Parker No. 82233 was manufactured before Titanic Steel barrels were introduced in 1897 and well before Acme Steel barrels were introduced in about 1903 - both of which would have been the standard fluid steel barrels for the grade 5 guns.
Obviously the person who ordered this gun had a preference for fluid steel and aside from Whitworth Steel, the Vulcan Steel barrels were all that was available if you didn’t want Damascus.
This was a special gun for a special person and he also probably ordered the forend finished in the manner it is today. He was certainly a discriminating fellow...
A research letter may just fill in all the blanks.
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"I'm a Setter man.
Not because I think they're better than the other breeds,
but because I'm a romantic - stuck on tradition - and to me, a Setter just "belongs" in the grouse picture."
George King, "That's Ruff", 2010 - a timeless classic.
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