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Came across a old 1988 pachmayr catalog advertising a Griffin & Howe Custom Rifle for sale built on a Wells Kurz action mauser , one of four built in the early 80's. It was embellished by American engraver Joseph Bayer in a tight scroll and gold inlay. It was a DSB with an integral side mount base, Leupold 2 1/2 compact in a special single lever G & H mount w/3 leaf express on a quater rib with all the bells and whistles in a AAA European walnut fleur-de-lis checkered stock. Dosen't look like the missed any extra add ons. All this for $12,500. in 1988. Wonder where it is now?

Never heard of Joseph Bayer, so on a google search he was G&H house engraver for 44 yrs, a WWII B-25 flight engineer/crew chief and apprenticed under Joseph Fugger. Did a 4-star shotgun set for Gen Schwarzkop and just recently passed away this Oct 2010.

Just a bit of info on a quite New Years Eve, Happy New Year to ALL.
Bob

Bayer sound like a journeyman with little recognition, unlike Winston Churchill and Robert "Bob" Swartley would also worked at G&H with Fugger. First I've heard of him although he is listed in Prudhomme's book (circa 1961) with an address in Princeton, NJ, a long way from NYC. No work shown.

Would love to see the rifle! Scans?

I was really more intrigued by the Wells Kruz Mauser, Double square Bridges and the integral side mount, 1/4 rib w/ express sights which was probally one piece and this was one of four actions Mr Wells made. Wow !

From his obit it said Mr Bayer apprenticed under Fugger while he worked at Sperry's. Sperry's was a defense contractor and the first location of the UN, is in Lake Sucess ,Long Island, NY. A 20 minute ride by train to mid-manhattan nyc. I would guess he lived on Long Island and commuted to NYC. Nobody in their right mind drives to Manhattan. Then moved to near Princeton when G&H moved to NJ. I lived in the area and frequented Sperry's quite often in the 60's.

There is a member of these boards that use to hunt in NJ with Mr Bayer, he could probaly shed some light on the subject. As far as scans, no can do. I'm Urban Amish as far as computers, turn on-turn off. But give me a postal address and I'll sent you the catalog.
Bob

Here's some of Joseph Bayer's work.
I'd say he was a step or 2 above journeyman status...
Most older engravers know the name well
His style looks like he paid close attention when seated next to Joe.

My scanned clippings aren't the best, but it gives an idea of his talent and quality.





His work was pictured in Guns Digest over the years in their Art of the Engraver section.

The first two floorplates are unlike any firearms engraving I've ever seen, in design, layout or execution. The upper end of the third looks a bit like Fugger, but the bottom doesn't match very well to my eye.
None of it is comparable to Churchill or Swartley.

The bottom plate may have been an example plate to show patterns available.

Good eye LRF! You are correct,,,
In fact all three are pattern plates. They show multiple scroll types on each plate for display purposes.
The first one has the trigger guard attached but it didn't make it into my scan unfortunetly.

Yes #1 is a bit different from what was the normal game scene layout in an oval/circle/scroll outline.
I'm sure the engravers of that day would have said the same of the Torcoli type/mythical/dream scenes done today.

It's only natural for an engraver to pick up the style and techniques of the person they learn from.
Look at Fugger's style, compare it with Kornbrath and see similaritys. Fugger came to the US and worked with (and stayed with) Kornbrath for at least a couple of years before a falling out.
Styles develope over time and experience of course. Even health and injurys can direct them.
Beyer undoubtedly picked up some of Fuggers style (Fugger probably demanded it of him!) but then as time goes by changes occur.

My scans are admittedly poor quality, the original clippings weren't the best to begin with as I recall. If you get a chance to look over some of Beyer's work in hand, do so. The quality is excellent and the style(s) are almost always a continuation of some of those classics used by Fugger, Kornbrath, Bruehl, Griebel and others from that time.

I was favorably impressed with the fairly faithful realism shown in his game animals when compared to those of some other more famous engravers. Sure, they're somewhat stylized and idealized, but at least the basic animal physiology is realistic as well as attractive. I do some scrimshanding and so am somewhat sensitive to the aesthetic detail as well as the authentic detail, and I only wish that I could be proud to say that my work was equally realistic-looking. It's obvious to me that his work was worthy of the G&H label.
Regards, Joe