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It’s about a lady that was the last Winchester factory trained engraver who worked with the old timers and the things she saw and experienced. I for one enjoyed it.   RRM

Hi Chuck-

If you don’t know her, Pauline Muerrle, as Mac said, is the last Winchester factory engraver to be hired during the Olin Corporation era.  She apprenticed with Nick Kusmit and knew all the engravers who worked in the Custom Shop, being especially close to Nick and his older Brother, John.  Pauline’s above mentioned book is an entertaining memoir of her days working in New Haven.

As many here know, Pauline is the “go-to” person for questions about Winchester factory engraving, since each new engraver had to learn all the nuances of their predecessor’s style (all the way back), in case a gun came in for R&R that resulted in some of the original pattern needing to be recut.  She also has many records (individual engravers log books, for example) that are a potentially invaluable resource for someone looking to authenticate what they believe is a factory engraved Winchester.  She can look at the gun and (if factory) tell you who engraved it, and if it shows up in the logbooks, can tell you when it was done.  She is a very nice person and willing to help collectors.  You can check her website: http://paulinemuerrle.com

Finally, I’ve found Pauline’s most recent book “Winchester Factory Engraving: A Collector’s Guide” to be quite informative.  Even for me, a fan of M70s (that were rarely factory engraved)…

Hope this helps…

Lou