Wow
https://www.trapshooters.com/threads/superba-an-early-baker-one-barrel-trap-gun.864333

Nice.

Best,
Ted

Well done Dr. Drew

Merry Christmas & a Happy Holiday Season from the Green Isle

Beautiful early gun. The catalog picture of the Superba SBT with the $285 price is from a 1920s H & D Folsom Arms Co. catalog.

In the 1911 Baker catalog it was $200 --



By 1915 the price was down to $175 --



just before the WW-I inflation got going.

Drew, that's a beautiful presentation of the Superba. The writer should be commended for his presentation.

I was fortunate enough to handle of these in person at my trap club a couple of week ago. It was very impressive and the workmanship was outstanding. The owner exclusively shoots vintage SBT guns/doubles and shoots them very well. He is a wealth of knowledge on single barrel trap guns and side by sides. He owns ALL of the makers/grades and it is always exciting to see what he will be shooting, as they all get exercised.
Merry Christmas to all!

Thanks Daryl. Bob is following this thread. Do you have an opinion regarding the engraver?

Just noticed Researcher's 1915 Baker image shows a recoil pad with 5 holes. It's not a Huntley Shock Absorber or "Perkins"; maybe the American Silver pad (sometimes called Grieb)?

Drew, in 1915 the Jostam AntiFlinch had become available, along with the Jostam 3-Ply. The illustration looks like the former.

As to the engraver of Superba #25, I'll have to guess. About that time in 1909 Frank Mason was leaving Baker Gun and Forging Co. to go into business on his own. I have some correspondence between Baker Gun and Forging Co. and Rudolph Kornbrath dated around 1913 with Baker saying they had not been happy with recent engraving and Kornbrath then came aboard. He probably engraved for them , as a subcontractor, until the end of gun production in 1919. Most of the later trap guns seem to show his hand. There are some examples of Folsom made Bakers engraved by Kornbrath, too.

I cannot say who did Superba #25 . It could have been Mason, but his style does not jump out at me. It's a special gun and could have been engraved by another engraver, whose identity I do not know.

I have just taken another look at #25 and notice the foreground foliage motif is similar to most of the trap guns in the 1-250 serial number range. Also found on a few doubles after 1909. It seems then that all of those guns , made from approx. 1909-1913 may have been done by the same hand. Not by Mason or Kornbrath, though. Remember, too, that many guns, especially higher grades in all makes could have multiple engravers on the same gun.

As an aside, I find it interesting that purpose built clays guns like these and others often have birds and hunting scenes engraved on them. Surprising there aren't more images of people trap shooting, etc. I've seen those of course, but it's not common.

Excellent presentation, wonderful photos!

This is the earliest Baker SBT ad I've found, from the Sep. 25, 1909 issue of The American Field --

I'd guess at least two engravers at work.
One doing up the frame. Lighter cuts. Scroll background removed w/a liner. Scroll leaves occasionally roll over and are shaded to show that effect with a single point graver.

Another that fell in love with the hollow point punch did the bbl and the trigger guard. No rolled over scroll leaves in that guys scroll work. Everything much heavier cut inclu the border. Loves big simplistic oak leaves

Not that it couldn't be the same engraver, but the frame cutting is better quality IMO.
Even engravers that do cut different styles on the same project don't loose their overall degree of skill in changing from one pattern to another.

In a letter to a dealer dated Sept. 4, 1908, Baker said that they were developing a single barrel trap gun and already had advanced orders. They were having "pattern barrels" made in Europe at the time, and that they would notify the dealer when the project was more advanced. They were unsure how many grades would be made, but that the guns would cost in the $75-$150 range.

I have photos of Serial No. 2, an Elite grade. The engraving motifs are similar to #25, but not as elaborate.

The Justam Anti-Flinch recoil pad did become available late 1915 or early 1916, Patent No. 1,156,293 granted Oct. 12, 1915. The multiple ply sponge rubber pad was the Huntley, and Stephen A. Huntley's patent for it, Patent No. 1,222,291, was granted Apr. 10, 1917, and assigned to the Huntley Manufacturing Company of Omaha, Nebraska. It was originally marketed by Huntley. From a circa 1916 H & D Folsom Arms Co. catalog --



After The Great War it was added to the Jostam line.

The pad pictured on the Baker SBT in the catalog cut has five round holes through it side to side. I know I once upon a time found information on that pad, but I can't seem to lay my hands on it now.

The Huntley Shock Absorber Pad ad in "Recreation" Oct. 1915
https://books.google.com/books?id=SX07AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA153&lpg



S.A. Huntley who was from Sioux City. What could he have been thinkin' with that FE?!
Feb. 1915 "Forest & Stream"
http://books.google.com/books?id=lRMcAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA115&dq

"Field & Stream", 1916
https://books.google.com/books?id=LIblAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA502&lpg

"Outing" Nov. 1917
https://books.google.com/books?id=V4xQAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA124&lpg

At the 1917 GAH

Researcher, Have you ever found a factory date on the Baker catalog noted 1915 above ? I think we have always called that a 1915 catalog, but my several examples do not have a factory date.

On the recoil pad on the "1915" Superba , one should note that the catalog shows an illustration, not a photo. It is possible the illustrator has taken some license with the pad shown.

In my post above, I have a typo . The two ply pad should have been labeled Huntley Shock Absorber. They were offered in two and three ply at $1.25 and $1.75 delivered.

I have a price list dated January 1st, 1915, and except for the Deluxe Grade double, the prices in the catalog match those on the price list. In that catalog the Deluxe is $275 but on the Price List it is $260. The double gun prices are the same in the "GUNKRAFT CATALOG" but in it the SBTs are cheaper?!?

Interesting on the dates. Another question I had was about the Black Beauty Special in the "1915" or similar catalogs. Of course they also offer the Black Beauty and I have seen many of those, but have never seen, after viewing thousands of Bakers, a Black Beauty Special by Baker Gun and Forging. I have seen many Black Beauty Specials made by Folsom after Baker gave up gun manufacture.

Many thanks to Bob for presenting this for us. I had an opportunity to look at the gun today, Yes, I'd say multiple engravers, and those are the finest dogs, certainly of the era.
Beautiful, and thanks again Bob.

Chris had a Black Beauty Special that was for sale, more than a few years ago. I was thinking it was a Baker gun (we talked about it a few times) but, I could be wrong. He shied away from Folsom guns.

Best,
Ted

I sold sn 1000 for a grand 20 years ago, nice gun!

bill

Bill, what type of gun was Serial Number 1000 ? If it was a single barrel trap, that number does not seem to fit into the numbers of other traps I have seen.