. Either way bring it and I'll measure it for you.

[KCordell]

It is but fortunately I now know we have all the original parts to bring it back to close to original configuration as I can sans the engraving which personally I do like. As you know from my comments to you before, I really didn't like it with the miller trigger and stock work.

[Bill Murphy]

Daryl, I doubt that Willie Eckmeyer ever used as good an engraver as Franz Marktl. Are you sure this is the gun you are referring to? Yup, we're waiting for more pictures.

[Harry Collins]

I dont think the original stock will fit with the Miller single trigger. With the Miller ST the sears were bent up so now there will be wood that would have to be removed. I think the floor plate was altered for the single trigger so reverting back may be difficult. These were the best pictures I could find.

Harry

[Tom Kidd]

Hi Bill,

Wow, Willie Eckmeyer and his big Caddy! He was one of the great characters of the old days. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[KCordell]

Thanks all, I promise more pictures when I find the missing forend. I think this is a Remington Parker with the late SN, no?

[Bill Murphy]

Yes, Remington. Daryl, the only other person I have met who knew Willie well, or at all, was my late PGCA friend and neighbor Terry Boose. We used to have a great time telling Willie stories to each other. Terry's Dad was a friend of Willie's. I guess Jerry Smith knew Willie too. Terry and I happened to be cruising a Maryland show a few years ago when we came upon the famous Eckmeyer A-1 Special 28 gauge (not Mr. Cordell's gun). I think the gun pictured on this forum a few days ago is that very gun, (not Mr. Cordell's gun). Terry and I tried to talk each other into buying the gun, but somehow did not do it. I have known Willie since I was a little kid, like Terry did. When I returned from military service in 1969, Willie offered me a job at the International Harvester distributorship. Boy, would I have some stories if I took that job. I think you know what I mean. I remember a visit to Willie's house in Howard County one weekend. This visit was unusual because another Parker person was with me, but I just can't remember who it was. I think Willie spent more time at National Capital Skeet Club than he did at his own club.

[KCordell]

Bill, it could have been this gun that you saw at the show but you would have had to have seen it more than a few years ago. We have had it since 1985.

[Bill Murphy]

The gun that Terry Boose and I saw at the MD show was the gun pictured on this site a few days ago. I don't think there is much of a chance that your gun is one of Mr. Eckmeyer's creations. I'm not sure that Willie ever met Franz Marktl. Franz came to this country about the time that Willie was slowing down his Parker butchering. He had another engraver, but I don't remember his name. Maybe Daryl will remember. Franz is quite a guy, engraved a belt buckle for me while recovering from an upper respiratory ailment in a local hospital. Charged me ten bucks for the job. I still have it.

[KCordell]

Bill, thanks for the data. I still have lots of digging to do for this little sxs. I will update the link as I get more pictures and find some currently misplaced items. Again, thanks for all of your responses. BTW, the trigger guard has a really nice engraving of a dog named "Rebel".

[Daryl Corona]

If my aging memory has'nt failed me yet I'm pretty sure that was Bill E.'s dogs name.

[Bill Murphy]

Well how about that. Take a look at the gun that Rich Anderson recently purchased. It is the 28 gauge A-1 Special Willie was famous for. I can't find the thread, though.

[KCordell]

Bill, is this the thread from Mr. Anderson? If so, your right, the engraving styles are way different.

http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9222&highlight=rich+anderson

[Bill Murphy]

Yes, that's the thread. If Daryl is right about Bill's dog's name, this is the second gun owned by this gentleman that has come forward lately. Where did your Marktl gun come from? I think Franz is still alive out West somewhere, google will tell you the story. Franz was a local boy here in the DC area when he first came to this country. He engraved a bunch of guns for local enthusiasts before migrating to the real United States. He only did one piece for me, unfortunately.

[KCordell]

Bill,

We have, I think we have Martkl documentation for this particular gun. Again, I will post items when located. The engraving styles on both guns are significantly different. I will post a picture later this week of his dog on my gun.

[KCordell]

Here are a few more pics of engraving

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn128/code337/E4B63749-EFEC-469F-9EB3-71D2C48D22E4-1879-000001A076CC9533_zps3fec9f8f.jpg

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn128/code337/FA001120-8EA9-4564-AE78-95652A6A079D-1879-000001A070A8D88A_zps47572721.jpg

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn128/code337/9BB668D9-9180-4E0E-832C-77350D040B38-1916-000001A25918E4AB_zpscc66bc24.jpg

Must have been willi's gun ;-)

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn128/code337/E00D461F-A0ED-4AC0-B9EF-1CC397F5DF09-1879-000001A06706A078_zpsa7282044.jpg

[Bill Murphy]

You are right about the different styles. Rich Anderson's gun was engraved before Franz Marktl came to the United States. The top view of your gun is beautiful. We sure would like to see good pictures of the rest of the gun. From your last picture, it seems that this gun was in fact engraved for William Eckmeyer. I guess I was wrong about my old friend Willie and his taste in engravers. Franz Marktl was very approachable when he first came here. His talent was and is remarkable. I will repeat my question, where did you find this great gun?

[Bill Murphy]

By the way, it was great to have Tom Kidd participate in this thread. If anyone knows more Parker and Fox people from the old days than I do, it is Tom Kidd. Hauling guns that are worth a half million bucks in today's money in a mid fifties Chevrolet sedan delivery is real brave. Of course, Tom's old Chevrolet would be worth about fifty grand today, if he still had it. I have a clear recollection of Tom laying out three XE Fox 20 gauges on the hood of his sedan delivery at the Pikesville MD Armory parking lot when we were a bit younger. The most expensive ones were $1400. Even back then, that was cheap. He must have had his eye on something.

[Tom Kidd]

Hello Bill, 50 Grand you say?? Sorry for the non Parker post, but it is a part of the great gun collecting histories, and the old girl did haul a lot of really high grade Parkers out to Wellsburg, W.Va. back in the day. It had a 265 with dual quads and an overdrive. I put 276,000 miles on it chasing all sorts of fine double guns, most of which I had on the arm. Great times, but more importantly, a fraternity of really GREAT PEOPLE allowed me to get off of the Hardscrabble Road. Always remember: Life is Good, Treat it With Respect!

Here are the only decent gun photos in this laptop, just ignore the maker, which was the Ansley H. Fox Gun Co., and enjoy the early lumber.

[KCordell]

Wow, great cruiser!!! Now what exactly is the beauty below it...wow!

[Harold Lee Pickens]

Wellsburg, Wv? Damn, that's just 20 min from home. My wife's father was from Wellsburg. Think any of those Parkers and Foxes are still around there?

[Tom Kidd]

Hi Harold, Unfortunately, all are long gone. One of the premier Parker collectors/traders was Paul Carson who lived in Wellsburg, W. Va. More than one A1S made its way through there as well as a number of super condition high grade original 28 gauge Parkers. Paul was one of the truly great gentlemen in the hobby, and I have a lot of his personal things here, unfortunately no guns. I even have his Parker display rack and a lot of his wife's art. He used to always stay here for the Allentown Show. Talking about the '56 Delivery, I was at Paul's and had a Deluxe Grade Smith in a leg of mutton case on the roof and the case's top opened and the barrels came sailing out, and Paul made a perfect catch on their way to the concrete. Funny, how one remembers memorable moments as they get older. Take Care!

[John Taddeo]

I also frequent Wellsburg to get supplies from the Wine makers loft. I'm sure my head will turn the next time I see an estate sale advertised in town...