[Dean Romig]

As I stated in my earlier post, the doll's head serves no mechanical purpose at all.

The Parker Story, Vol. 1, pages 107 & 108 address this issue.

I had wondered if the doll's head rib extension might have been adopted (a Lefever patent June 25, 1878) to remedy the problem of of the frame cracking at the 90 degree juncture of the action flats and the standing breech, but learned that was taken care of about four years (1879) earlier than the year the doll's head was adopted (1882), so they appear to be unrelated. Not only was the radiused frame introduced in 1879 but the wider frame at the breech and the beads or ribs sculpted into the frame (also 1879) in this area also served to strengthen this critical area.

The doll's head rib extension was originally intended to lock the barrels to the breech so in theory it would prevent the barrels from "springing away from the standing breech when fired."

However, according to a 1919 article by E.C. Crossman, Parker Brothers recognized in later years that this doll's head was not necessary and in a conversation in 1970 with Louis C. Parker III he confirmed this.

It certainly served no purpose on the Trojan model. And for further consideration, the SBT guns would typically have had harder use than most doubles and would certainly have incorporated a doll's head rib extension on the SBT's if it were at all mechanically important.

According to the authors of The Parker Story, "The company continued to use (the doll's head rib extension) on double guns because it was expected by buyers."





.