A fair criticism that has been laid about some of the engraving on older , thats pre 1900 guns , is that birds in game scenes look like bottles with wings .But it is a fair comment to say that the only pheasants and partridge many of these men had seen were those hanging up in the butchers window .
I don't think that's a great excuse... even though the depictions of birds that look like flying turnips is better than I could do. There was a real interest in ornithology in England in those pre-1900 years, and all one needed to do was go to a Museum or look in a book to see what most species of game birds looked like. Accurately cutting that image into steel would be the hard part. Audobon published his first book in 1827.
Daryl's E. Smith and Sons gun is beautiful.
