Anyone familiar with Baker & Co. SXS Shotguns?

n/a

I have a friend that acquired a Baker and Company SXS and I cannot seem to find much information about them/it. I think the barrels are made to look like they are Damascus but really aren't. I think it's the original finish. The forend has what appears to be a buffalo horn tip on it. It's an interesting shotgun. Do any of you folks know anything about them...or have any idea what it may be worth? Thanks

dheffley

Is it a W.H. Baker or a Baker Gun & Forging? There are several different grades, what is the grade. It should be marked on the barrels. Is it an ejector or an auto ejector. They made three grades with Damascus barrels, all of those are 1/2 the price or less of the others.

sandwarrior

Eric,

What I'm finding is this looks a bit odd. Like maybe the buttstock was refinished, or more likely, replaced. All of the Baker doubles had checkered wood. How nice was dependent on the grade, but they all had it. Yours doesn't. The forearm does.

If the metal is all original I would say it's Baker R. The big thing in price there is if it's extractor or ejector. The barrels made by them were either Damascus, fluid tempered steel or Krupp steel.

They were a very well made shotgun from the early teens up to about 1933?

If it was all original, in the condition I see yours in, it would run about $1500.00 But, with the buttstock being 'off' I don't know what someone would pay for it. Also, there is a couple hundred dollar price jump for ejectors over extractors. That's about a round ballpark guess as I don't look for or sell these.

Edit:

I looked at my book wrong, Damascus does decrease the value as dhefly says.

The 'Bakers' I see in my book are the: Batavia Ejector, Batavia Leader, Batavia Special, Batavia Black Beauty Special, Grade R subgrouped; ext/ejct, Dam/Krupp steel, Paragon grade, Expert Grade, Deluxe Grade, and the Grade S. I don't show two different manufacturers.

He Dog

Wm H. Baker Began manufacturing shotguns in Syracuse in 1875. Circa 1878, in partnership with his brother Ellis Baker and brothers Lyman C. and Leroy H. Smith he established the firm of W.H. Baker & Company and manufactured shotguns. In 1880, Lyman Smith bought out the Bakers and renamed the Company L.C. Smith, Maker of the Baker Shotgun. Soon after, Wm Baker and several partners opened the Ithaca Gun Co. in Ithaca.. In 1887 he went to work for his brother in Syaracuse at the Syracuse Forging Co. and after a fire moved to Batavia producing carriage and the automobile parts along with shotguns. When Wm. died Ellis took over the company, which he renamed the Baker Gun and Forging Company. Ellis died in 1899, ten years after Wm., and the company continued until 1919 when it was bought by H. & D. Folsom Company.

Altogether there were 19 models of Baker shotguns.

TRAP55

I would have to do some digging, but I remember the "Baker" name used on 3 different shotguns, and how it was used determines which one.
Crescent used it as a brand name. It's not a Crescent.
William Henry Baker formed the firm W. H. Baker & Co., and made LC Smith's. You'll have to research the LC Smiths to determine the name stampings.
Later, William Henry Baker joined with others to form Ithaca Firearms. I don't know how the early ones were stamped.

n/a

It just has extractors, not ejectors. The rear stock may have been sanded down and refinished (I don't really know). I didn't see any markings on the barrel about what grade it was, but I will look again. Jim Limey...thank you for the tip on how to determine if they are Damascus barrels. I'll try to get the guy to bring it back by to get a little more information on it. Thanks guys.

v35

Three blade Star Damascus barrels, grade 3 gun, all original finish is removed.
Stock checkering may have been removed or if the stock is a replacement the inletting is very good.
Very nice external condition.
It could and should be refinished to a beautiful example of a turn of the 20th century well made hammerless double.
The barrels should be browned, action rust blued and stocks darkened and finished flat.
These guns were meant for hunting which means flat, dark, non glossy
finishes.

cbyerly

I have a nearly identical lower grade gun exactly like the one pictured. It is marked NEW ERA Nitro hammerless. The serial number 87606. Right lock marked #4012 Model 1900, Fine twist. The wrist is checkered.

drsck

Of course there is the British Baker Company and the American Baker Company--no relation. With regard to the American Baker, the successor to the Baker Gun Company of Batavia, New York, is still in business today! The Baker Gun Company eventually became Batavia Metal Products and that company relatively recently changed its name to Strong Forge & Fabrication. My late wife's uncle worked for Batavia Metal Products most of his life. When I met him and learned a little about Batavia Gun, I became interested in putting together a history of the company. Unfortunately, there are no surviving records. He told me many stories about the company, including ones about carrying out boxes and boxes of the records from Batavia Gun Company and throwing them in a dumpster sometime in the 1940s. There was a young fellow on the forum here a couple of years ago who was trying to put together a history. I think that I even met him at a couple of gun shows in the western NY area. You might find his posts if you do a search on Batavia Gun.