Please help identify vintage Baker SxS - The DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com

It is a Baker Gun & Forging Co. first year production (1892) 2 pin lockplate A grade with the early etched 'engraving'

Remarkably in the 130 years of use, the screws have not been buggered, esp. small firing pin retaining screw.

The crack at the apex of the left lockplate must be repaired

The gunsmith doing the repair should establish the integrity of the damascus barrels with a bore scope and wall thickness gauge.

There is lots of information on Daryl Hallquist's Baker Collectors site
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PqK3UImDCrsOrk6O_2DsovHXvaNSzliSiwaP35Y6PMk/edit

and similar early etched patterns are shown here; including a B grade SN 26 and a Paragon SN 260
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uGeSuMJBPMNGh0ydCQXeAnpGRLANfl0Uhe954818veQ/edit

Great stuff, thanks for the info! I will probably sell it as is, acknowledging the crack. I wondered if it was a Baker Gun & Forging Co. but the ones I saw said that on them. I guess the early ones didn't? Ant idea on value range as is? I'm in the process of listing it now. I want to get it in the hands of someone who will appreciate it and let them decide how much and what to repair, clean, etc.

Actually, I see it now. BGF intertwined on the butt plate. I wondered what that was, pretty cool. Thanks again for the links too. I wish this gun looked like some of those in the links! Really great info and much appreciated.

Daryl or Dave will need to help us with this

Frank A. Hollenbeck was the BG&F plant superintendent 1890-1892. He had three patents granted while he was in Batavia, and two were assigned to Baker Gun & Forging; October 13, 1891 #461182
https://books.google.com/books?id=QIdRAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA193&lpg
and August 23, 1892 #481327.
Patent February 10, 1891 # 446166 was for Hollenbeck’s hammer safety device
https://patents.google.com/patent/US446166

I couldn't find Hollenbeck February 10, 1890 or October 14, 1891 patents

I have seen dozens of the early A and B grades with low serial numbers, but all were grade marked A or B beside the serial numbers. That said, the gun is Damascus barreled , so is not a B, and I think , without a Grade mark , not an A, either. The early Paragons, appeared about 2 years after the A and B grades with supposedly upgraded wood and engraving and Damascus barrels. I have never seen an early Paragon grade marked and all that I have seen had serial numbers , in their own series, that started at 100. The A and B series serial numbers started in a separate series beginning with number 1. Looking at this gun’s serial number on the receiver and barrel flats, it appears that the original number was 110 with the 0 x’d out for some reason. I think the gun was an early Paragon and the number 110 fits into the Paragon series.

1 pin Paragon SN 260 is the lowest Paragon SN image I have; with hand engraved breech balls and different wood contour around the lockplates

A c. 1892 A grade with the usual patents on the action flats

Drew, I am away from my Patent Digest, so cannot search the Patent Dates on the gun’s underside. I’d guess the stamped information is just a bit off of the correct info. Maybe someone told the stamper what to put down from Memory. A dangerous thing, sometimes. When we also see the serial number stamping is sort of screwed up, we might suspect the errors like I said above. Maybe just a bad day at work.

Originally Posted by Drew Hause

Daryl or Dave will need to help us with this

Frank A. Hollenbeck was the BG&F plant superintendent 1890-1892. He had three patents granted while he was in Batavia, and two were assigned to Baker Gun & Forging; October 13, 1891 #461182
https://books.google.com/books?id=QIdRAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA193&lpg
and August 23, 1892 #481327.
Patent February 10, 1891 # 446166 was for Hollenbeck’s hammer safety device
https://patents.google.com/patent/US446166

I couldn't find Hollenbeck February 10, 1890 or October 14, 1891 patents

Patents at that time were issued once a week. Patents weren't issued on those dates. The engraver had one too many beers with lunch.

The gun pictured by Drew above has two pins in the lockplates. I've not seen that before? Always one --

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

or three --

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

In addition to the difference in the number of pins in the lock plates I see some differences in the frames of the three earliest Baker Hammerless guns I have pictures of. Small milled out slots for the drawblock --

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Large milled out slots --

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

No drawblock on this early B --

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Until now, I had only witnessed three Bakers with Two pin plates. There is one shown in the link Drew listed above:

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1uGeSuMJBPMNGh0ydCQXeAnpGRLANfl0Uhe954818veQ/mobilebasic

Approx. the 15th image down is an image that states "2 digit A grade with 1 pin" , but if you look, it has a screw pin in the lower position, thus is another 2 pin. Two more images down is another etched with a sitting hunter. It also has the lower screw pin.

John

Thank you John, and you are correct. I edited the document and my post.