This may have been addressed previously, but I'm kind of new to the forum, so kindly forgive me...
I wonder if anyone could shed any light on the provenance of a Burrows Island OREGON piece I have. It is #3717, but it has the old-type gray felt bottom and paint like the few other low-number pieces I've seen. I asked Bill Younger a couple of years ago how this could be such an early production piece, be marked as "OR" rather than "WA", and be numbered 3717, but he had no idea.
Glad for any help in advance.
Don

Possible that the piece itself was an un-numbered spare that was subsequently numbered and sent out to replace a broken piece? Would have had to happen without someone noticing the wrong state listed, or before the error was known.

We have in the past discussed a burrows Island with a numbers that don’t fit into the known sequence. But we never have about the situation you are taking about.
I have an idea but I could make a more accurate judgment with a picture of the Number and a picture of the felt. There has been two times the gray felt has been used on the Burrows. First used on original California made Artist Proofs and then with the number around 850 to 900. Since this is the OR version that would rule out the later Gray felt Varity. With out seeing it and by description only I would say you have a Burrows Island AP (with no number written on it) and someone wrote in that number.


In the early years I believe that usually but not always the extras were issued at the end of the run (Malaysian Made) and that is when they would fill in the gaps in the numbering.
The fact this has a number that was not part of the HL numbering sequence would make me believe that HL didn't number this but the dealer or original owner did.

As I said before for a more accurate opinion please post or send pictures.

I would send a picture, but our camera is out.
The gray felt appears to be EXACTLY the same as my California gray felt Hatteras and Coquille River pieces. This Burrows Island came in the same kind of California production box. As I said before, paint-wise it matches the other two double-digit Burrows I've seen in the past.
Don

Does it have the green door and windows or gray door and windows?

Is the box
8"x6"x10"
and has written on it:
Oak Carton Corporation, Los Angeles CA?

An easy way to check a California mold is to have a Malaysian mold beside it (or Canadian) and check for Window differences. The California will have deeper holes and more rounded than the Malaysian and Canadian.

When you say that it has gray felt like your California Cape Hatteras, I am assuming that you are refering to the first version with a number smaller than 180. If this is true and the felt matches that one it would be a California made.


Check your Coquille for gray felt. If so what number is it?