The photo is a known Parker document, as it came with a large collection of paperwork from a Parker family descendant. I have the original photograph, and it's unsigned, but Morris Rosenfeld haunted Long Island Sound for iconic shots
Gary, I checked and it was the Edmund Parker family that had the place at Fenwick. Fenwick, adjacent to Cornfield Point, was summer home to many notable and wealthy CT families, including Dr. Hepburn, father to Katherine and Peg. That shot is taken from about a mile off the mouth of the river, about Long Sand Shoal, looking to the North, just west of the inner lighthouse. (exact location, to remain secret, is the hottest Bluefishing spot on the CT shore)
I think since there was such limited info in the order book for that gun, it very likely was made for an 'inside' recipient. Having the gun for a week, meant getting very little work done, as I studied it, under the magnifying hood most of the time. There is so much 'personal' engraving, it was without a doubt, intended for someone special.
Whether Parker's catboat was the inspiration, I don't know, but we all know engravers take certain 'license' in their interpretation of what was intended. Certain unearthly looking animals, and Annie Oakley come to mind.
|