Mike:

I agree that it just doesn't look right. If I am wrong, so be it. I just think that thing is way TOO perfect!

There is NO SIGN of ANY petina on ANY of the brass. There IS a bit of dirt in a few places, but, it's not OLD DIRT. There are no score marks on the screw heads and no sign of any dirt or "stuff" collected in the rope scrolls on the flanges. If this thing was cleaned it was done in a chemical bath or an ultra-sonic cleaner. Did anyone notice that there are PHILLIPS SCREWS holding the finder brackets to the tube? They may have been replaced but, if one were to want it to remain original, then those are not correct. Why is the counter balance on the wrong side of the mount fork? Last, the wooden legs look as if they were just made. There is no depth to the petina of the wood which one would expect if they had not just been completely refinished or freshly made.

Nope, all of the alarm bells are going off on this one! Unless some really good documentation can be presented on this one, I'd steer VERY clear of it!!

Steve