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I wonder just how many Parker Brother's Shotguns were shipped to Russia? Has anybody seen any in any of the"Great Collections" in that country? My 'Little Photo montage' is just for Fun!..Crossedchisles.....

DT, I have some Russian Parker shipments in my files, but the most interesting were big guns shipped to the Eastern reaches, probably to use on whales or walrus. I have suggested that visitors to those areas on business may want to visit the maritime museums in the area to search for fowlers with recessed hinge pins. A couple of fellows on the PGCA site have spent time in the area but have not reported back.

..8b,When David Baker,McIntosh, and 'Self' Toured the Hermitage back in 1991,a large quantity of the Exhibits were being shipped to Moscow(or so we were told)I have photos of room after room with the contents wrapped in paper so we did'nt get to see much there. The Artillery Museum had room after room of Long-Guns, I found Hollands- Purdeys,LeBeau's the US made Weapons we saw Winchesters so many ..Racks of Rifles(A'Lot' of 1866Carbines) I didnot get to the Shotgun racks...I saw Thompson Sub-Machine Guns, one was still in the'White" had ;Hang Tags still tied to the action.I have always wondered How many Lefevers,Foxes,Smiths, Oh...Parkers, were hiding out there!!!!Will we ever know???Maybe Geno could forward some Info' from his'Home-Town'...CC.

Judging from the peroid's publications, American guns, rifles, shotguns and pistols alike, were very highly thought of in Russia, both before and after 1917. If my memory doesn't fail me, Andrievsky (a good writer and a person who organised Royal hunts, sorry, don't remember his exact title at the Court if any) mentioned owning and liking "a long-range American shotgun", (but failed to mention what kind). I can dig up in the magazines and check, if anyone's interested.

As for shotguns, specifically, a number of top Russian gun experts, claimed in print that America had the best shotgun manufacturing in the world, offering the best design, strength and quality for reasonable money.

But! The above high estimation was reserved for the machine-made, mass-market guns, "the guns for the people" in the Soviet lingo. The same experts in the same works never failed to note that in the realm of high-class, hand-made weapons the American producers lacked "the taste and overall refinement" of the top Brittish and Continental makers (Don't shoot me, I'm just quoting! :)) An American gun was seen as the best workhorse gun, not The Best Gun.

I doubt that the top offerings of American companies would have impressed a pre-Revolution Russian aristocrat. The fact that there were little difference in quality, apart from the wood and engraving, between the high and low grades is it. The persons brought up in the aristocratic environment would expect a Best Gun to differ from the commoner's gun not only in cosmetics, but in essential issues like design, fit, patterns, etc. - in overall refinement. From this perspective, a highly engraved, nicely stocked mass-produced gun would be similar to a peasant dressed up to look like a prince. As anyone who believes in aristocracy would testify, royalty is not in the clothes!

The American gun had to be a workhorse, everyone who wanted to hunt and shoot could, hunt and shoot. Behind the kitchen door served as the gun room 99.9% of the time.

DT - Will you be there at Julia's to help us ogle the Czar's playtoy? Still holding the Vintager's goodie for you and that occasion would be ripe for presentation. The trip must be made by every true Parkerphile worthy of the name. My crystal ball tells me it will wind up in the auto-lit cabinet at the NRA museum with the 3 Invincibles, 6 minutes from my home. No matter; the trip must be made to preserve the penetential spirit necessary to view the icon. KBM

..O, The plan is that Several Parker Collectors from "All Over" want to make this Some sort of Event'I am hoping to have a Close Look at Gun next week Capt' Jim Fender has asked me to'Ride Shotgun' with him to visit Mr Julia's Place of business when he and JR LaRue look at it'Some More' Depending on who is the eventual"Next Caretaker of No 168304 is I would 'Relish'the chance to Re-stock it Back to all Original" as I have done with SO MANY guns and Rifles before.If you note the A1 spl in the photo "Older Doc" posted for me yesterday The'Parker in question' would look'Much More Propper' with a A1 Pat Stock on it. We will most likely be at the Auction, I well remember the Aucion of "THE 1866 Winchester" How much did Jim say he sold it for????? cc

Squire Glenthorne, Do you know who in the British Trade', wrote,"Birmingham Built Guns are the Workhorses not the Thoroughbreds!...But they shoot as straight and last as long as their costly cousins from London!..This is written on a scrap of old sandpaper in my Tool-Box, and was given to me by 'The Late Alf Gritt when I was Stocking a Boss in his Workshop in Winchester, Hampshire.Whilst I was still in the British Army,(Cash under the Workbench)!!!Barry Wilcox, now at Dickson& McNaughton,Scotland.was at that time..a"shop-boy"I think....cc

Re eightbore - this is no surprise. Before the Trans-Siberian railroad was completed, everithing that was supplied to easternmost parts of Russia (e.g. Vladivostok) had to travel about 6000 miles on hirses and rowboats. It was naturally faster, cheaper and easier to sail to 'Frisco, even after the railroad was operational.

The area at that time had only a handful of sportsmen, and a large crowd of market hunters. And the only market game that required the use of a shotgun was waterfowl. Needless to say more, not at this forum ;-). As for printed evidence, Gen. E.T. Smirnov, in his 1901 book "The Hunting Shooting", states that the most hot-selling shotguns at the Russian Pacific coast at the time were the Winchester repeaters.

Re Lowel Glenthorne - quoting the above-mentioned book: "... the people for which hunting is everyone's domain, the people who never knew the fuedal barons that would hang a man for a killed partridge..." ;-)