"Cleaning up" an old Parker

[A. Muller]

I am a new member and just recently fell in love with my first Parker. In May I inherited my grandfathers gun collection following the death of my grandmother. There are some real beauties in the collection including a Rigby, Perazzi and this Parker.
I am sending away for my research letter and realize it will take some time before I see it. I am posting a few pictures in hopes someone can give me more information on the gun. The stock has a tragic break and I wonder if it could be repaired/replaced or even worth it to do so. It is in major need of clean up and I am considering restoration over selling. I couldn't capture the detailed scroll work with the camera but it is beautiful. I think with a good cleaning it will look amazing.
This is what I know so far; serial number dates gun for 1899, CH grade 4, 12 gauge, titanic steal,. 2 3/4" 3 1/4 tons per , sleeved

I am a novice and any help is greatly appreciated.
A. Muller - Ma[/SIZE][/SIZE]
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[chris dawe]

Hi Alicia ,and welcome to the forum ....the break on your gun is in a very thin spot ,not much there to work with ,but it would really need to be in the hands of the person doing the work for a proper assessment ...one good thing though ,it looks quite clean and it is of the utmost importance you keep it that way until it gets in the hands of the person doing the work ...the cleaner the break the better the potential repair

The barrels have been sleeved and reproved in Britan meaning the original set was cut just ahead of the chambers and fitted with new fluid steel tubes, this was done because of the unfounded paranoia of the day regarding the strength of Damascus ,if that's what the originals were ...or maybe possible damage of the original set, not a good thing in the eyes of a collector but not so serious to a shooter.

The gun has great engraving and nice wood ,IMHO it is definitely worth looking into a clean up and potential repair .

Good luck with it