The stylization of animal depiction can most probably be dated through 1920 on Breech Loading Guns. The influence of Harry Kell on English Game scene engraving begins in the following decade. His increasingly natural game scenes raised the expectations of clients and as a result forced the rest of the gun engravers to strive for greater realism. General improvements in photography allowed for action photos rather than merely post hunt trophies laid out before the seated shot.Prior to this there were a number of Issues which restricted the ability of a poorly educated city dweller who happened to work as a gun engraver from producing life like depiction.
Ignorance/Lack of formal art training
Lack of live natural subjects
Apprenticeship system which merely passed down the prior generations style .
Lack of financial incentives.
Sometimes even the best Intentions get screwed up. I worked on my neighbours Turkey Farm just south of Birmingham in the 1960's. A gun engraver asked to photograph Turkeys for a project he was working on. "Not the white ones but the Natural dark ones". I escorted him to a pen of large Norfolk Bronze catering size birds where he clicked away and left to return to his shop. I don't know for sure but believe his labors may have resulted in the gun shown on page 152 of Geoffrey Boothroyds Sidelocks & Boxlocks. Beautiful pair of Turkeys, Tom at full strut ,plumage correct however completely devoid of any beard as these had been bred out of Domestic turkeys.!!!
Prior to Kell the following were Standard
Tiger=Shop cat with stripes
Leopard=Shop cat with dots
Pheasant=As hanging in butchers shop,rotated 90 degress add two legs.
It has to be said that Scotts birds were an exception as one of the Scotts took formal art classes and copied accurately from contemporary lithographs made by wildlife artists of the day.
Doug Tate has an excellent book British Gun Engraving which illustrates the transition to realism.
