Don, very interesting. Perhaps I am being too restrictive on the dates of barrels bearing Walter King's stamp. The reason I am, however, is based on what is said on (as I recall) page 582 of The Parker Story where proof stamping is discussed. The book pretty clearly states that after Walter King moved up he was replaced by "J.G." and his proof stamp initials are on all guns after the 1910 time frame. Working from memory here but that's what I remember the book essentially saying.
Did Parker keep proofed barrels around in stock for 10 or more years? Could this set of barrels have been stamped by Walter King prior to 1910, laid aside for 10 or more years, and then have been used to replace the damascus barrels that were originally (?) supplied with this gun? Does anyone know about how fluid the cutoff date which separates barrels stamped with "WK" and those stamped with "JG" is?
In any event, if I find out anything about Simmons Hardware's records I'll let everyone know. It's a long shot for sure but what the heck?
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