I contacted Bob Beach in early January and received this reply on 7 January

"I regret that I have retired from doing the research and letters of provenance effective the end of 2018. There are two current G&H employees who are interested in continuing the service but it will take some time to rearrange there present responsibilities.

A new Research email account has not yet been set up so I will continue to read and respond to inquiries. I will also keep a file of the post-retirement inquiries so that we may provide letters once the Research service is again operational. I will make your email available to my replacement when that has occurred."

I've heard nothing since.

that is a loss -

Bob was a gentleman and a great resource

I hope the new keeper of the task will do better than the way it went for Fox

one more way we Parker folks are blessed - our transitions have gone well

This is surely a fine double.
But just an FYI... it is not a sidelock gun. It is sideplated.

Charlie, the eight gauge was probably the finest eight gauge offered for sale in years on that site. Sorry we missed it. Never let the lack of cash influence your gun buying.