Remington Society of America - journals/engraved

by Gene Myszkowski

The story of engraved Remington firearms begins with the company's earliest arms for the civilian market in the years just preceding the Civil War. These included the Remington-Beals 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Model Pocket Revolvers, the Remington-Rider Double-Action Pocket Pistol, and the Rider Parlor Pistol. Simple scroll engraving was put on some of these pistols, but the names of the engravers are lost to history. The company began producing large frame martial revolvers in late 1860, and occasionally some of these were embellished with various degrees of factory engraving.

Eliphalet Remington II, the founder of E. Remington & Sons died in July 1861, and his three sons took over management of the business. The practice of engraving standard production pistols and revolvers continued through the war years and in the years that followed. As the company began selling rifles, some of these were also engraved - sometimes with just a few embellishments, and sometimes profusely engraved to impress the recipient.

By all accounts, he was a practical man, and rarely gave away embellished firearms to influential persons - unlike his competitor, Col. Samuel Colt, who brought marketing and showmanship to a whole new level. Compared to Colt, Remington was new at marketing, having entered the pistol and revolver field in the late 1850s. The number of embel- lished and engraved revolvers given away by Colt eclipse the very few given away by Remington.
The very few production records that still exist from the 19th century do not mention engravers, nor do they tell us whether Remington had in-house engravers working in Ilion. It is highly probable that E. Remington & Sons did employ factory engravers, and kept them busy engraving all sorts of pistols, rifles and double-barrel shotguns. E. Remington & Sons issued full catalogs and Illustrated Price Lists beginning in 1870. Only scarce refer- ence was ever made to engraved firearms, and it is a wonder

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how a customer would ever know that highly engraved arms were available from America's Oldest Gunmaker. It would not be until the 1890s that Remington Arms Company catalogs would offer an array of engraved Model 1894 shotguns. After the turn-of-the-century, Remington began offering different grades of autoloading shotguns (later called the Model 11), Model 10 pump-action shotguns, autoloading high-power rifles (later called the Model 8), and Model 12 slide-action 22 rifles. The workmanship, the quality of wood, and the degree of engraving went up with the grade of firearm... along with the price.
Remington 1910 Catalog

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The story of engraved Remington firearms begins with the company's earliest arms for the civilian market in the years just preceding the Civil War. These included the Remington-Beals 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Model Pocket Revolvers, the Remington-Rider Double-Action Pocket Pistol, and the Rider Parlor Pistol. Simple scroll engraving was put on some of these pistols, but the names of the engravers are lost to history. The company began producing large frame martial revolvers in late 1860, and occasionally some of these were embellished with various degrees of factory engraving.		Eliphalet Remington II, the founder of E. Remington & Sons died in July 1861, and his three sons took over management of the business. The practice of engraving standard production pistols and revolvers continued through the war years and in the years that followed. As the company began selling rifles, some of these were also engraved - sometimes with just a few embellishments, and sometimes profusely engraved to impress the recipient.

By all accounts, he was a practical man, and rarely gave away embellished firearms to influential persons - unlike his competitor, Col. Samuel Colt, who brought marketing and showmanship to a whole new level. Compared to Colt, Remington was new at marketing, having entered the pistol and revolver field in the late 1850s. The number of embel- lished and engraved revolvers given away by Colt eclipse the very few given away by Remington.		The very few production records that still exist from the 19th century do not mention engravers, nor do they tell us whether Remington had in-house engravers working in Ilion. It is highly probable that E. Remington & Sons did employ factory engravers, and kept them busy engraving all sorts of pistols, rifles and double-barrel shotguns. E. Remington & Sons issued full catalogs and Illustrated Price Lists beginning in 1870. Only scarce refer- ence was ever made to engraved firearms, and it is a wonder

The Remington Society of America

An organization dedicated to the collection and study of Remington firearms, ammunition and history