The best is to talk to knowledgeable Parker Collectors whenever and where ever you can.  Look at every Parker you find, go to auctions and preview the guns, look them over closely and try to guess the selling price based on your observations.  Compare your guess with the actual selling price and then evaluate why they may not be as close as you would expect.

The next best method is to read some of the books that are devoted to Parker Guns and their history.  The following are some of the most read:

 
PARKER - AMERICA'S FINEST SHOTGUN, by Peter H. Johnson. Published by Bonanza Books, New York in 1961. 260 pages. 5" x 8". An early, but comprehensive history of a company acquired by Remington in 1934.  This was the first publication devoted exclusively to The Parker Shotgun and is credited with starting the popular interest in collecting Parker shotguns.

Peter Johnson obtained most of his information from mail interviews with former Parker employees. Time may have faded some memories, but the information is first hand, and no longer recoverable. Johnson also researched some unusual sources, including customs records in the Library of Congress.

While later works provide some very solid information, Johnson's book provided the insight to looking for that information. You will gain more facts reading more recent publications; but Johnson will provide the background essential to interpreting those facts.

  

THE PARKER STORY, by Louis Parker III, Charles Price, William Mullins, Roy Gunther and Daniel Cote. Two volumes. 9" x 12". An epic work, never to be equaled. Magnificent color and black & white photographs and illustrations.

** This two volume set is becoming the Bible for Parker collectors.

 

THE PARKER GUN, by Larry Baer. Covers in detail, production of all models on this classic gun. Many fine specimens from great collections are illustrated. 195 pages, illustrated with B & W and Color photos

 

 

PARKER GUNS - THE OLD RELIABLE, 2nd Edition, by Ed Muderlak. Published by Safari Press, Long Beach, CA in 1997. 270 pages. 8.5" x 11". Excellent reference source with clear black & white and color photographs.

 

 

KNIGHT of the TRIGGER, by Ed Muderlak. tells the story of the Old West when Parker's most famous gun salesman traveled the country by rail, competing in the pigeon ring, hunting with the rich and famous, and selling the "Old Reliable" Parker shotgun. The life and times of Captain Arthur William du Bray, Parker Brothers' on-the-road sales agent from 1884 to 1926, is described in a novelized version of his interesting life.

 

 
PARKER GUN – SHOOTING FLYING and the AMERICAN EXPERANCE, by Ed Muderlak. His second book devoted to the Parker gun is richly illustrated with 500 photographs, 300 of them being color, plus a fine selection of historic black and white photos and a wealth of 19th-century prints and advertisements. This volume explains the evolution of sport hunting with a shotgun and how Parker guns fit into the picture.
PARKER GUN, IDENTIFICATION & SERIALIZATION, by Charles E. Price and S. P. Fjestad. Published by Blue Book Publishing, Minneapolis, MN in 2002. 605 pages. 8.5" x 11". Brief, illustrated model descriptions and vast list of serial numbers with information "as shipped from the factory."

Gun Digest Book of Firearms Assembly/Disassembly - Shotguns, by J.B. Wood.  592 pages, about 11" x 8", glossy soft-cover in full color. New book printed by Gun Digest. Fully Illustrated. 59 popular shotguns with over 285 variants.

 

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