Case color
 

Check out the case color job on this gun, this is what I would imagine they looked like when they were new. Who do we suppose refinished this gun, DTR?


http://www.gunsinternational.com/Par...n_id=100294800

Thoroughly nice. A no excuses, very respectible little gun.

I am not familiar with the gunsmiths back east, so I can't tell who did it, but I can say that the results are consistent with Turnbull work I have seen and that he has personally shown to me.

I cannot say who might have done them, but I do not think that they look like turnbulls colors.

Seems as though there is more red than usual, most of the time they come out deep blue and purple. I guess you never know what it's going to look like until you open the pot.

too bad identity of case color workman is lost. it is certainly an attractive gun.

The colors are very much like those remaining on guns that I have seen from the 1880-1910 era. Turnbull's don't seem to ever have the red/pink color as much as this gun. My two cents.

The colors look like "torch colors." (deleted) Stay away from this one.

[Edited by John D. - Personal attacks will not be tolerated.)

I disagree in calling this one colored by torch. A torch will result in more defined heat signatures than this gun in question exhibits. I actually think the colors on this gun are pretty nice depending on the time period that one may be talking about. I have a Trojan that has original colors left and they are very similar to this one, that is where colors remain. Mostly under the top lever. Take a good look at the water table on this gun, hard to fake that with a torch.

Case Color
 

There is a gunsmith in Ellijay, Ga. named Bill Schawarz, this looks a lot like his handiwork. He just completed a 1909 VH for me last month, absolutely inspiring...

I've always been facinated by the case color process. Turnbull's colors are close to the originals, but every once in a while a gun will pop up that looks like it just came out of the factory. Unfortunately most of the time the gunsmith goes unnamed. Mr. Warden, do you have any pictures of your VH?

Mr. Turnbull's shop did the receiver and related parts on a VH 12 gauge for me. It was an expensive project, but in the end, I was quite satisfied with the result. The paperwork will always stay with the gun, answering all questions for future owners.

Those colors look remarkably like the colors on the protected metal on two turn of the century guns I have. Im in agreement with those calling it a good job

Case Colors
 

My most recent restoration

Attachment 19866

Attachment 19869

Attachment 19868

I believe this is a fairly good example of redone case colors matching what they looked like originally.

http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=8672

Photography of metal finishes seems to be a large variable. What appears in pictures often misrepresents the real deal. No offense to anyone's photography skills, but the look of metal changes drastically with subtle light changes.

Chuck,
What are the optimal light conditions for photographing Parkers? The lights over my kitchen island and the flash from my camera phone are really distorting the look. Would an outdoor natural light shot reveal the real true colors?

Outdoors, early on a cloudy day.

Case Colors
 

Cloudy outdoors today, having fun with my best friends...
My best friend is 3 years old. My other best friend is 104...

http://parkerguns.orhttp://parkergun...1&d=1360815037

Labs make damned good friends.

Here is a gun from 1890 that is brand new. The gun was assembled 1 time for a picture. I have never owned a better gun than this and would make a fabulous example for all the redo guys to see. PH 12ga on a 1 frame with 30" barrels. 100% color,varnish and twist. A museum quality pre 1900 parker

So, how does she shoot?:)

I assume terrible -- no one wanted to use her :rotf:

Obviously. The poor thing has sat neglected for 122 years.

All I can say is .... "Wow"

Nice gun.

Perhaps this is an unanswerable question, but here goes:
The colors on that gun are 122 years old. Did they look like that when they left the factory? (ie, would they fade/change over 122 years) How would/could we know?

that gun is one of a kind....somebody sure took care of this gun...shes one purty gun.... charlie

Chuck ,could you share the story about this gun ...I find it absolutely fascinating that it could persevere .

Things like that just don't happen where I come from,living on the edge of the new world in the North Atlantic a hundred years nobody could afford to have something that would never be used...unless maybe swim trunks.


But back to the serious stuff,I have never seen a pristine gun of any type up here,they were used until they literally fell apart in your hands.

i will take it chuck. were do i send the check to?

Many hammer guns that I have removed the lock plates from to expose the original CC sealed away inside, have given me the impression that original Parker colors had more reds and yellows, compared to the colors we often see on a restoration today. I think this gun gives a good indication of that.

I think this gun deserves a story in the Parker Pages.:bowdown:

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: