I will have to leave the flat land and come up for a visit Chuck!

What an outstanding gun.

Larry

Thanks guys. The gun is truly a time capsule. I bought the gun from a small dealer on the west coast. It was wrapped in its original brown wax paper since new. I was told the gun was boxed and kept in a closet by the original family. I have never seen a pre 1900 gun in this condition. There are a few members that have guns that rival this gun (new) but most seem to be later guns. You will see over time how the stock shrank from being in an arrid climate and the DHBP remained unchanged. I assume the dry climate was also a factor as changes in moisture due to a lack of a/c would cause these guns to patina. I had a 32" straight grip montecarlo dhe trap just a few weeks ago that was a new 100% gun like this but the colors were a later version (Remington era). They were smoky Blues and reds but not the vibrant yellows, blues and reds this gun has. If you look at the underside of the forend of these early guns you will see the colors that this gun exibits.Real vibrant hues of red and yellow. I would have to think that sunlight fades these guns and that is why this gun survived in its present condition. It is interesting to see the color changes from different eras of high condition guns and would make a great post . It would be neat for someone to do a piece for the pages on these guns spanning the different eras.

Very impressive, would you mind posting a few more photos of the Parker disassembled?

I wonder if the wood will swell back to size once it's in a more humid climate?

Chuck, that is a wonderful example of what a new owner would find upon opening a package that just arrived from Meriden, Conn. Some two-hundred, forty-thousand Americans saw such a gun, some more elaborately engraved, in that package... what a feeling it must have been for them.

My 74625 is just such a gun. It is a Lam 1 16 ga. 0-frame. I wonder what their stories are... Made as utilitarian guns, one would expect them to be "rode hard and put away wet" but these are the exception to the rule - never used and we'll probably never know why.

Thanks for the treat!

Dean

Dean I agree -- it is hard to imagine never using this gun or yours. I assume given possibly as a gift or left in inventory in some hardware store , put on some shelf to collect dust and disappear from public site for some 120+ years.......

Mike -- I dont think the wood will swell at least I hope not I would then worry about cracking.

Chuck, that might be a very valid reason in the case of some of these pristine guns but mine was actually sent to a sporting camp in upstate New York :shock:

Well that answers it -- Everybody knows upstate New York was ITHACA territory:cool:

:rotf: