Fajen and Bishop made a lot of replacement for SxS back in the day but since yours has the correct trigger guard for an English style stock I suspect it originally had one as well.
I'm no expert on Foxes but I have seen a few with that stock style. My Sterlingworth has a Fajen replacement stock and forend on it.
Since you are going to take off the stock to repair the crack, just give the action a good cleaning and make sure the stock screws are tight when you put it back together.
Foxes don't have a stock bolt to draw the stock tight into the action, just the screws between trigger plate and the upper action frame hold the stock in place.
There's some photos on the Fox collectors site to show you how to take it apart.

Disassembly | Fox Collectors Association

foxcollectors.com

 

I believe that trigger guard left the factory on a stock with a round knob grip. Does the number match the one on the action flats? The triggerguards on straight stocks were originally a couple of inches longer and retained by 2 screws. It appears to be an old restock/conversion reasonably well done.

If the top lever sits to the right of center and stays well right when the gun is open, my first guess is that it is in good shootable condition. I'm not up on serial number ranges but the top lever suggests it is a Philadelphia gun ... do the barrels say so? And is the name on the side "Sterlingworth?" and not "Fox Sterlingworth?"

 

Thanks! The numbers on the flats match the trigger guard. The metal on the forend also has matching numbers. I don't see any numbers on the wood (not sure if Fox did this). It says Sterlingworth on the side. As far as I can tell from snooping online, it is a 1913 production. The lever is slightly right of center. The barrels appear to have 20+ years of dust in them. I'm thinking cleaning and oiling may do wonders for the whole gun.

 

When was the marking change made from Sterlingworth to Fox Sterlingworth? I have a Sterlingworth ejector gun (74xxx late 1913 or 1914) with a straight stock very similar to the gun in the above photos. I think the furniture is aftermarket.

jlb

 

I believe the change started when Savage bought the company.

 

On introduction the Sterlingworth was available with a "full capped pistol grip only"
1913

The Sterlingworth Skeet and Upland was introduced with a straight grip in 1935

 

Thanks! Everything I have read seems to confirm it is an aftermarket stock. I have a copy of the Fox book, and there is a picture of a Super Fox owned by John Olin that appears to have a similar checkering pattern. I know mine is not a Super Fox, but I wonder if someone was inspired to upgrade the wood on their old Sterlingworth when later models arrived. It seems like it would have been a natural sales tactic for people in the stock business.

I really like the old ads. I especially enjoy the Kautzky reference. The family ran a large sporting goods business in my hometown of Fort Dodge, Iowa. It closed before I was born, but I heard many stories about it from guys in our local gun club when I was growing up.

 

February 1972 Guns Magazine
https://gunsmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/G0272.pdf

Rod & Gun in Canada April 1914

Sporting Life March 7, 1914

 

When the Sterlingworth was introduced in 1910, Ansley didn't want these lower priced guns distracting from the graded guns bearing his name on the sides of the frame, so they came up with THE STERLINGWORTH CO. --

and some of the earliest guns were marked with a WAYNE JUNC. address on the left barrel instead of Philadelphia.

That idea was short lived, and the Sterlingworth appeared in the 1911 A.H. Fox Gun Co. "Campfire" catalogue --

The small-bores (16- & 20-gauge) appeared in the 1912 A.H. Fox Gun Co. "Campfire" catalogue, and with the small-bores the recessed hinge-pin was replaced with the smooth pin. Beginning in 1914, they offered the Fox-Kautzky Single Selective Trigger on all their guns including the Sterlingworth but few buyers were opting for a $20 trigger on a $25 gun!! Specs for the Sterlingworth remained essentially the same through the last A.H. Fox Gun Co. catalog in 1929.

When Savage Arms Corp. acquired the A.H. Fox Gun Co. in late 1929, they began marking the sides of the Sterlingworth frames FOX STERLINGWORTH.

 

Thanks for the detailed response. The old catalog specs and options are fun to look at. I have the McIntosh book, which is fantastic, but I appreciate seeing this level of detail for the different years. Also, enjoy seeing how the ads change over time.