doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com T. Barker pics

Finally got jpegbox working again. had to get new password. Somehow 62,000 pics showed up in my uploads!

Anyway, here are four pics of the gun to add to the knowlege here:

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For Hal

Proofed in Belgium, made before 1922, 12 gauge short chamber

https://www.shotguns.se/html/belgium.html

From the 1908 Sears catalog --

Thanks. Glad my $360 bid was low. Great example of a mail order special, ready for the wall.

Your gun is interesting Hal. It is a Pieper Diana Breech. Here is a Pieper J. Manton & Co. Modified Diana with another (odd) breech treatment



It should be an early gun, but the proof marks date it to 1910-1920. Pieper was known to use 'D.C.' for some reason.
The R barrel is Cylinder with a bore of 18.2 mm = .717". The L muzzle constriction is 17.6 mm = .693" = .024" or IM
Looks like a 'gunsmith' pounded on the barrel lug to tighten the FE?
And the L firing pin may be a nail?

Note Dave's Sears ad lists "Royal Damascus Finish" meaning Faux Damascus, likely décalcomanie over decarbonized or fluid steel; Pieper was reported to use Siemen-Martin from Cockerill which was good stuff.
Your gun looks to have the same process.

This is a T. Parker in the 1895 Montgomery Ward catalog with "Imitation Damascus"



T. Barker in the 1899 Sears catalog with "Royal Damascus Finish"



T. Barker in the 1902 Sears catalog but the illustration clearly says T. Parker. It also has "Royal Damascus Finish" over Sears' tradename Wilson's steel which was probably decarbonized steel



Tomas Barker in the 1902 Sears catalog with "Imitation Twist"

Then there were the Crescent guns; T. Parker New York



T. Barker New York

T. Barker backaction lockplate with 'JFC' - Janssen Fils & Cie



And a backaction Thomas Barker



And for more confusion, under the 1899 H.S.B.&Co. catalog H.J. Sterling listing
“We also have these guns branded T. Barker”

BTW: Thomas Barker was a gunmaker in Warrington, Lancashire, late 1700s. He died in 1792.

The lowest grade guns marketed by P. Webley were sold under the name of Thomas Parker, London c. 1900-1920

The New 1908 Model (Sears) T. Barker which has a different breech from Researcher's 1907 Model

Looks like the finish work was done with a sledgehammer and cold chisel