Make mine old time scroll engraving. Most dogs and birds done before WWII were very amateurish compared to today's almost too perfect versions. Yes there are a few exceptions, but too few. Scroll, of that period, is equal to or better than even the best today. How many flying turnips, birds and dogs with Barbie like proportions have you seen? Most if not almost all of the pre WWI fall into this category. Today bulino is to much like a photo for my taste. Art deco was a very short lived period of art and you either like it or hate it.

It mostly comes down to a difference in how engraving is view by the buyer. If you had a gun made in 1900 you had the staff engraver engrave the standard pattern. He was a skilled workman who was paid to do his standard work. If not doing guns he might be working in the jewelry trade or on silverware. You employed him at his job. Good workman like job to make you gun just as nice as your fellow shooters who had bought the same grade of gun. Most engraving jobs took a day or two at most. Look at the ledger book of Purdey where they list amount paid for engraving and you will see batches of gun done in what averages out to about a day or two for full coverage engraving. 10-20 hours total work at most for full scroll coverage. Engraving was an accessory like white wall tires or a radio on a new car. Maybe 10% of the gun value as an cost.

Today you "commission"" an engraver. The level of detail is only limited by your wallet and how fine the engraver can work under his microscope. You are not just getting a gun like you fellow shooter you are making a statement. You are creating "art" or at least the illusion of art. "Art" takes months to create and the number of hours can reach into the hundreds of hours. Now engraving can be the most expensive part of a gun maybe more than two thirds or more of the guns cost.

And gold on guns, like on teeth should be where you can not see it. Gold plated internal parts are fine to protect from rust. Gold teeth should be in the rear of the mouth or under porcelain. Not stuck up front or on the outside to make you look like Ochio Stinko of the Cincinnati Bengals or the local failed drug dealer with extra grill work. And no gun should get any multi colored enamel colors.

Last edited by KY Jon; 06/21/11 10:39 PM.