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Per research by Herbert Houze in “Colt Factory Engravers of the Nineteenth Century,”Young moved to Hartford sometime after his return to the U.S. on June 4, 1853. He had previously first come to the U.S.,
New York City specifically, in the company of engraver John Marr on September 16, 1852 but stayed only briefly during that visit. It was Marr who encouraged Young to ultimately move to Hartford, and it was in Hartford that Young made a name for himself and executed much of his best work. It is presumed that Young became Colt’s primary engraving contractor after that position was created in 1855, and he remained
in the position until he made a return visit to Germany with his family from July 1858 to September 1861. After returning to Hartford during the Civil War, he was employed at Colt as a “pistolmaker” and appears
to have established his own independent engraving shop in Hartford
by late 1863 and remained there until late 1869 when he moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, and became the primary engraver for Smith & Wesson. Over his career, he was responsible for many of the best engraved American firearms of the 19th century, including masterpieces
presented at the World’s Fairs. Wilson has calculated that Young’s shop included seven additional employees based on the number of revolvers engraved and the number and length of the working days. We know that Georg H. Sterzing, Herman Bodenstein, Augustus Grunewald, John Marr, and others also engraved for Colt during at least portions of the same period as Young. Exactly how engraving at Colt and in Young’s shop was assigned is unclear. Specific tasks may have been assigned to different engravers at least part of the time while the more deluxe examples may have been tasked to specific individuals like Young. The same “Saml Colt” inscriptions on the barrels and similar “COLTS PATENT” inscriptions on the frames are used on many engraved Colts for example, and Colt expert Herbert Houze believes Young was initially tasked with engraving trigger guards and back straps in 1853 while he would have been employed on
a trial basis before becoming a full staff member based on revolvers on which he attributes the primary engraving to John Marr. Many of the German-American engravers were recent immigrants who were trained at the Industrial School in Zella, Thuringia, Germany, under Ernst Moritz and
Gustav Ernst, so their styles are often very similar. It certainly would have been expedient to have newer engravers to execute the simpler work leaving more time for the head engravers to focus on the more complex designs. By the time this revolver was engraved in 1854, it is clear Young’s work had received significant attention at Colt and he had moved on from menial tasks to grander work. In the included January 2, 1968, letter on Colt Industries Inc. letterhead from historical consultant R.L. Wilson states that this revolver was Gustave Young engraved and is featured on pages 86-89 of “Samuel Colt Presents” and “it was this finely engraved pistol which was the key in initially identifying the style and the quality of work of Colt engraver Gustav[e] Young (active c. 1852-1895). In addition to reproducing two detailed photographs of #97516/’, SCP also reproduced
a unique serial number list which was the original billing of Young and
his shop for work covering ‘4 Weeks ending the 23rd Septr 1854.’ #97516/’ was one of the serial numbers of Colt Navy and Pocket pistol listed on this important document.”
Not All Art is Framed