doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Leopold Parker

I have a Parker VH 12 gauge shotgun. The gun was owned by Aldo Leopold and sold or given to one of his hunting partners. That hunting partners son has donated the gun to the Aldo Leopold Foundation to be used to support the future hunter recruitment efforts the foundation is involved in. There is no information other than anecdotal that this gun belonged to Leopold. It likely did as he and the owner were long term hunting partners and Leopold switched over to almost exclusively using his Fox.

We are going to follow the wishes of the person that gave us the gun and we are going to sell it. Is this just a nice gun with a good story or does the story add value? Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Swampman

you could go to the Parker board and get a letter on the gun

that may give you who or what company the gun was delivered to-

that may help with the story

Verbal provenance carries little, if any value. Search for anything--old photos, anything. As mentioned above a Parker letter would be a good start though I've found most Parkers were ordered by a store for a customer, which will be a dead end for you. But maybe you'll be lucky.

Thanks guys. We do have a couple of pictures of Leopold with a Parker shotgun. The Parker records for this serial number were lost and so the PCA has told me they cannot letter the gun.

Sauk County Wisconsin 1943. "Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work" by Curt D. Meine. p. 193 excerpt (time period is 1921) - "The Tome Club became Leopold's main hunting grounds...The latest in a long line of spaniels named Flick joined the outfit. Aldo indulged in a new shotgun, a beautifully engraved, 20 gauge, double-barrelled [sic] Ainsley H. Fox that cost the princely sum of three hundred dollars."



Is there no mention of the gun in any writings by or about him?

Dr Hause

We have found references to a Parker, but AL doesn't identify it as his. Nothing like the many references the Fox. He was a handloader and did a fair amount of pattern testing. One patterning log includes a Parker as well as his Fox. He was with a couple of his friends so I don't know whose Parker it is.

I am currently reading some of his early journals when he was in New Mexico prior to ordering the Fox. Curt is also helping with the search.

It is not the end of the world if we don't find anything that supports the story. I just hate to miss these little historic footnotes because they are so easily lost forever.

Swampman

too bad the leopold association with this parker is not documented...reminds me of a couple of guns that passed thru my hands, with claimed association with historical figures...

the first was a 12 ga parker with an unusual silver plated receiver...consigner claimed to have purchased it at the estate sale of lowell thomas, a well known photographer, author and commentator in the early twentieth century...

the second was a 20 ga army & navy society brand sxs, claimed to have been owned by ernest brooks, the first official ww1 british army photographer and later the official photographer to the british royal family after ww1...

google them both for some interesting details of their lives and participation in historical events......