I found another vintage gun this weekend, which my cousin bought. I had converted him overnight to a Vintage Gun Enthusiast, all it took was shooting trap with my L C Grade 0 (2 iron damascus) and my Remington 1889 hammer gun (Twist). The next day we poked around and found him an early Baker sidelock in excellent, shootable condition (with proper psi loads) that I'm doing the research on.
A while back I posted a reply on a thread dealing with the VL&D relationship with Francotte that was proven wrong, so I'm trying to avoid the "a little information is dangerous" syndrome and acquire facts from folks who really have the knowledge.
I've done a fair bit of research already as far as Bakers, I've read all the stuff on the Baker forum, but quite a bit of other Baker info I've read is incomplete and often contradictory.
This gun is a twist barrel, "Trade Name" gun, marked "New Era" as well as "Nitro Hammerless". The serial number is 877xx. It has the three position safety, I've found referred to as a "Block Safety". It also has the spring loaded bolt through the barrel lug, which engages the lower frame. I'm not sure the correct name for this, so the actual name of this action would be a great help. The gun is not engraved. I think that this is an early Batavia gun, the same action used on the A and B grades. Is this an early "Batavia Leader" made from 1903 to 1916? The serial number falls in the correct 75,000-106,000 range. The gun also has what appears as the L C type fore end iron, which is a little loose due to the fore end being removed without the hammers being cocked. (I think)
I've read that the "New Era" name is associated with three firms, one being "The Fair" in Chicago, (forerunner to S.S. Kresge) but I can find only references to boxlocks. The other two are Strapleigh and Simmons Hardware, both in St. Louis. Given that the gun was found in the Chicago area, I'm wondering if the Baker-The Fair info I've found is incomplete. I'd bet both firms carried boxlock as well as sidelocks, especially after Baker was bought by Folsom. It also appears that Syracuse Arms also made guns under the "New Era" label. Here's the crux. Isn't Syracuse and Baker the same company? Didn't they change the name to "Baker Gun & Forging Co." after the move to Batavia?
The last question is about the lock design relationship to L C Smith. Did Hollenbeck have any influence? Which was first? Which was better? The Baker lock looks more complicated and would be more expensive to produce. Am I correct to think that this design was dropped after the acquisition by Folsom? Any experts out the able to point me in the right direction?
Last edited by Ken61; 04/01/14 02:55 PM.
