General: Engraving

[Dean Brevit]

Hello all,
Within the grades a scene/theme looks to be the norm, how many variations of the same theme were used.

Regards,
Dean (the other Dean)

[Dean Romig]

Dean, there are several factors which may affect a variation of a particular grade's "theme". Some of the factors are; an individual engraver's personal artistic style, a buyer may have requested 'extra engraving', but there may be other factors. It has been my experience that an engraver's personal artistic style is the one factor which stands out more than others. The DHE 28 ga. that you showed us pictures of has the engraving style most often attributed to Anschutz where his birds and dogs showed very little shading or contour (if any at all) of musculature or feather pattern or flow of fur and hair.

[Dean Brevit]

Thanks Dean, I have looked at many (more so in the past weeks) guns apart from small hand work details the themes are very much the same, so the answer is based on how many engravers were working, each having his own spin on a theme.

Thanks,
Dean

[Dean Brevit]

If Anschutz is the syle on the one you noted, do you now who's work this is.
Thank,
DB

[Dean Romig]

In my opinion that is an example of Anschutz' engraving.

Further - on engraving 'interpretation' - the game scenes were generally engraved by the "chief engraver" (the engraver in charge of the engraving department) while the less artistically demanding engraving, that of simple line and scroll, was done by apprentices and 'journeymen'. The theme of an engraving motif for the individual grades was predetermined by Parker Bros. and the superintendant of the gun works and variation from the motif was not allowed except by special order of the customer and on the higher grades (probably above grade 5) was often left up to the chief engraver. Floor plate engraving varied quite a lot on grade 4 (more rarely on grade 3) and up and this was probably at the chief engraver's discretion.

[Russ Jackson]

Dean And Dean ; This is the gun I took down to the Vintagers and all of the Professional eyes there agreed ,this is a Runge engraved gun.A different style and also a Remington era gun .

[Dean Romig]

That's right Russ, and I was one of them. Fabulous CHE :envy:

Did I mention I want that gun?

[Russ Jackson]

Thanks Dean; I appreciated all of the extra info. I received from the members and also Jim Thinney, I figured if I posted a few pics. and some of the others did ,it would be a great way to compare the different gravers works ,I think it is a very interesting facet of Parker collecting ! Ps. Yes you did !!

[Dave Suponski]

Russ,Ya gotta stop showing that gun. You're killin me..:nono: Dean,already has a C Grade it should really come back home to CT..:rolleyes:

[Dean Romig]

[QUOTE=Russ Jackson;7624]I think it is a very interesting facet of Parker collecting !QUOTE]

Being perfectly honest, I find the engraving to be the most interesting facet (for this collector) of Parker Gun research and collecting. I've always been interested in art in just about any medium and Parker engraving certainly has my full attention.

[Russ Jackson]

Dave ; This one is going to stay in Pa.at least for a while ,I planned on carrying it for Pheasants and Grouse this season ,so far I haven't taken it ,I have been carrying that little PH 20 and I am shooting it so well ,I hate to change ! Just not enough days to use them all !:)

[Russ Jackson]

Dean; I wish I had access to the higher grades ,to really sit down with a glass and really examine them ,the high grades that were for sale at the Vintagers ,the only place ,I have actually seen one in person ,you sort of browse by and can't really study them,and sorry to say the highest grade in my small collection is the C !

[Dean Romig]

Russ, if you never get a higher grade than that little CHE you may still have attained nirvana with that one.

[John Dunkle]

Dean; I wish I had access to the higher grades....you sort of browse by and can't really study them,and sorry to say the highest grade in my small collection is the C ! The Engraving has always fascinated me as well - so I'll throw this out as an idea for discussion... We have a lot of Sub-forums here - and I don't see why a "Parker Engraving" forum wouldn't fit?

For that, if some folks have Parkers of any Grade - they can post pictures of the engraving there? As well - if folks have higher end guns and don't want to post them under their own name - they can send them to one of us privately and have us post them as "reference"?

My view is there are some pretty spectacular Parkers of all grades out there amongst the Forum folks with some wonderfully executed engraving that we can all learn from..? But - in the "General" forum, they tend to get buried pretty quickly. And in a topic specific forum - thread titles could be posted such as:

Parker CH Engraving
or
Parker DHE Engraving
or.. Well - you get the idea... As folks flip through that forum, they can find their grade - era - and contribute to the knowledge base...

Anyway - just thinking out loud...??

John

[Russ Jackson]

John; It sounds like more work for you ,but if you are up to it ,I think it is a great idea !!!! Hopefully guns that have been tucked away ,will resurface and maybe even the folks that own them will get them out and enjoy them again as they had when they were new to them ! Now ; Lets see , I will need a more comfortable chair at my computer for those long winter nights ............:corn:

[Dave Fuller]

You can put these D-Grade dogs in there...

[John Dunkle]

Hi Russ..!!

The only extra work is at the very beginning as we figure out the format? In other words - and again - thinking out loud....

The way I envision it is that folks can post well done pictures of the engraving of their Parkers. They can also post what they know, think, etc. The rest of us can add what we think is of interest/value or of significance.

So - from my end - I just said a mouthful - as I need to prepare a couple of "for example" threads which entail:

1) Setting up that dedicated forum;

2) Be certain that the photo abilities of my software are up to the task (resizing, album structures, etc...)

3) Author an "about this forum" document - the Engraving Forum would be about the Engraving/engravers and NOT a place to critique whether a Parkers receiver Case Coloring is original vs. restored - or critique the Parker itself. It's about the engraving...

4) Have folks contribute anonymously and allow a channel for that. For example, I believe there are few Parker collectors who want to contribute to the knowledge base anonymously - BUT - want to remain anonymous. And that's OK - as "we" - the community - are only able to gain from their selfless sharing of their pieces, so we have to be careful about those discussions/comments.

In all of this - my work is trivial compared to the potential benefits - and all I'd ask is that those who would enjoy a forum such as that - just help me out with setting up both the content (by posting pictures and adding to the discussion) - as well as helping new folks understand the "ground rules" where it's not a "critique" forum, but rather a research forum, if you know what I mean?

As I'm writing this post, before posting it - I just noticed Dave's post - Yep sort of exactly like that - THANKS DAVE!!!

Best to you Russ - and my thanks for your consistent support and kind words!

John

[Bill Murphy]

Russ' gun is one of the more scary Parkers I have examined. I sure would not have wanted to miss it at the Vintagers and didn't. What a shotgun.

[Dave Suponski]

Thanks Bill,Russ brought his gun to the tent as Danny and I decided to finally go walk the dealers tables and we missed it...:banghead:

[Russ Jackson]

Dave; I am just getting back on , I plan to attend next year ,I'll drag her along again ,if we get a chance we will pass her around and all shoot a bit !

[Dave Suponski]

OK Russ..I will look forward to it.

[Dean Brevit]

Russ,
Very nice Parker, Thanks, engraving=good pictures, good ref.

[Dean Brevit]

John,
Would a , Sticky: Engraving, not work, I have no idea how a web site works or how to do it.

Regards,
Dean (again, the other one : )

[John Dunkle]

John,
Would a , Sticky: Engraving, not work, I have no idea how a web site works or how to do it.... Regards, Dean (again, the other one : )Hi the "Other" Dean..! ;)

I could make a single thread a "sticky" - which is a great suggestion! However, as the thread becomes longer (multiple pictures/grade engraving/etc. - I think it may be too cumbersome to follow, as there would probably be multiple discussions occuring in that single thread...

As well - it's been my experience that the longer the thread becomes - the less folks are willing to read (typically only the last few pages), so a lot of good info might be lost..

Anyway - just my rambles before heading off to work this Saturday. I'll check back when I arrive home this afternoon, OK?

My Best Always!

John

[calvin humburg]

A really wonderful gun Russ! best ch

[David Dwyer]

Dean
I agree completely. I like small gage, long barreled guns but the engraving is the sizzle. The current thread on floor plates started by Ray is the best ever.
I started out collecting C grades but have switched to A grades because of the exquisite quality and variety of the birds.
David