D Top Lever with interesting provenance
 

Here is a very late D Grade Top Lever Hammer gun owned by A.H. Worrest the inventor and manufacturer of the Invincible Single Trigger. The gun was order by a Wm. Grove. The Grove family was a wealthy family with business interests (Lime Kilns) in Washington DC, Stephens City Va, and Maryland.

A nice looking hammer gun from after the turn of the century

Nice find Craig.

Craig, I have an Ithaca Minier model that I believe has the prototype Infallible Trigger for his 1907 patent. It is a grade 4 (non ejector) that has some extra engraving and the floor plate is engraved with his name and provenance. The gun has no safety and was probably used as his pigeon gun(IC/F chokes). I have letters from Ithaca and Walter Snyder on this gun. At the same time he also purchased a field grade in same configuration but M/F and his testimonial is listed in Ithaca catalogs, 1915 I believe. I found this gun in a shop outside Lancaster Pa many years ago at an asking price less than a case of shells. I have used it at tower shoots but it now sits idle as it is one of the only shotgun's I own that has a documented history. It appears that whoever engraved his name on your Parker also did my Ithaca.

George thanks for the reply I have just started accumulating material on Worrest, interesting man. The Parker is choked IC/IM and has a very straight stock, 1 1/2" x 2 1/4", "butt cut at right angle"?? Anyone care to guess if it was a special purpose gun? Worrest was President of the Lancaster Gun Club for number of years according to L84 Foundation. I wish I knew the connection between Grove and Worrest.

Interesting and great gun Craig. Can you post a picture of the butt stock?

Frank per your request. Picture of the stock.

Craig, have you put a square to the comb and butt to check if it is cut to a right angle?






.

That likely means a 0 pitch.

The top rib is at a right angle to the butt. First time I have encountered that?? If I place the gun on a flat surface the toe is about 3/8" longer than the heel (you can see it in my picture above). Normally the heel is longer than the heel, correct?. Chuck Bishop told me that Wm. Grove ordered another Parker with the same stock dimensions.

The correct way of measuring pitch IS the degree of angle off the sighting plane. The whole measuring pitch in inches from a wall is whooey and over complicates things.

By the way, a butt that is at a right angle from the sighting plane (or 0 pitch) should be 0" using the barrels agaist the wall method.

You may be getting the toe sticking out more due to the curve in the butt.