This is another great example of a small number of high grade Parkers made up for special expositions & etc. that had loving care lavished on them in terms of engraving, wood, and final finish with grandiose ideas of representing America's Finest Shotgun. Also a great example of the track through the universe of many of them that were sent to such venues, displayed, touted, admired and coveted, and ultimately, returned to Parker Brothers. (Recall and reflect on the checkered past of the "Czar's Gun".
Working in reverse from the items of provenance cited for the gun, Thomas Ambrose was very likely the ultimate purchaser of the gun, AFTER it had been returned to the factory from the NY Exposition, having been sent there AFTER being purchased by Ambrose from Parker and sold to Spalding, whom undoubtedly wanted the choke opened up and/or a specific pellet count boring specified before agreement to purchase. No doubt Ambrose embraced the "customer's always right" axiom, very smart in a purchase of this magnitude!
So far as being an ejector gun, the date of original manufacture as well as the return dates to the factory for subsequent work predate the factory installation of ejectors by Parker by at least 3-4 years. Yes, they could have been retrofit; yes, they could be after market items by Wolfperger & Moran, Josef Singer & etc., but there is no way to tell without an in-hand examination by someone who knows what they are examining.
At this point, the evaluation(s) based on the Blue Book of Gun Values go into the trash can (sorry, Steve!!). In all likelihood this was (and hopefully still is) a spectacular gun, but the 1983 estimate of $30K is, at best, a problematic pipedream. You always have to ask yourself, given the final description(s) of the gun in hand, what would YOU pay for it???
|
Threaded Mode