I am not one of the experts listed anywhere, but John Baird was a friend and I believe he was such. He passed away some years ago. Another is Art Ressel, who collects original Hawkens and who reopened Jake & Sam’s St. Louis Hawken Shop and operated it for years. He sold it and moved to Seattle the last I heard. At one time I had the joy and privilege of “finding” an original Hawken - a .36 caliber - at a show in Houston. It very much resembled the one pictured in this thread. I called Art at the time and he subsequently bought that rifle for his collection. You might consider tracking him down and talking to him. There are also a number of Hawken rifles on display at the Buffalo Bill Firearms Museum in Cody, Wyoming. Their expert might be of help. The folks at the Smithsonian are generally very interested and helpful also, though sometimes slow to respond. As a footnote, I was once the owner of a Volcanic Rifle in good working condition, having bought it from a friend of my father’s when that gentleman was selling a summer home and cleaning out the attic prior to the sale. I later sold it (reluctantly). Good luck to you, and please — Let us know how your search for confirmation turns out?