Favorite scene engraving
 

This is a Baker Paragon which engraved is a style I like better than any: not just covered with fine scrollwork I can't see without reading glasses. An actual scene with restrained scrollwork on the edges. I like a lower percentage of scroll coverage that is bold combined with vibrant and strong images. Plus, dogs and birds that look realistic. The front English Setter, in particular has poised, latent energy in the depiction.
What say you?
Does anyone have guns with pictures they can post with scene engraving that they like?

Those, very likely Frank Mason, dogs on that Baker Paragon are some of the best.

I've always liked this rather cartoonish pigeon shooting scene on the Baltimore Arms Co. Trap Gun --

Attachment 90464

Jeffery.
Do a search on this site Who let out the dogs. I think you will see that we have explored this topic in the past.

Researcher, that's a lively scene, thanks!

Pictures and articles of several Parker Bros. hammer guns have been published in Parker Pages in years past of some very interestingly engraved guns. Guns like the "Cow Gun", and the "Chicken Thief Gun" submitted by Gary Carmichael, the "Trap Shoot Gun" submitted by Dave Suponski just a couple of years ago. These are wonderful guns and the engraving on them is very cartoonish but interestingly humorous at the same time.





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For somewhat selfish reasons, this is my favorite game scene, as I designed it and requested engraver Bob Strosin to engrave it:

That is a great scene! It captures a moment of energy and action, the fox twisting in his strike.

Your picture eminds me of an event I saw: I was fishing with bobber and minnow bait one time and I kept getting my bait robbed, as it turns out by a muskrat. Moments later, the muskrat jumped out of the water straight up and a loon chased it straight up out of the water. For a moment, those two resembled your scene here. Then, splash, then splash again. I was about as stunned as when you almost step on a grouse before they jump.

Also, I like the bold scrollwork and your design, it's a nice touch that the animals are in the foreground of the scrollwork.

That's beautiful work.

Thank you Jeff, but I can't take credit for the design of the scrollwork as it's of Bob Strosin's own design and what he call his "house scroll".

It's quite perceptive of you noticing the game scene appearing to be in the foreground, it was intended to add depth. I asked Bob Strosin to allow the game scene engraving to spill over his border lines. You can see that also on the sides of the frame of this Fox where a feather, a foot or floral leaves spill over a bit to bring depth to the scenes. In an effort to eliminate a static look to the games scenes, I requested he engrave images that depict movement. The direction of the birds, the barrel wedge engraving extending forward of the knuckle and the grain flow of the wood were all chosen and designed to lead the viewer's eyes out the business end of the gun and beyond.

"It's the itty bitty details that make the big, big difference."

Lefevers and LC Smiths lead the pack in engraving.

Agree 100%. Nothing better than the engraving on a Grade 5/Crown.

I agree with you mills.........charlie

One of my all-time favorites as well Jay. This is a 32" VR fully optioned 20.

My Lefever EE has nice engraving and the engineering and frame sculpturing design are the best. It's my favorite gun and the last one I'll part with. Yet I believe the Baker has better engraving, livelier and the figures and scene aren't restrained by an oval.

Beautiful engraving! Are the dogs full relief? Or cut in as line drawings?

Jeffrey C,

Early Paragons are wonderful guns. I have seen both a DeLuxe and an Excellencia that would make you cry, they were so detailed. The DeLuxe was signed by Mason...I haven't seen one since, sadly.

NDG

I would love to see pictures of the engraving of those two models! Does anyone here happen to have one?

Jeffery they are not relief style.

I realize I said Excellentia, I had W&C Scott on the brain when I said that. I'm forgetting at the moment what the other Baker grade name was...a step below DeLuxe. The gentleman who owned it asserted it was even rarer than the DeLuxe, but I wouldn't know.

Daryl H. could probably riff on Baker better than anybody...perhaps he'll chime in.

NDG

The entire scene is relief engraving. And the more wear, the better it looks because the deep background doesn’t have nearly the exposure to handling. The dogs, the trees, the fences, the rocks. Now,
Some guns have deeper engraving than others but I’ve never seen a 5 or a Crown that didn’t look realistic. And the dogs actually look like dogs, not cartoon characters scratched out on a piece of scrap paper over beers at a bar.

There seems to be a consensus who did the best engraving for LeFever, who was it?

Can only buy into half of that statement!!

I love these threads that show different engraving styles and agree the Lefever's had some of the best dog scenes of any American maker. I have shown this gun before but for those that may have missed it this CHE had one of my all time favorite deep relief scenes. The sides were cut in the same deep fashion.

edit

Being in Syracuse, New York, a lot of the Lefever engraving was likely done by Spangler and members of the Glahn family.

http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthr...ighlight=Glahn

Oh my Larry, that is spectacular !

I think this one is nice. Jbrown

.410 James?





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https://i.imgur.com/J1a57Uhl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/eoq22gzl.jpg

Wow, that is nice!

Does anyone know what was the equivalent Parker and Lefever grade compared to a Crown LC Smith in cost in 1915 or so? I remember seeing a chart on the Baker website at one time that showed all the classic maker's original cost by grade in a chart.

Apologize Mr. Romig, had to go back in courtroom. Yes, .410. Jbrown

I have a 1906 William Read & Sons catalog that gives the actual net selling prices instead of the much higher "list prices" that the companies put in their retail catalogs. Unfortunately it doesn't give L.C. Smiths in the higher grades. What I can produce --

Remington CEO-Grade..................$95.00
Parker Bros. Quality DHE...............$93.75
Lefever Arms Quality DE................$98.00
L.C. Smith Quality 3E....................$90.00

No Fox, Ithaca or Baker in the $90 price range.

Thanks! Does it show where the Baker Paragon falls? Below that price level?

Here is an LC Smith Quality 3

Here is a list of pricing for most doubles I have.

Thanks! That is a useful chart, it seems like there is a lack of direct crossover between brands in a lot of cases.

The chart is a fun item. The first one was developed by Don Hardin in the 1972 American Rifleman. Researcher is right. List prices, selling prices, selling prices for cash, and year often produced different prices for the same models. Don Hardin recently passed away and his article comparing various makers started it all for me.

Frank Mason was the Baker factory engraver for a decade or more, ending in about 1910. As has been pointed out, his dog work was very fine. The Paragon picture at the beginning of this thread is actually a Special Paragon. This was a Grade introduced in the early 1900s which was a step above a Paragon.

Thx for jumping in Daryl...

Is the Special Paragon marked as such? And what hallmarks distinguish it? Two dogs per side?

NDG

No, during the period of the Special Paragon the high grade guns were not marked as to grade. The Special Paragon had differences from the Paragon according to the catalogs and advertisements. The Special Paragon had a point pattern checkering, the single animal on the front end of the sideplate, the Baker name on the frame below the front end of the sideplate and a bit more engraving compared to Paragons of the same period. Wood on the Special Paragon was said to be an upgrade, but it is hard to distinguish wood quality between the grades. All , of course, were European walnut. Later, in the 700 or 800 serial number range, Baker again started marking the grade on the gun. Not sure why this change went either way.

Attached is a De Luxe quality gun, signed by Frank Mason.

https://i.imgur.com/b5QAm9C.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/fQDe21x.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6FaS3Qr.jpg

wow...wow wow.....charlie