Masterful Marlin Engraving

Master engravers whose work has graced the gun metal of Colts and Winchesters also did beautiful work for Marlin, but these engraved rifles don’t seem to grab the spotlight like the others.

Companies like Marlin and Savage produced fewer engraved rifles than those by the likes of more widely-recognized companies but their engraving equaled or at times surpassed them in beauty allowing collectors to get a world class lever gun for a significantly less investment.

Marlin’s engraving program is cloaked in mystery. Little information is available, leaving one chapter in William Brophy’s “Marlin Firearms: A History of the Guns and the Company That Made Them” as the best source of basic information on engraved Marlins. Even Brophy concedes that company inquiries are often fruitless because of a lack of factory records.

That said, let’s look at what is known about the company’s various levels of engraving, the costs, who mostly did the work and check out some fantastic engraved Marlin rifles that will be available in Rock Island Auction Company’s Aug. 15-17 Premier Auction. The artistry of most of these pieces is attributed to Conrad Ulrich.

This extremely scarce game panel master engraved special order deluxe Model 1893 with three-barrel set is a tremendous offering, with oak leaf and acorn clusters and borders surrounding a game scene of a bull and cow moose on the left side of the receiver and an elaborate “WV” monogram on the right side. The 18-inch barrels are chambered in .25-36 Marlin, .38-55 WCF and .32-40 WCF.

Marlin Engraved Rifles: The Beginning

Conrad Ulrich studied under Gustave Young at Colt before moving on to Winchester but also doing work for others, like engraving Ballard rifles for John Marlin. When Marlin started his own company, he hired Ulrich as full-time engraver where he did nearly all the engraving between 1881 and 1910.

Early on, the company didn’t identify the grade of engraving on the Model 1881 rifle but they did appear similar to the engraving seen on the Winchester Model 1876 to include game scenes, borders and scrolls with minimal background work like stipling or punch dots.

This special order deluxe Marlin Model 1881 has factory engraving attributed to Master Engraver Conrad Ulrich. Only about 20,500 of these rifles were made, most in standard configuration, so this engraved deluxe example is a scarcity. It has a game scene of a buck on the left side of the receiver and a doe scene on the right. Both have simple gadrooned borders and are surrounded by simple but masterfully executed scrollwork.

With Conrad Ulrich on board, standard patterns were created and introduced with the Model 1889. An 1896 catalog listed engraving for $5 and up. The following year, prices were listed by grade but no designs or definitions of engraving grades were provided. By 1899, the catalogue included illustrations of engraving and checkering patterns available.

This factory engraved, deluxe Marlin Model 1889 was manufactured in 1894. The rifle has factory No. 3 engraving featuring a buck and doe scene on the left side of the receiver ringed by near full-coverage floral scroll and border. The right side is fully covered by scrollwork.

Engraved Rifles: Marlin’s Costs and Grades

The lowest grade of engraving was the simplest, No. 1 offered scroll engraving, borders and an animal game scene on the left side. Next was No. 2, with greater coverage on the receiver, barrel, forearm tip and buttplate engraved with a game scene on the left side with various animals like moose, deer or elk. No. 3 engraving utilized more elaborate patterns and backgrounds across the gun.

This Marlin Ballard rifle is custom configured and features a factory engraved game scene of a running buck on the left side and a bear on the right. These scenes are surrounded with near full coverage floral scrolling. It is equipped with a Winchester heavy octagon barrel in .32-40 WCF. The rifle has a Schuetzen-style buttplate.

No. 5 level engraving offered elaborate scrollwork and figures in relief, offering a higher level of embellishment. The No. 5 level of engraving was divided into four sub-grades gradually increasing in adornment with one that included oak leaf and acorn engravings while another offered gold inlays on the hammer, lever, bolt, receiver and barrel. Marlin added the No. 5-4 sub-grade in 1900 with game scenes relief engraved on each side with one of which was often the “Monarch of the Dell” elk on one side.

This fresh for public sale, never before photographed Marlin Model 1893 is gold inlaid and has the grade No. 5-3 Marlin engraving, drawing on the artistry of Master Engraver Conrad Ulrich. Approximately 10 of Marlin’s No. 5-4 engraving grade featuring the “Monarch of the Dell” are seen to every one Marlin with the No. 5-3 pattern. This rifle has engraving on nearly all the surfaces of the action and its components. A detailed scene of a bull and cow moose in a forest decorates the left side of the receiver while the right side of the receiver has a bounding whitetail buck. Both scenes are surrounded by highly attractive oak leaf and acorn clusters on a punchdot background and a snarling wolf is engraved on the bottom of the action. Gold inlays surround the game scenes and accent the oak leaves. The hammer, trigger guard and breech also bear gold accents.

No. 10 grade engraving has elaborate embossed figures of grape leaves along with animal game scenes in oval patterns on both sides. No. 15 grade and No. 40 grades of engraving were at the top end of the engraving pyramid, with No. 40 serving as a request for something special of the highest quality. These three levels included inlays in their price with catalogues pricing grade No. 10 at $50 and No. 15 at $66, while No. 40 was priced based on the special request.

Marlin shotguns were manufactured in four grades – A, B, C and D. Grade D had Circassian walnut stock and the highest level of checkering on the stock as well as the highest grade of engraving and gold-plated screws.

This Model 30 slide action shotgun has outstanding Grade D panel scene relief engraving with four grouse featured in a large scene on the left side of the receiver and a single woodcock on the right side with a pair of grouse in a small oval above on the bolt.

Engraved Marlin Rifles: A Second Ulrich

Gun engraving had family dynasties in the 19th century. Cuno Helfricht, who took over at Colt after Young left, and his father both worked for Colt. Conrad Ulrich apprenticed under Gustave Young at Colt and worked alongside his brothers. Conrad was one of three brothers – along with Herman and John -- who worked for Winchester at one time or another.

This Grade C factory engraved Marlin Model 21 slide shotgun has a large game scene of four mallards taking flight on the left side of the receiver and a pair of pigeons fly on the bolt on the right side with attractive scrolling on both sides of the gun.

A son also joined Conrad Ulrich in the business. Conrad’s son Alden George Ulrich apprenticed under his father at Marlin starting at age 17. He engraved for the company from 1905 until leaving for Winchester in 1919 where he worked until he died in 1949. Conrad Ulrich died in 1925.

This special order No. 3 relief engraved and silver inlaid Marlin Model 1893 has large scrolls and gadrooned borders while the trigger guard and lever have less profuse scrolling. A game scene on the left shows a grazing elk while the right has full coverage scrolling on the right surrounding a small pinwheel at the top and a fan pattern at the rear of the loading gate. The engraving shows similarities with the engraving on Winchester’s “One of 1,000” and other highly engraved rifles that were frequently executed by Conrad Ulrich’s brother John who learned from him when both worked at Colt.

Engraved Marlins for Sale

While engraved Colts and Winchesters often receive a lot of the attention and are highly valued by collectors, the engraved Marlins and the mastery of Conrad Ulrich shouldn’t be ignored. These beautiful guns definitely deserve a prime spot in any gun room and they are available in Rock Island Auction Company’s Aug. 15-17 Premier Auction.

This stunning Marlin Deluxe Model 1893 that was sold by Rock Island Auction in December 2024 has the “Monarch of the Dell” on the left side of the receiver and is based on the painting “Monarch of the Glen” by Sir Edwin Landseer. The panel scene is highlighted by gold inlaid borders.