New Home Page Picture

[Dean Romig]

Mike Stackhouse is appearing on our Home Page on the cover of the Dec. 1940 Fur Fish & Game magazine.

http://parkerguns.org/



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[Researcher]

That picture of Mike sure got around. Here with the ammunition changed to Peters in the December 1933, Field & Stream --

Mike Stackhouse, Field & Stream, December 1933, Peters.jpg

With the gun changed to a Fox in the Savage-era Fox-Sterlingworth brochure --

Mike Stackhouse Fox-Sterlingworth.jpg

This brochure with the Mike Stackhouse picture was used from June 1932 to WW-II in various colors and prices.

In the November 1939, National Sportsman with the ammo case changed to a Miller High-Life beer case --

Mike Stackhouse, National Soirtsman, November 1939, Miller High Life.jpg

And, most recently in the December 2018, Shotgun Sports --

ShotgunSports, December 2018.jpeg

[edgarspencer]

Apparently the first use of Photoshop. Does anyone know what the first image was? Winchester, Peters? Miller Beer?

[Researcher]

I use to think the original photo was the version on the 2008 PGCA calendar. However, on close examination there are some anomalies in that version of the picture. The 2008 calendar clearly shows 10-gauge on the wooden crate, a Nitro Club crate for the specified load of 36 grains of Ballistite pushing 1 1/4 ounce of #4, but the boxes shown are Nitro Club Heavy Duck Loads that were only offered in 12- and 20-gauge?!? All of those loads were gone seven or eight years before Remington Arms Co., Inc. acquired Parker. So I'm wondering if there is an earlier version of the picture from the early to mid-1920s with Mike holding a Remington Model 10, 11 or 17 that would be contemporary with those Remington Nitro Club Heavy Duck Loads?

[Researcher]

Remington Arms Co. Inc. did a series of "Old Mike" calendars from 1923 to 1926. Note the 1923 calendar has the 1922 calendar on the wall behind "Old Mike."

Old Mike, 1923.jpg

Old Mike, 1925.jpg

Old Mike, 1926.jpg

All that I've seen show Mike with a Model 11.

[Ken Waite III]

Here is a picture of the original artwork / sketch number 27328 from Ketterlinus Lithographic Manufacturing Company used for the Remington 1926 calendar. Dated 10/13/1925, order R431. I believe there are some earlier pictures with Mike holding a Model 11.

[Dean Romig]

Which came first, the Ketterlinus Lithographic Manufacturing print?.... or the H. Armstrong (edited) Roberts photograph of Mike Stackhouse???






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[Captain Bob]

All,

Just to fill in some of the recent back and forth about the history of Mike Stackhouse.
My Grandfather, H. Armstrong Roberts (Sr.) was born and raised in Philadelphia in the early 1880s. In the time period around and following 1910 he and his then new family spent a lot of time photographing and living on Long Beach Island, New Jersey; around Loveladies and Harvey Ceders at the Barnegat Light north end of the island. He was an established writer and photographer of outdoor activities and photo stories. Barnegat subjects included family beach stories, fishing, boating, watermen, coast guard stations and people, and Barnegat Bay duck hunting. Sometime around 1920 Mike Stackhouse became one of his most often used models in a variety of photo stories with young kids (my father, H. Armstrong Roberts, Jr., and his older brother as boys), loading and hunting from duck boats, repairing and painting water craft, etc. Fortunately in a number of these photographs a 10 ga Parker hammerless shotgun was prominently featured as a prop along with a wooden Nitro Club wooden box of 500 shells in two piece cardboard boxes, Mike is seen variously cleaning the Parker, admiring boxes of shells and navigating duck boats. Mike and several other denizens of bay were used again and again through the 1920s into the 1930s. These Barnegat Bay images were some of the first in the Stock Photography business, The Photography of H. Armstrong Roberts, founded in 1920, still in operation today, and celebrating our 100th year this year, 2019.

Now, as to why there are so many different products advertised and shown as art not just as a photographs. It was quite common to license our photographs for use as “artist’s reference”. Under such a license to use a photograph the graphic artist was permitted to modify or change an image in various ways, Add a product, change a product, or add a hat which is the case in the Ketterlinus Lithograph (incidentally, a Philadelphia company) shown above.

I am PGCA member #810 and at the beginning of my small Parker collection I was pleased to find in our files and contribute the use of Mike with a Parker for the cover of the first revised Parker Pages and for the calendar produced shortly after that.
For a look at more photographs: http://parkerguns.org/forums/album.php?albumid=7

[Dean Romig]

Thank You very much for that excellent history Bob!





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[Double Lab]

Thanks Bob, the photos were wonderful as was the history. Funny thing is you don't see a swatch of Realtree camo but those guys really slew the ducks.