"THE TWENTIES" Guns

[Phil Coggan]

These are taken from a pair of guns I engraved in the 80's they're called "The Twenties" and are 20g.
The scenes are taken from that era. The portrait below was from the front page of "Vogue" magazine.The portrait from the other gun was posted some months back.
Apologies for the quality of these pictures, it's a scan from an original but not perfect photograph i've done my best with them but this is as good as I can get them.
The last picture is of the trigger guard and depicts an art' nouveau table lamp.

Phil

[rick woodward]

Pure class ! I am a fan of art nouveau. Interestingly, even blown up i can see the beauty of this woman and the perfection of your execution. My main desire is bulino. I simply must focus and strive to teach myself. Thank you for the continuing inspiration. rickw

[ron]

hi Phil.. just fantastic , your work is always the best that i have seen and thanks for giving us here on this forum the pleasure of viewing your great work , i envy you , i wish i could do the belino like you do , but my main business is colts and rarely do they request belino scenes .. thanks again ron p

[Dave London]

Thanks Phil
Just beautifull work, keep them coming

[Phil Coggan]

Originally Posted by rick woodward

My main desire is bulino. I simply must focus and strive to teach myself. rickw

Give it a go Rick, it's time consuming but very rewarding and it's easier than scroll

Originally Posted by ron

my main business is colts and rarely do they request belino scenes

One day Ron....One day

Phil

[joseph engraver]

Phil, your work is in a class by its self. I was wondering, after the layout is complete and you begin to cut. Do you work from the lightest cuts to the deepest or do you sort of skip around tthe figure cutting here and there until it is done to your satisfaction?

[Phil Coggan]

Joseph,
I usually work from light to dark, having said that, it's a case of, as you said, skipping around until it looks right.

Phil

[Chapi]

If bulino is easier than scroll, why do we shade scrolls with lines instead of bulino style? I have always wondered that, but especially now that I am struggling with line shading. I am thinking the answer has to do with tradition, but is there any other reason?

BTW, the work is inspiring as always Mr. Coggan, thank you for sharing it with us!

[Phil Coggan]

Chapi,
I think your confusing bulino with just dots, it's also with lines. The picture incorporates the two.

Phil

[Phil Coggan]

These guns were just two out of a handfull that after hardening were over polished by someone in the factory, in fact about 30% of the engraving was removed! They had to be annealed, re-engraved, re-hardened and then polished this time by myself. Here's some more pics.

Phil

[SVD]

Astonishing that you were not only able to achieve this level of detail but that you were able to do it twice!

Is it a lot harder to re-do / repair this kind of work or to do it originally? To me the repair seems harder because you have to not only do the very precise work, you also have to match it to the work that's already there.

[Phil Coggan]

Steve, it's a lot more difficult to repair/re-do work. The problem is keeping it looking fresh.

Phil

[Steve Lindsay]

That is terrible that someone over polished. It must have been no fun at all to repair. In a bad case I would think it would be almost easier to start over rather than trying to fix and re-do.

Steve

[Phil Coggan]

Steve,
There were probably six guns that had to be re-engraved, another set of six for an Italian needed re-engraving but were'nt, they were given to him as they were, he probably blamed me for having such a light hand

Phil

[Ddbltrbl]

Phil,
I am totally in awe of your work! Very tastfully done. I think I've fallen in love with the young lady on the first post! Please continue to share your art with us.

[Phil Coggan]

Originally Posted by Chapi

If bulino is easier than scroll, why do we shade scrolls with lines instead of bulino style? I have always wondered that, but especially now that I am struggling with line shading. I am thinking the answer has to do with tradition, but is there any other reason?

Sorry, I don't think I answered your question properly.
Dot work is easier than lines because there's less chance of going too deep or missing the line or slipping.
Scroll can be shaded with dots with great detail but it takes about ten times as long and does'nt look so clean and sharp,
Hope that answers your question.
Phil

[Jordi]

Fabulous!!!

[JJ Roberts]

Phil...Beautiful execution on the 20's guns..thanks for sharing. You mentioned you got the idea of the portrait of the woman from Vogue Magazine..she reminds me of the American actress Myrna Loy. While watching the History channel last week they did a story on Captain F.C. Selous..he left England at the age of 19 with a big game rifle and a dream. I am going to eventually get Steve's sharpening device, and your template for the Bullino graver. Keep posting your beautiful work, and keep up the good work.

Yours truly,
JJ Roberts
Manassas, VA

[Phil Coggan]

Hi JJ,
It might well be Myrna Loy, but i've no recollection of it being so.

F.C. Selous was on one of the Holland & Holland African Hunter series that I did some years ago, I also posted a picture of his portrait on the base of the action a few months back.

You will find Steve's 'Sharpening Device' a piece of cake!

Phil

[yellowmagic]

Originally Posted by Phil Coggan

Steve,
There were probably six guns that had to be re-engraved, another set of six for an Italian needed re-engraving but were'nt, they were given to him as they were, he probably blamed me for having such a light hand

Phil

I hate to tell you this Phil but I worked at the factory at Hollands and yours weren't the only ones that they polished out. I'm afraid to say their finishing isn't the best as they used polishing paper after hardening to clean the residues off instead of the rubber stuff that you get. That was about 10 years ago so things might have changed for the better.:willy_nilly:

[handengraverdave]

What amazing and swe inspiring artwork. Your level of artistry is really something to strive for in putting art especially from the twenties from old magazines onto any metal surface. You and a couple others who are doing scenes like this are rare I think. Very very good work.

David