One of the old links said that it had been sitting in a barn in New York state for some number of years. It is interesting how these guns move around. The best part of getting a research letter is finding out where it began its shooting career and imagining what hunts it must have been on in the early years.

There is no doubt that a letter is the best place to start for a provenance buildout. we are so fortunate to have the records we have. I just wish those scoundrels who have the missing books would return them.

I am the fellow that donated the 8 ga. to the silent auction, when I purchased it (as Dean had mentioned) I had some hope of resurecting this shotgun but quickly realized that I neither had the skill or the money to pay to have it restored.
I figured that the best place for this shotgun was to auction it off to a lover of Parker shotguns plus help the Parker collectors association in the process. I do not have any history on this gun other then that I owned it for a short period of time. I am pleased that Charlie has got her shooting again and please keep us updated on any further progress.:)

Ken Descovich

Charlie I don't have the auction info anymore. It was lost when I formatted the hard drive. But, maybe Ken can tell you who he got the gun from and go from there. I'll be happy to help any way I can. I think you have something real special in that old gun.

There was a D Grade 8 gauge hammer gun on Shotgunworld a while back. Does anybody know what became of it? It was quite a beautiful gun.

we have a letter for the old 8 ga silent auction gun....we know it was ordered byE. T. ALLEN OF SAN FRANCISCO CALF.. know that it was on gunbroker know that KEN DESCOVICH got it then donared it to the PGA then MILLS won the auction then MILLS let me have it...then we know its been shot 6 times so far...thanks fellows for all the info so far...im trying to get some of the pieces of the old guns storey together looks like the old gal has had a long hard road...maybe she ll see a hunt for turkeys this year who knows... charlie

this old 8 ga is marked in the parker letter as a R QUALITY GRADE GUN... i know this gun is just a plain jane maybe a o grade gun..but why did they call it a r grade in the letter... anybody know what the r grade stands for... charlie

I think someone just answered this question in another thread Charlie. Its about the XU grade gun.

According to the Parker Story, Quality R was 0 Grade, pistol grip, twist barrels, manufactured between 1882 and 1918.

Charlie, E.T. Allen was an outfitter and sporting goods dealer at 416 Market Street from at least the late 1870s to the late 1890s. He was quite the Parker dealer, sending Parkers to other parts of the country as well as California. He must have advertised in the sporting press of the day. He ordered loading tools as well as parts from Parker Brothers. One 1890 order in my junk pile was for 30 extracters for the new hammerless guns, 20 in ten gauge and 10 in 12 gauge. Parker billed him a buck each. He must have thought they were going to break often. Allen made or marketed Bowie knives and other knives under his own trade name, "CLUB" I hope this helps with the history of your new gun. How are your hulls holding up?