As one of the nineteenth century’s most talented and prolific firearms engravers, Louis Daniel Nimschke's name is revered among historic arms and fine art collectors alike. Rock Island Auction Company's frequent slate of auction lineups include examples of Nimschke's most celebrated works.

The Black Beauty Colt Single Action Army revolver was engraved by L.D. Nimschke for Mexican President Jose Manuel del Refugio Gonzalez Flores.

Who was L.D. Nimschke?

Born in Germany in 1832, Louis Daniel Nimschke studied at the Industrial School in Zella, Thuringia, training under the direction of master artisans like Ernst Moritz and Gustav Ernst. Like many 19th century industrial artists from Western Europe, Nimschke traveled to America to ply his trade.

Nimschke established himself in New York in 1850, first setting up shop at 1860 Baltic St. in Brooklyn. He quickly developed a reputation for quality engraving, decorating everything from cufflinks, belt buckles, watches, and firearms. The United States was experiencing a period of rapid industrialization, creating an ideal opportunity for artisans to embellish and personalize the expanding influx of machine-made items hitting the market.

L.D. Nimschke collected hundreds of inked impressions in his scrapbook.

L.D. Nimschke became one of the country's pioneers in the arms engraving field, combining new factory techniques with traditional handcraftsmanship to develop what would become a distinctly American style. Nimschke made a name for himself as an independent firearms engraver before manufacturers like Colt began to offer their customers affordable factory engraving options.

In the 1860s, factory engraving was a rarity for gun manufacturers, like this exceptional factory engraved and silver plated New Haven Arms Co. Henry rifle. This example sold at RIAC in May 2025 for $411,250.

As a freelance artisan, L.D. Nimschke worked for a wide range of gunmakers, including giants like Colt, Smith & Wesson, Remington, Marlin, New Haven Arms Co., and Winchester, as well as less prominent manufacturers like Marston, Reid, Moore, Whitney, Spencer, Freund, D. Fish, A. G. Genez, and many others. Throughout his more than 50 year career, Nimschke personally engraved hundreds of firearms and directed the embellishment of thousands more.

As one of Nimschke’s crowning achievements, The Black Beauty revolver stands as an icon in the arms collecting world.

The L.D. Nimschke engraved Smith & Wesson No 1 1/2 second issue revolver pictured below is a fine example of the artist's work in the first half of his career. Manufactured between 1868 and 1875, the revolver is decorated with near full coverage engraving, featuring floral scroll with a punch dot background, rows of diamonds ending in flourishes of scroll on the sides of the barrel, and small areas of "basket weave" patterns on the barrel lug and top of the frame. Similar scroll patterns appear as smoke pulls in 'L.D. Nimschke: Firearms Engraver' by R.L. Wilson on pages 42 and 95.

A deluxe cased L.D. Nimschke engraved Smith & Wesson No. 1 1/2 Second Issue revolver.

L.D. Nimschke Engraved Winchesters

L.D. Nimschke engraved some of the most iconic Winchester rifles in the collecting field. The Model 1866 rifle pictured below, with a serial number dating to 1869, is one of the most recognized examples of Nimschke’s talent. One of the gold plated gun's most striking features is a spectacular bust of Columbia, the female personification of the United States, on the rifle's left side plate.

An iconic, well-documented L.D. Nimschke exhibition "Bank Note" engraved Winchester Model 1866 rifle.

This exceptional rifle is documented in R.L. Wilson’s 'Winchester Engraving' and 'Antique Arms Annual.' Nimschke based his likeness of Colombia on the Civil War era 15 cent fractional currency note, and the pattern appears in his scrapbook as a smoke pull dated to December 1869.

Perhaps the most recognizable Winchester engraved by L.D. Nimschke, this gold plated Winchester Model 1866 rifle features flowing scrollwork, monograms, and signatures from the master artisan.

Over his career, L.D. Nimschke customized numerous firearms for presidents and emperors, including the solid silver-framed Winchester Model 1866 example below crafted as a presentation piece from the president of Peru, Jose Balta, to the president of Bolivia, Mariano Melgarejo. In December 2021, Rock Island Auction Company sold this Nimschke engraved masterpiece for $977,500, demonstrating the impressive value his work carries in the collecting world.

With its cast solid silver frame, Nimschke masterwork engraving, and its history as a presentation piece between two ill-fated dictators, this Winchester Model 1866 is one of the finest treasures of its era.

L.D. Nimschke Masterpiece Colt: "The Black Beauty"

Leading Rock Island Auction Company's May 2025 Premier Auction, The Black Beauty Colt Single Action Army revolver is a tour-de-force of Louis D. Nimschke's immense talent and perhaps the most extravagant 19th century Colt SAA ever created. Nimschke himself recognized this revolver's significance as demonstrated by pulls of the revolver's engraving from his scrapbook shown in 'L.D. Nimschke Firearms Engraver' by R.L. Wilson on pages 83 and 84.

The pull featuring the revolver’s back strap is noted "Furmann/1888" and the revolver’s serial number is faintly visible in another. In an included letter, R.L. Wilson notes, "Having studied the creative craftsmanship of L.D. Nimschke for over 40 years, the author has been aware since first studying the scrapbook that this artisan did not often employ gold inlay in his embellishments. Hardly any gold inlaid pieces appear in the scrapbook, and only a handful of guns so decorated by him have ever been found."

The revolver features L.D. Nimschke's signature "L.D.N." on the barrel right at the front of the ejector housing. An eagle head is among the scrolls on the left side of the recoil shield.

On June 2, 1888, the revolver was shipped to Howard Cogswell Furman, Remington’s then sole agents for sporting arms and ammunition. Furman operated a firearms dealership at 281 Broadway, New York City, about a mile from Nimschke’s workshop at 1 Essex Street.

Nimschke engraved The Black Beauty revolver for Jose Manuel del Refugio Gonzalez Flores, 35th President of Mexico, with the top of the back strap featuring a gold inlaid "MG" monogram. The revolver remained in Mexico for decades until being acquired by Enrique E. Guerra of Texas, a friend of Manuel Gonzalez's descendants. It changed hands numerous times until being sold to famed Colt collectors Brig and Louise Pemberton, where it has remained until now.

The Black Beauty revolver contains an exceptional amount of gold inlays for an antique Colt Single Action Army, a trait rarely found on a Nimschke engraved firearm.

The Black Beauty revolver displays Nimschke's exceptional interlacing scroll engraving, with finely beaded backgrounds covering nearly all of the frame, the barrel, the outside of the ejector housing, and on the trigger guard and back strap.

Gold bands decorate the muzzle and the breech end of the barrel. A single gold band appears at the breech end of the cylinder and the front edge of the loading gate and recoil shield. Gold borders decorate the sides of the frame, the top strap, and the back strap. Gold inlaid scrolls appear on the shoulders of the trigger guard and the upper side flats of the back strap.

The trigger guard bow is embellished with a pair of crossing banners similar to the single banner featured on Ulysses S. Grant's Remington New Model Army revolvers and the Remington New Model Army revolvers attributed as presented to Tsar Alexander II of Russia, both pairs engraved by Nimschke in the 1860s.

Other L.D. Nimschke Engraved Treasures

High Art at its finest, this L. D. Nimschke engraved, presentation Manhattan Navy revolver is simply a different level of exceptional. Manufactured between 1864 and 1868, this is one of the most well-known antique American revolvers known and is considered by many to be L. D. Nimschke’s finest work on a percussion handgun.

As noted by R.L. Wilson, this revolver "is the most elaborate known of any Manhattan." He also wrote in an included letter, "The Beauregard Manhattan Navy Revolver recognized as the finest gold and silver inlaid percussion pistol embellished by Nimschke in a career which spanned over 50 years." While there were a fair number of embellished Manhattan revolvers produced immediately following the war, this is the best of the best.

This L. D. Nimschke engraved, presentation Manhattan Navy revolver sold for $230,000 in RIAC's December 2020 Premier Auction.

The gold plated Smith & Wesson .38 DA revolver below was shipped on January 17, 1881 to M.W. Robinson Co. of New York City and engraved by L.D. Nimschke. The New York retailer often collaborated with Nimschke on their deluxe pieces. The revolver's engraving consists of broad floral scrollwork on a fine beaded background along with zig-zag and scalp borders throughout. An engraved banner cuts through the scrollwork on the side plate, a common motif in Nimschke’s work.

A cased, presentation, L.D. Nimschke deluxe engraved and gold plated Smith & Wesson .38 DA revolver with relief carved pearl grips.

Our next Nimschke engraved example, a silver and gold plated Colt Lightning medium frame saddle ring baby carbine, is illustrated and described on page 192 of 'The Book of Colt Engraving' by R.L. Wilson. The carbine was shipped by Colt to Hartley & Graham in New York, New York, on May 9, 1888 and is one of the few engraved examples of its configuration.

A rare L. D. Nimschke engraved, silver and gold plated Colt Lightning medium frame saddle ring baby carbine.

Manufactured in 1894, this Marlin Model 1889 rifle pictured below is featured in 'Marlin Firearms' on page 175. The author, Marlin expert William Brophy, believed the engraving was done personally "by the hand of L.D. Nimschke."

The combination of near full coverage, overlapping floral scrollwork and the semi-relief portrait of a dog head in a circular panel on the left side of the rifle's nickel plated receiver leaves little doubt to the piece being Nimschke's work. A strikingly similar dog head motif is seen on two other firearms engraved by Nimschke and is also found in the engraver's pull book.

A rare L.D. Nimschke panel scene engraved Marlin Model 1889 rifle with documentation.

Nimschke's Contemporaries

By the time L.D. Nimschke arrived in New York, Gustave Young had already introduced intricate German scrollwork engraving to America. Despite going on to develop distinctive styles, Nimschke and Young shared a common heritage, having both trained under Ernst Moritz and Gustav Ernst in Zella, Germany.

A presentation cased deluxe Colt Model 1861 Navy revolver engraved by Gustave Young.

Brothers Conrad, Herman, and John Ulrich were another example of northern European immigrants who distinguished themselves as master gun engravers in the late 19th century. Nimschke inspired their work, and their work in turn inspired Nimschke, a creative synergy that influenced an entire generation of artisans and resulted in some of the finest firearm ornamentation of all time.

An exhibition display, John Ulrich panel scene engraved antique special order gilt and nickel plated Winchester Deluxe Model 1886 saddle ring carbine.

Nimschke Engraved Firearms For Sale

Today, firearms engraved by master craftsmen like Louis D. Nimschke reside in the world’s most prestigious museums and have been commanding ever-more impressive auction prices. As one of Nimschke’s defining achievements and the most coveted Colt Single Action Army in private hands, The Black Beauty revolver is an institution onto itself and holds a revered place in the uppermost echelon of fine arms collecting.

The revolver's engraving and inlay work places it among the finest firearms engraved in the 19th century.

Nothing embodies the gentleman’s pursuit more handsomely than a finely engraved masterpiece, and Rock Island Auction Company's May 2-4 Premier Auction features some of the best of the best.

From L.D. Nimschke, Gustave Young, the Ulrich brothers, and more, Rock Island Auction Company offers some of the finest 19th century engraved firearms in the historic arms discipline.

For more gun blogs and gun videos on some of the finest masterworks in the arms collecting pursuit, subscribe to the weekly Rock Island Auction newsletter, where we cover embellished pieces from every era. From exceptional wheellocks, flintlocks, and percussion arms, high end frontier artistry, modern icons, and embellished sporting rifles, side-by-sides, over-unders, and combination guns designed for the gentleman sportsman, RIAC offers showcases the highest examples of steel as a canvas for timeless artistry.

A cased, exhibition quality, deluxe factory engraved Colt New Line .32 spur trigger revolver inscribed to Andrew E. Elmore, early Wisconsin settler, postmaster, and politician.