Parker America's Finest Shotgun Author:Peter H. Johnson In this book the author historically presents the story of a quality gun of class and distinction. In the American shotgun world this has meant the name Parker above all else. For three generations, anyone with even a passing interest inevitably discovered the respect and esteem in which this name is held by hunters, trap shooters and collectors... more ».
The story of the Parker Gun is not only the story of a firearms product as such, but of a large and incredibly diversified industrial holding which began in Horatio Alger fashion. This narrative traces the origin of the company, its first venture into the gun-making field during the Civil War, the creation and development of the Parker Shotgun, and the gun's enormously successful history. Because the double gun is the most complex and difficult of all types of firearms to make, especially in a high quality product, the author has described the complete process of the production of a Parker from the registration of the order to the final delivery. The artistic aspects of the gun, such as the checkering and engraving have been given special attention. Because the history of any gun is also the history of the craftsmen who made it, much about the backgrounds of the outstanding Parker employees has been included. This involves some interesting footnotes to American history.
Because the heart of any gun book is the gun itself, a great deal of a major portion of the text is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the entire line of Parker Guns, from the earliest known models to the last made before all manufacture ceased. The work includes detailed descriptions of special and unusual Parkers, a select group of guns constituting some of the rarest as well as the finest made products of the gun industry in American.« less