doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Baker Black Beauty Krupp Custom

I once had a 12 gauge Batavia Special with those [censored]-Tensile steel barrels & now have a 16 gauge Black Beauty (not special). Nice guns, but certainly not That Nice.

Not really up on Bakers that much, maybe one of them will kick in with info, but I don't believe this is a Folsom gun, could be wrong though. "If" it was made in 1917, per the letter then that is pre-Folsom.

The cocking system. bolting nor general finish are anything like any Purdey I ever saw, don't really see anything at all identical to a Purdey. Also, Purdey's are Bar Action & not Back Action.

Sort of like saying a T-Model Ford is identical to a Rolls Royce, they both have 4 wheels while a Baker & a Purdey both have 2 barrels. Similarities end there.

Somehow he couldn't work Corinthian Leather into the description...

I think the Folsom guns have a letter F either before or after the serial number.

I wouldn�t regard any facts in the letter as actual facts.

I haven�t seen him here of late, but, Chris Shotz has forgotten more about Bakers than most of us are ever going to know. Daryl should be able to help, too.

Best,
Ted

Ted;
I bought my little 16 Black Beauty from Chris. It wasn't mint but he described it accurately & priced it accordingly. It was bought as a shooter & not a collector. We were both happy I think. At least I was.

I like Bakers and have several. They made a real heavy 12 bore water fowler that was retailed by Montgomery Ward, 32", 8 pounds, .055 chokes, .045-.060 barrel wall thickness, that I have a pair of. Both in working order but not pristine by any stretch. Always figured they would make a great composed pair for those driven duck and goose hunts. Don't know which will happen first the driven shoots or me getting around to them.

I saw this same gun and letter a couple of decades ago. It is a fun exercise to read the letter and look at the gun. Although Baker did offer the Black Beauty Special before the sale to Folsom, I have never seen a Black Beauty Special that was not a Folsom gun. I have cataloged maybe 3000 Bakers, and one has not shown up. This gun still has the Folsom F on the forend iron. Other places the F has been removed. The serial number is from the Folsom Series and the small details are all Folsom details. [under lug, firing pin retaining screws, trigger guard, rib markings etc.] You can look at some real Bakers on my website.

Who was that masked man?

Thanks, Daryl. Tell Chris I said HI!


Best,
Ted

The real thing.

A $75 Paragon Pigeon Gun ($100 with AE) was offered in 1897 with 30" steel barrels, straight grip, and engraved pigeons.
The Baker Krupp was introduced in 1904 and became the N Grade in 1906.

Courtesy of Dave Noreen



The entertaining letter referenced. L.C. Smith, one of the Parker Bros., and Dan Lefever all helped make this gun (Daniel Myron passed in 1906)!

My Baker Black Beauty Special Ejector has a serial number in the 40xx range followed by an F.

Researcher, the Folsom guns appear in two separate serial no. ranges. One range is 1F-17,000F. The other is in the 201,000 range. I am not sure of the timing or significance of either range.

As to the letter, William M. Locke was the owner of one of the finest weapons collections. A revered collector good enough to have Frank Sellers write a book on Locke's guns etc. I am not sure if others might have done the same.

I'd suggest that the letter and gun must have been done as a friendly joke. No other explanation comes to mind.