If I had to gripe about Parkers, it would be that on too many guns the engraving is too faint. It doesn't help that my eyesight is getting more and more faint either but that's not Parker's fault. In any case, I wish the engraving were 50% deeper on these 'faint' guns.

To my knowledge, there is no definable period during which the execution of Parker engraving can be categorized as "light" vs. "deep". The style and the expression of the engraver more likely determined the execution of the final product; many of the early Parker engravers (c. early 1870s thru about 1905) were of English or German descent.

The British of course preferred extremely fine scrollwork with more caricature-like dogs, birds and animals, while the Germanic engravers preferred more bold and dramatic tableaus for their work.

The result is a curious but delightful mix of styles and expression - much of the "lightly cut" style similar to the British Boss, W.C. Scott and early Westley Richards type, while at the same time examples were done using the very deep cutaway and shading techniques seen on the c. 1900 A and AA Pigeon guns, and later the A-1 Specials of the post-1905-07 era.

Dan Cullity is a gunsmith/engraver of renown and resides in West Barnstable, Mass. He does excellent work and his engraving is exquisite.

Agreed about Dan, I thought he had retired from gun smithing...

I have had the distinct privilege and pleasure to examine a AAHE pigeon gun that had been badly rusted which Dan had completely and accurately been re-engraved. Absolutely amazing work.




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no Dean, he and his son Ryan are still very busy. He's still building guns from scratch and doing his engraving. Good guy, pricey but his work is outstanding.

You have things to consider here, apart from the possibility of fixing something that isnt really broke... You want to make sure that you are picking the right hand in doing recuts of Parker engraving. I have seen some horrible looking recuts on guns where someone clearly just ran around the main lines and did nothing to take up all the fine detail work.

Also, they must use the proper tools for the right look. Hammer and chisel hand cut work, just like originally done. Not that modern power tools in the right hands could have the right look. But it helps if the same process is used.

And there is the issue of annealing the plate for cutting and the. Re-hardening. Which in turn will result in the new case having to be aged back for aesthetic purposes. Unless carbide tools are used to cut through the old case.

Anyway... I would advise that it is likely more trouble than it is worth.


Regarding Turnbull's engraving pickup work, i had them do a trigger plate for me on a VH 12g that i was converted from single to double triggers. I had to fit up another trigger plate and all new screws. Some of the original walked border on the plate was wiped out. Their IN HOUSE engraver touched it up and made it look like it was completely original. Difficult to do on walked borders. The plate was then re-colored and i aged the colors back to blend in nicely with the 75% condition original frame.

All good points Brian - I agree.





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My feeling is unless you are perfectly satisfied with a gun you are better off selling it and purchasing what floats your boat. If you spend all that money on the engraving/re-coloring the gun will you then be perfectly satisfied???? Be honest with yourself. I know of plenty of collectors who have spent money improving a gun and where disappointed with the results and ended up selling the gun for a dollar loss.

Spot on Craig. Been there, done that..

As most who collect vintage Parkers know it takes a while to firmly establish your preferences. The less compromises the better. Gun collecting is emotional for most of us so the better you understand your preferences the fewer mistakes you will make. That being said we have all made poor choices but that's just the cost of a great hobby in my opinion. Good luck with your decision with respect to recuting the engraving. Craig