Wm. H. Gough - Parker Chief Engraver 1899 - 1911
 

Wm Gough (Chief engraver 1899 - 1911) was one of Parker’s best, most artistic engravers who was also a free-lance engraver, having done several wonderful engraving contracts for other gun manufacturers in the day.

Then the Stevens gun which showed up on FB today.

Last 4 pics are 147673 and then 149020....


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Thanks for posting, Dean! My 1904 guns are among my favorites.

He did his best work after moving to Philadelphia:)
The 1902 BHE is pretty nice also.

My 20 gauge Laird hammer gun...(Birmingham)..has the identical dog engraving. Didn't the son also engrave ?.........

Close Jerry - William was the son who followed in his father's footsteps at Parker Bros.

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So, based on the list that you posted, Dean (thanks!, BTW), a gun engraved in 1917-18 and 1922-23 might be engraved by either engraver or apprentice. It's clear to me that on guns I have (and have observed) that the hand that engraved DH grade guns in these two date ranges is completely different. I've always admired the 1918-range guns, especially the dog engraving, but on the 1922-range, the dogs are two-dimensional and with oversized, somewhat ill-place eyes.

Would my assumption about Runge engraving dogs on 1922 range guns be a safe one? What do you think?

(The top photo is a 1922 DHE 28 gauge and the bottom a 1918 DHE 20.)

No Garry, I don't believe those are done by Runge but rather by William Gough (he may still have been doing some engraving for Parker Bros. from time to time at that point) or by Frederick Anschutz, but most of Anschutz dogs IMO on C and below grades looked more cartoonish like Al Capp's Shmoos...





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Here are three guns from 171xxx to 190xxx. I believe they were all done by the same engraver. I really like this engraving period. Sorry about the picture quality just cell phone pictures.

Those are beauties, Craig. Certainly drawn from the pattern of the same hand. I wish we had a bit more information about engravers. My understanding is that patterns were made and then transferred to metal...and then "executed" by the engraver. I assume apprentices did some of the prep work and some scroll on the lower grades.

Again, that period you have examples from is one of the best to my eye. I wish the early 1920s were nearly as good.

I would think a true artist-engraver would only need to look at and study the “pattern” then engrave it free-style by hand.

Craig once again shows examples of Wm. Gough’s fine work.





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