Another Baker
 

This showed up today from G & H advertised as a Paragon --

https://www.gunsinternational.com/gu...n_id=101883232

Looks more like an A-Grade to me?

My Paragon #943PES had similar scrollwork but also had a very nicely done dog and bird on either side. Mine also had a Deeley latch forend fastener. I also had an A grade which shared some but not all similarities with this one.

My two Paragons are stamped as such on the water table. Also both have birds and dogs engraved much better. One is a original Baker, the other a Folsom.

I cannot see the engraving very well on my PC screen, even when expanded. A serial number [under 1200] would confirm that the gun is a Paragon. Later Paragons, around the 900 and 1000 ranges tended to have less engraving than earlier guns. It was still Mason engraving, but not quite as much detail. The Model Nineteen Nine Paragons often had engraving by another, but their serial numbers were usually in that same 1000-1100 range.

I was going by the unengraved breechballs, the fact that the lug doesn't extend beyond the surface of the bottom of the frame, the plain patches of checkering on the grip and forearm and the plain unprofiled black tip in the forearm. The wood and checkering are exactly like B-Grade serial number 2048, but 2048 is a one-pin lock.

I saved out one of the pictures and played with it and the serial number might be 2356 but I wouldn't swear to that.

Dave , you could be right. Bakers vary sometimes. I do think I have Paragons and higher that have that flat detail at the protrusion through the underside of the bar. I’ll have to check on the breech ball engraving, that could be telltale . Of course, a serial number would solve it all.

The Paragons I've recorded up to the 88x range have the protruding lug.

Attachment 105271

An L and an N Grade in the 9xx range have the flush finished lug as does PKE 1050.

Attachment 105272

By serial number 1124, the next Paragon I've recorded, it is a Model Nineteen Nine.

Here is a Paragon #1014 for comparison. Is this the nineteen nine? I have never heard of that model?

The Model Nineteen Nine no longer has the draw block on the sides of the lug engaging the recesses in the frame, but has a new vertical rotary bolt, and a different shaped lockplate.

Attachment 105273

Thanks Dave. I see mine is not the Nineteen Nine. By the way, the water table is stamped P. E..

The more I look at the gun after blowing up the photos, I think Dave is correct. The birds on either side would be more likely in the 2000 serial range of A and B grades. Of course this would be an A grade and out of the Paragon serial range .. I think if it is in the 2000 serial range, the engraving is actually etching. It's hard to tell with the photos given.

Barrels look to be 2 blade damascus and the fore end checkering is consistent with early A and B. From what I can see of the engraving it matches early A and B grade engraving.

Baker
 

Griffin & Howe always puts the serial number in their inventory number. So, it's 2256. It's there at the top under the GI number. And it looks like it has the protrusion on the lug. But, you sure don't get very much info out of BB on these guns.

BAKER, W.H. & CO.
Previously manufactured in Lisle, NY, production was done in Syracuse, NY 1877-1883.
The company was started by William H. and Ellis L. Baker in 1877. Leroy H. and Lyman C. Smith financed the new company, W.H. Baker & Co. In 1880, L.C. Smith bought the interest from the two Baker partners and continued production with "L.C. Smith Maker of the Baker Gun" marked on the rib and "Baker Pat." on the locks. Smith decided to drop the Baker name in 1883 but continued to manufacture this gun and a three-barrel shotgun/rifle combination in Syracuse, NY. The company was sold to the Hunter Brothers in 1889. A new company, Baker Gun & Forging Co., began making both the New Baker shotguns (see separate listing) and the Ithaca gun. The Hunter Arms Company made L.C. Smith shotguns for about 55 years, until the Marlin Firearms Company bought the business in 1945 and formed the L.C. Smith Gun Company in 1946 which produced shotguns until 1950.
Baker guns were originally 10 or 12 ga., and unusual in that the opening mechanism was operated by pressing forward on the front trigger. While relatively uncommon, most original Baker guns (including the three-barrel shotgun/rifle) seldom have much original finish remaining. Most are priced in the $400-$800 range, assuming finish is less than 10%. If condition is better than 40%, guns should be evaluated individually for accurate pricing.

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Riddle is solved. Good work, and a rather nice A Grade.

Baker A grade
 

As typical with this forum, it's always interesting and educational. Now that it has been identified as an A grade, what would be a more realistic value for this gun?