E.C. Prudhomme's ring holders

[sam]

I watched in awe as E.C. "Jack" Prudhomme engraved a ring in this aluminum holder when I was in his shop in 1980. When I commented on the fact that he didn't lay it out beforehand and just started cutting, he said "after 50 years I don't have to lay 'em out any more."

Jack's ring holder as well as his vise, hand gravers, chisels, chasing hammers, and other tools of his and his apprentice the late Wilton English now reside in my collection of old engraving tools. I will be a temporary custodian of them.

Jack was in a P51 squadron during WWII and the holder is marked PRUDHOMME and GERMANY '45.

The other holder is a beautiful antique patented in 1912. I only saw him use the aluminum one though.

 

[DakotaDocMartin]

It's nice that you have the collection. It would be nicer if there were a permanent repository of such items. An Engravers Museum or Engravers Hall of Fame where items could be seen on display for generations to come. Maybe you could talk the folks in Emporia, KS into such a place?

 

[scott99]

I love the Bing model, I have a habit of collecting old tools as they pass me by.

scott99

 

[mrthe]

Wow Beautyful!

 

[RDP]

Just love old tools, thanks for sharing Sam,

Richard.

 

[Roger Bleile]

An Engravers Museum or Engravers Hall of Fame where items could be seen on display for generations to come. Maybe you could talk the folks in Emporia, KS into such a place?

That sounds logical Doc but museums or collections owned by corporations have a history of receiving items gratis and then when times are tough, selling off the collection to survive or in some cases the company folds and things that are unappreciated by outsiders are shoveled into a dumpster. Any such collection should be in the hands of a non-profit organization with sufficient assets and appreciation of the collection to protect it in perpetuity. Examples would include the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, the NRA Museum, or similar.

RB

 

[tundratrekers@mtaonline.n]

Joseph put his tools in The Buffalo Bill Historical Museum in Wyoming.

michael

 

[Dave London]

Yep
I was there 3 years ago , and they are not on display.as a matter of fact nothing much engraved on display. Very disappointed

 

[Big-Un]

Sounds like we need to set up our own museum.

 

[Haraga.com]

Where has Joseph been. I liked his posts.

 

[Roger Bleile]

Joseph has left Mexico and now lives in Santo Stephano Di Magra, Italy. He still posts occasionally on engravingforum.com.

 

[monk]

ok, sam- i'll be the first to request more fotos of the collection you have. i'm really fascinated by these old tools, esp. those with a history.

 

[sam]

ok, sam- i'll be the first to request more fotos of the collection you have. i'm really fascinated by these old tools, esp. those with a history.

I'll take pics and start a new thread monk. I have a lot of Prudhomme stuff here.

 

[Willem Parel]

I also like the idea Sam and I think many more will.

 

[mdengraver]

How about a virtual engravers museum on the Engravers Café?

 

[scott99]

HI, going with medengravers idea, it might be fun to let other members take shots of their own collections to add to the virtual museum. Personaly I have a bunch of old interesting stuff,some of it going past 100 years old. The only problem I see is who will decide what deserves to be in the collection. I am sure some tools will be repeats from across the globe, also would it only be engraving tools or would clamps vises ect be included as well? Lots of cool stuff out there that just is not made anymore, simply because the hand work is no longer being done.

scott99

 

[mdengraver]

One way to do it would be to try to make the museum historical and as chronological as possibly showing an evolution.

 

[silverchip]

Wyoming would be the state,Cody to be correct.

Joseph put his tools in The Buffalo Bill Historical Museum in Colorado.

michael

 

[mdengraver]

I went to the Buffalo Firearms Museum in Cody last summer. It's quite the museum. The collections are very complete and well-displayed in every respect.

 

[monk]

thank you sam. as far as a foto repository on the forum, i think it's a good idea. just as is the historical fotos of engravers. if we show no interest in our own history and evolution, nobody else likely will.