Input on a J&S Hawken buffalo patchbox engraving

[CooleyS]

Work continues on the J&S Hawken…I’ve studied as many of the original animal engravings on early firearms as I could find and came up with this buffalo based on Caitlin’s drawing. I tried to keep the fanciful characterization of a buffalo, but it’s actually harder than I thought to make a “folksy” buffalo look good!  I’m fairly happy with how it turned out but it feels like it’s missing something. I would ask for any input on anything I should add to the buffalo or lid. A couple of bunches of grasses around the feet? More shading anywhere? I will be adding a pineapple finale engraving and a border to the rest of the patchbox soon, so the it’s not completed by any means. Any thoughts?

[Daryl]

Borders?

[CooleyS]

Borders?

Yes, I will be adding a border to main body of the patchbox as well as the pineapple finale. Are you suggesting a border on the lid around the buffalo?

[Bob Roller]

Looks better than ANYthing I can do.I can draw idiotic characters on paper and many years ago I did a bit of simple engraving when I put my last name on the outside of the lock plate and then engraved a banner around it.NOW I am 88 and have a right shoulder that would not allow me to do that banner or anything else.
Bob Roller

[Robby]

To me its the eyes that give it that cartoonish, whimsical look. I would experiment with pupil placement and have at it.Other than that, grass, borders and some squiggles here and there, good luck, I like your Buffalo.
Robby

[smylee grouch]

Looks like neat work Cooley. Curious if the original you may have used for inspiration had borders?

[CooleyS]

Looks like neat work Cooley. Curious if the original you may have used for inspiration had borders?

On the first patchbox, there is no border within the lid, but there is a border on the main body of the patch box and I will use this same style of border. I took this picture off a previous post in ALR.
On the second oval patchbox, again no border. Credit for the photo goes to John Baird-Hawken Rifles, Mountain man’s choice. 

[Habu]

CooleyS, your engraving of the buffalo fits right in with the two original buffalo-engraved Hawken patchboxes I've seen.  Both of the originals (and every other animal-engraved Hawken/Campbell patchbox I can think of) has some sort of "background".  In the deer patchbox you posted, it would be the plants, ground under the deer, etc--something like that might be what you're thinking.

I'm probably overlooking something somewhere, but the only animal-engraved Hawken patchbox I can recall offhand that has a border engraved on the door is a brass-mounted "squirrel rifle" presumably made for the local trade.  It has a couple of deer, with a border (like on the deer patchbox you posted) engraved on the door.  It always looked "odd" to me and I wonder if this was why? 

[smylee grouch]

I'm wondering if those original boxes were engraved at the Hawken shop or purchased from some supply back east?

[Curtis]

CooleyS, Here are a couple of photos of a similar capbox engraving I did a while back, also based on Caitlin’s drawing.  I didn't add any background, bud did some simple borders etc.






Curtis

[flatsguide]

Grass as you mentioned, maybe a couple of lines for a horizon something to ‘ground’ the buff. Nice inletting.
Cheers Richard