Hi, All!
Brand new member here with a question about an engraved firearm which is a bit of a mystery to me. I am hoping the knowledge base here will help me understand how this firearm came to be in its current configuration.
The gun is a Colt Vest Pocket which was shipped from the Colt factory in 1920. The Colt factory letter authenticates this Colt shipped with a nickel finish but does not mention engraving. The style of engraving performed on this Colt is very much like the style of W. H. Gough. Gough was an engraver for Colt during this time period; however, he worked remotely outside of the Colt factory both in Philadelphia and New York and guns were occasionally sent to him for engraving by Colt without complete documentation. I suspect this gun was engraved by either Gough or one of the engravers working in his shop. There are a number of Colt Vest Pockets known to follow the same engraving pattern as this gun so perhaps Gough designed the template and his team executed pattern engraving.
What I am trying to figure out is whether or not it is likely, or even possible, for this gun to have been engraved after it was finished in nickel. From my research it seems like it would be very challenging to engrave the gun after applying the nickel finish, but I am not certain. I would really appreciate anyone's opinion on this question. As you can see from the photograph there are both shallow shading cuts as well as much deeper cuts into the metal.
Thank you so much for any information and opinions you may be able to provide. I am happy to answer any questions or provide other photos if that would be helpful. Again, thank you!
Brand new member here with a question about an engraved firearm which is a bit of a mystery to me. I am hoping the knowledge base here will help me understand how this firearm came to be in its current configuration.
The gun is a Colt Vest Pocket which was shipped from the Colt factory in 1920. The Colt factory letter authenticates this Colt shipped with a nickel finish but does not mention engraving. The style of engraving performed on this Colt is very much like the style of W. H. Gough. Gough was an engraver for Colt during this time period; however, he worked remotely outside of the Colt factory both in Philadelphia and New York and guns were occasionally sent to him for engraving by Colt without complete documentation. I suspect this gun was engraved by either Gough or one of the engravers working in his shop. There are a number of Colt Vest Pockets known to follow the same engraving pattern as this gun so perhaps Gough designed the template and his team executed pattern engraving.
What I am trying to figure out is whether or not it is likely, or even possible, for this gun to have been engraved after it was finished in nickel. From my research it seems like it would be very challenging to engrave the gun after applying the nickel finish, but I am not certain. I would really appreciate anyone's opinion on this question. As you can see from the photograph there are both shallow shading cuts as well as much deeper cuts into the metal.
Thank you so much for any information and opinions you may be able to provide. I am happy to answer any questions or provide other photos if that would be helpful. Again, thank you!
