Bruce Bonney inspired this idea concerning the recently published DGJ article on the above subject in which I'd noted the existence of a fake A-3 20-bore but was unable to feature a pic of that gun because the photos I have are not magazine (publishing) quality; we'll nothing is preventing me from doing that here, so please judge for yourself.
Posted by Tom Archer on July 8, 2020, 10:57 am, in reply to "A-3 20-bore"
This comparison shows the right side lock plate from each gun. The top photo is of the authentic A-3 20-bore while the lower photo is from the fake. Note the anatomical differences in the pointer depictions from the top to lower plate; and also note the differences in the cuts of the scroll. Note also that the gun name L.C. Smith is gold inlaid on the original, while it is not on the upgraded fake.
Re: A-3 20-bore
Posted by Tom Archer on July 8, 2020, 11:05 am, in reply to "Re: A-3 20-bore"
One more thing to remember is that the authentic and previously rumored destroyed A-3 20-bore two-barrel set still exists; and remains intact, although it may have been returned to Hunter at some point for the addition of a beavertail forearm? These pics are less than great but clearly illustrate both guns (from 1909) were engraved in the same format and by the same hand.
Re: A-3 20-bore
Posted by denver dillard on July 8, 2020, 12:32 pm, in reply to "A-3 20-bore"
Tom, Thank you for this information. I have not read the DGJ article or your prior writing on the subject. Is the fake signed as if by an original engraver? An A-3 should have a signature. Denver
Re: A-3 20-bore
Posted by Tom Archer on July 8, 2020, 3:53 pm, in reply to "Re: A-3 20-bore"
I've never seen an A-3, or any other high grade Smith gun with an engraver's signature, or mark, to include the original and fake A-3 above; which would make sense with the fake, for why would any faker/perpetrator claiming to have a good reputation wish to ID himself as the culprit? Personally, if my talent were no better than what is illustrated on the fake; I'd be ashamed for anyone to know I'd been remotely involved. That said, I have seen examples of the A-2 Grade signed "Glahn SC", but I believe this means only that the engraving was done by the Glahn family of engravers as opposed to a single individual. For what it's worth, when I did my research on Charles Jerred, Jr (Smith engraver who apprenticed under Albert Kraus and earned his masters designation), I interviewed a gentleman named Ken Sweet who was a close personal friend of both Kraus and Jerred. According to Ken, Kraus was head of the engraving shop, and under his tenure engraving was not signed; and the reason for this was that no single individual engraved an entire gun. The reason for this was two fold; first of all Kraus considered it his first responsibility to insure that all members of his staff garnered sufficient hours each week to make a living. And secondly, Kraus delegated the work required based on each individual's skill level; i.e. some were skilled in frame filing, others in cutting scroll and borders, but Kraus was the master and performed the relief carvings and raised gold inlays. Thus, because a high-grade engraving project was the work of several individuals, these guns weren't signed. According to Ken Sweet and the ledger book of engraving work commissions Charles Jerred kept in his office, he never signed any work done for Hunter Arms; but several years after leaving the gun works he received a commission to engrave some special Ruger pistols. On these guns he incorporated his initials, "CHJ", into the scrolls. If you are unfamiliar with the story of Charles Jerred and haven't read the story of Frank Finch's A-3 twenty-bore, I suggest you get those issues of the DGJ; as I suspect you'll find this information very interesting.
Re: A-3 20-bore
Posted by denver dillard on July 8, 2020, 9:05 pm, in reply to "Re: A-3 20-bore"
Thank you, Tom. I have seen "Glahn SC" on an A-2, also. My question about the fake was directed more at whether it is an upgrade or a fraud from the start. 100K can induce dishonesty. Nevertheless, it is an interesting subject. Denver
Re: A-3 20-bore
Posted by Tom Archer on July 8, 2020, 11:56 pm, in reply to "Re: A-3 20-bore"
Perhaps whoever upgraded this gun may have originally intended it simply to be just that; an upgrade. That said, I first became aware of this gun in the 1990's when it was advertised as part of a Smith gun collection by a mid-western dealer as being the restored original one of one A-3 20-bore two barrel set. It was sold almost immediately for about $70K to a collector in AL who I was told was terminally ill with cancer; and this gun, and others he was purchasing were to be left as an inheritance for his children. I was contacted by the dealer who had the gun on consignment 8-10 years ago, a dealer with questions regarding authenticity as he wanted nothing to do with the gun if it was a fake as it could severely damage his reputation. I learned later that this gun was consigned to another dealer or two before finally being sold (I was told for $105K). I personally believe the gun was intentionally made to be marketed as the 2nd A-3 20 bore and make that claim based on the information uncovered during research. You will recall the tale coming with Frank's gun; that Mr. Brophy allegedly said the original A-3 had been destroyed in a fire. If that claim was true then others undoubtedly heard the same claim and some unknown unscrupulous dealer commissioned a fake A-3 replacement. And why not, for if the gun had indeed been destroyed then who could definitively claim it wasn't the salvaged and restored original? And we must also remember that we didn't have the information in the 80's and early 90's we now have, and that during that time period we did have unscrupulous dealers making a good living faking high grade doubles; especially high-grade Lefevers (Optimus and Thousand Dollar grades) because there were no surviving Lefever records. Some of these Lefever fakes were really well done; and unlike our subject fake A-3, much harder to ID as a fake. Some of the hard-hitting points I wanted to make in my article were edited out (probably considered too controversial); but the main point to remember is that unscrupulous dealers still exist, and will gladly take advantage of folks who are too naïve to do their homework. And allow me to make one final point while on the subject of fakes. If one could study the remaining Hunter Arms shipping ledgers one would find the occasional serial number block with no data entry; apparently indicating that this serial numbered frame was never made into a gun. Can you imagine the faked high grade Smith guns we'd see if this information ever fell into the hands of the wrong person/s? No one is more aware of this fact than our Board of Directors; and rest assured that they will never allow these shipping records to be compromised.
Re: A-3 20-bore
Posted by denver dillard on July 9, 2020, 7:42 am, in reply to "Re: A-3 20-bore"
Tom, A really outstanding summary. I hope everyone reads it.
