Robin,
This 1882 article from Stonehenge in The Field should be viewed with caution. It appears to contains a number of errors. Proof testing of gun barrels in Europe began sometime in the fifteenth century and was well established in St. Etienne, France, Liege, Belgium and Ferlach, Austria. The second charter for London Gunmakers Company was granted in 1672 and gave powers for searching, proving and marking gun barrels. The Scale of Proof for Smooth Bore Breech Loading Arms (Fourth Class) that was in effect in England at the time the Field article appeared would have been the London Proof Bill of 1868. It provided the compulsory standards for the provisional and definitive proving of barrels ans established a penalty of 20 pounds sterling for selling a gun with unproven barrels and possible imprisonment for anyone found guilty of forging the proof marks on barrels.
According to this act, the proof testing was compulsory and must be carried out in accordance with the following bores dimensions with the specified powder and shot charges for the provisional and definitive proof as specified. These laws were never passed in the US, but there is evidence that Parker was well aware of them from the fact that they used the correct loads for proof testing barrels. Bill Furnish and I found several Parker's that had 11 gauge bores but were listed as either 12ga or 10 ga guns in the Serialization. This is still a puzzle. Several of the early lifter hammer guns have a number stamped on the barrels that does not match the bore size. Some of the 11 bores are stamped 12 and others are marked 11 or 10. I am coming to suspect that they may have been tamped in Liege, Belgium when they were first given a provisional proof test before they were shipped to Parker. I would like to hear from others as to whether or not this idea makes any sense.
The Bore diameters as set forth in the 1868 proof act are as follows:
Bore Number
13 - 0.703" to 0.709
13/1 - 0.710" to 0.719"
12 - 0.720" to 0.729"
12/1 - 0.730" to 0.740"
11 - 0.741" to 0.751"
11/1 - 0.752" to 0.763"
10 - 0.764" to 0.775"
10/1 - 0.776" to 0.784"
10/2 - 0.785" to 0.793"
If the barrel was tapered, the diameter was to be measured 9 inches in front of the breech.
Richard,
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