Standard Catalog of Colt Firearms. Rick Sapp

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       FIREARMS ENGRAVING & GUN VALUES

       BY JIM SUPICA, OLD TOWN STATION, LTD., COLLECTIBLE FIREARMS (WWW.ARMCHAIRGUNSHOW.COM)

       (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN NRA’S INSIGHTS MAGAZINE )

      What in the world could make a gun worth more than a new car? Or worth more than a new house, for that matter? In most cases, when a gun is hammered “sold” for five or six figures at one of the high-end auction houses, part of the answer is “engraving.” But if that is the case, how come that engraved commemorative you saw at the last gun show was offered for less than a standard model? To explain this situation, let’s take a look at the history of firearms engraving, and the market for old and new engraved guns today.

       THE ORIGIN OF ENGRAVING

      The origin of decorated arms is lost in the mists of pre-history. The role of man’s earliest weapons in providing food and ensuring his survival made them some of the earliest and most important tools. The impulse to decorate and personalize them must have accounted for some of humankind’s first artistic endeavors.

      As societies and their technology evolved, the bond between art and arms logically continued. Whether for a king or a tribal chieftain, weaponry represented the means to acquiring and holding political power, and the enhancement of these to suit the status of the owner was a given. What are a scepter and crown, if not vestigial arm and armor?

      Whatever the origins, by the time the first firearms were developed, the tradition of decorating arms (and armor) had long been established. The earliest matchlocks were more or less standard military issue tools (used by commoners), and hence not often decorated. However as wheellocks and then flintlocks evolved, some of the finest artistic efforts of the Post-Medieval Epoch, the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, were applied to them. A strong firearms engraving tradition grew in Europe, with separate and identifiable German, French and British styles evolving. The French engraved arms of the Louis XIII and XIV era (roughly 1610 to 1715) are justly famous as masterpieces.

      Before the industrial revolution and efficient mass production utilizing interchangeable parts, each gun was hand crafted individually. During this flintlock and early percussion era, the vast majority of firearms included some sort of decoration. Usually this took the form of engraving designs, patterns or images directly on the metal of the lock, barrel and hardware, along with carving and possibly inlaying the wood of the stock. Only military issue weapons of the era tended to lack this type of embellishment, and even these can often be found with an individuals initials carved into the stock or scratched into the metal, probably during a long night’s encampment.

      In America of the 1800s, the production of firearms represented the cutting edge of evolving technology and art. As Eli Whitney introduced mass production techniques, Whitney firearms were among the first products so made.

      When Samuel Colt introduced the first perfected repeating firearms, his percussion revolvers, he also continued the tradition of decorated arms by rolling various scenes onto the cylinders, including a dragoon battle, a naval engagement and a stagecoach holdup on various models. In addition to these standard mass produced scenes, Colt also offered individually engraved pieces, either custom ordered or made by Colt for presentation to prominent individuals to promote the firm’s wares.

       THE GOLDEN AGE OF ENGRAVING

      The second half of the 19th century, from just before the Civil War to the turn of the century is considered the “Golden Age” of firearms engraving. During this period, nearly all of the major gun manufacturers offered fancy engraved firearms for their well-heeled or more discerning customers, with Colt, Winchester and Smith & Wesson particularly utilizing the services of the master engravers of the era.

      This is the period when a distinctly American style of engraving came into its own. It evolved from the Germanic vine scroll style brought to this country by the great masters of the era: Louis D. Nimschke, Gustave Young (Jung) and Conrad Ulrich. The style incorporated larger, more flowing scrollwork, and came to be most associated with Nimschke. Today, it is often called “Nimschke style” or perhaps “New York style” engraving. The next generation of great engravers included the sons of Young, the sons and grandsons of Ulrich, and Cuno Helfricht, along with many other master engravers.

      Some of the driving forces behind this artistic explosion were the practice of giving “presentation” arms to influential friends, and the great national and international expositions of the era. During and after the Civil War, it was customary to express appreciation to civic or military leaders, or to a valued business associate or loved family member, by giving a specially engraved firearm. Sometimes this involved a simple inscription of the recipient’s and possibly the giver’s names, but it sometimes included extensive decoration. The great expositions were “fairs” where manufacturers would display their best products, and the arms makers vied with each other to produce the most strikingly eye-catching artworks.

       ENGRAVING IN RECENT HISTORY & TODAY

      Firearms engraving declined during the first half of the 20th century, although it was kept alive by such great engravers as R.J. Kornbrath. However, the years following World War II saw a resurgence of the interest in engraving, both contemporary work and collectible classic firearms art.

      In the 1960s and ‘70s, there was a trend of mass-produced decorated firearms, probably most notably the many “commemoratives” СКАЧАТЬ