Louis Daniel Nimschke (July 4, 1832 – April 29, 1904) was a master firearms engraver of the 19th century who engraved over 5,000 firearms between 1850 and 1904 for Colt's Patent Fire Arms Co.,

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, Remington, Sharps,

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" in 1856 ...

, Henry, Manhattan Arms,

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and Stevens Arms.

Early life

Born in Germany in 1832, Nimschke moved to the United States in 1850 at the age of 18 and began engraving jewelry, silverware, watch cases and dog collars. Nimschke was trained in both the European style of engraving which was represented by fine delicate lines and the bolder American style characterized by his scrollwork.

Engraving

Unlike most engravers of the 19th century who worked directly for firearms manufacturers, Nimschke maintained his own shop in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and took work on a contractual basis. His main client was New York outfitter Schuyler, Hartley and Graham. When a special custom order that required utmost detail needed to be filled the firearms companies would commission Nimschke for the work. Ninschke engraved firearms for

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

Maria Christina of Austria Maria Christina Henriette Desideria Felicitas Raineria of Austria ( es, María Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena; 21 July 1858 – 6 February 1929) was the second queen consort of Alfonso XII of Spain. She was queen regent during the vacancy of th ...

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years ...

, Ben Thompson, and

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

, Emperor of France. Nimschke's work is on display at many museums throughout the world including the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

. Many engravers emulated his style, which has become known today as "Nimschke School" or "New York Style" of engraving.

References

External links

Colt Revolver engraved by Nimschke
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimschke, Louis 1833 births 1904 deaths American engravers German emigrants to the United States Gunsmiths