joseph engraver
Elite Cafe Member
I can only speak of my own experience, and I can only give my opinion. Opinions are just that. Good art is not made for just for the sake of money. Pride, skill and brains must be involved.
Working with gold provides a rich opportunity to make money, especially simple line work. The price for this labor varies between engravers. The going rate in my studio was forty dollars per inch. A man came one day, asking if I could inlay the outlines of his 1886 Winchester in gold. It calculated out to 30 inches of simple straight lines of 15 thousand diameter wire costing me less than 50$.
When I total up the price the man groaned. When I told him that it did not include the gunsmith’s charges for assembling and refinishing, his shoulders slumped. He shook his head and said. “It’s more than I can afford, but I will do it. This gun is for my Grandson.†He was doing it for love, and I was doing it for money. Did I turn his rifle into a work of art? Not in the greatest stretch of the imagination. I did it for the much needed money.
I was in my prime when the State of Wyoming‘s 100th anniversary came along. Gun Companies, Knife makers, Artist and Saddle makers were entering the gold rush.
I expected to receive a commission from someone. Who? I did not care; none came. I wanted to celebrate the State that I grew to love, to be a part of its history. At the local pawn shop I bought a 3rd.generation S.A. Colt for 500 dollars and took it to my small studio, then used 100 dollars of fine gold to celebrate Wyoming’s Centennial. Here is the result of what was achieved for the pure love of just doing it. And the greatest satisfaction of all, I owned it. Cylinder, stock and barrel; I even signed it on the hammer in gold.
While working on this piece I continued experimenting. I wanted a more impressive richness to this work, meaning more gold. To accomplish this I decided to inlay the background on the frame and reverse the colors. If I were to do this again I would have made the scrolls a bit fuller, you live and learn. Not long after completing the project, an opportunity came along to give my wife Franca the chance to open a small gourmet restaurant. The Colt brought the necessary funds needed to do so. These are the few photos that I have that are reasonably sharp. I hope you like the work.
Working with gold provides a rich opportunity to make money, especially simple line work. The price for this labor varies between engravers. The going rate in my studio was forty dollars per inch. A man came one day, asking if I could inlay the outlines of his 1886 Winchester in gold. It calculated out to 30 inches of simple straight lines of 15 thousand diameter wire costing me less than 50$.
When I total up the price the man groaned. When I told him that it did not include the gunsmith’s charges for assembling and refinishing, his shoulders slumped. He shook his head and said. “It’s more than I can afford, but I will do it. This gun is for my Grandson.†He was doing it for love, and I was doing it for money. Did I turn his rifle into a work of art? Not in the greatest stretch of the imagination. I did it for the much needed money.
I was in my prime when the State of Wyoming‘s 100th anniversary came along. Gun Companies, Knife makers, Artist and Saddle makers were entering the gold rush.
I expected to receive a commission from someone. Who? I did not care; none came. I wanted to celebrate the State that I grew to love, to be a part of its history. At the local pawn shop I bought a 3rd.generation S.A. Colt for 500 dollars and took it to my small studio, then used 100 dollars of fine gold to celebrate Wyoming’s Centennial. Here is the result of what was achieved for the pure love of just doing it. And the greatest satisfaction of all, I owned it. Cylinder, stock and barrel; I even signed it on the hammer in gold.
While working on this piece I continued experimenting. I wanted a more impressive richness to this work, meaning more gold. To accomplish this I decided to inlay the background on the frame and reverse the colors. If I were to do this again I would have made the scrolls a bit fuller, you live and learn. Not long after completing the project, an opportunity came along to give my wife Franca the chance to open a small gourmet restaurant. The Colt brought the necessary funds needed to do so. These are the few photos that I have that are reasonably sharp. I hope you like the work.
Attachments
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top view wy colt.jpg -
gold colt.jpg -
bottom view wy colt.jpg
