Daryl,
What is the gun in the last picture of your last post? How I would love to see images of that whole gun! The artistry and skill of that engraver is extraordinary.
Roger
Roger, what is it about that specific gun that really jumps out at you? A lot of these guns look extraordinary to me and while I will never be an engraver, I am trying to learn to see what someone such as yourself sees, as best I can.
Regards,
James
James,
It is difficult to explain without a dissertation on ornamental design and engraving techniques. In brief, the engraver's work is of two parts. Designing the ornamental scrollwork and executing the design. Many engravers are better at one aspect than the other but the engraver in question was well versed in both. Many collectors focus on scenes and figures but most of us engravers judge by the scroll or other ornament such as oak leaf or acanthus. This is because, in many cases, the scenes and figures are often copied from established images and it is just a mater of technical skill to translate those images into engraving. The ornamental work is where the engraver can exercise his creativity (within the constraints of the client's budget). In the case of the Hiawatha/Adolph gun, the flow and development of the floral scrollwork shows an advanced understanding of ornamental design and how it is adapted to the multitude of contours of a gun's surfaces. The execution of the design using chisels, burins, and punches is equally skilled.
I'm afraid that all my verbiage above still does not answer your question. To do so I would need to create a PowerPoint with lines, circles, and arrows with annotation to point out all of the fine points and contrast them with images of other engraved guns of lesser skill and artistry. If we ever meet at a gun show, I may be able to give you some pointers. Until I can post images here without using Photobucket or something similar, I can only use words for explanation.
Regards,
Roger
