Hello all. First post here after watching from the shadows! I'm trying to find out what I've found. A 16Ga. double, damascus barrels, boxlock. The gun looks like a Syracuse/Hollenbeck gun. It is marked "Batavia" on the sides. Is this a Baker? If so are they worth having? I have had a Baker sidelock in the past, this gun is not at all like the sidelock. Any info is appreciated.
Rick

Frank Hollenbeck was plant supt. at Baker when they moved to Batavia after the fire in Syracuse, William Baker being ill with TB. BG&FCo. built a boxlock gun of essentially a Hollenbeck design but with the narrower Baker barrel lug. They were often marked on the side Batavia Hammerless, but I've seen more of them marked New Era with no mention of Baker or Batavia. They are pretty much a footnote in American double gun history.

I think you might have a C grade Baker.

Thanks for the replies. That is the same gun, So a Baker "C". It should make a good wall hanger at any rate.
Rick

Some day I will own one. As far as I know, the "New Era" marked guns, were Bakers sold through Montgomery Wards. I LOVE the one Researcher pictured.

I don't recall where that picture came from. It is not a gun I have. Someone must have sent it to me.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that Baker never called this gun the C-Grade, but that some earlier writer on Bakers called it that, in that there were the A- and B-Grade hammerless sidelocks and that the Model 1897 sidelock hammer gun was called the D-Grade in some of the catalogues, so he just assigned this boxlock gun C-Grade?!?

This gun is in better condition than the one pictured. Some case color left. The barrels are not blued, just strong damascus pattern left, nice bores too. I thought about loading some BP shells for it and using it. The action is still OK. It appears to use the same lock up as other Bakers (side locks). Other than the standard "have a gunsmith check it over" are there any concerns?
Rick

Dave N.,
While Baker may not have used the "C" designation in their catalogs, they did use it in their ledger sheets as found in the records. They also had a few other grades listed which I have never seen. The model 1897 was called either a "D" or "T" grade depending on the barrel type, damascus vs twist.
Baker marketed these guns through a number of venues with many different names encounted; New Era, Tryon, Imperial, Able, Montgomery Wards, Rec-O-Vac, etc.
Chris