One would think Italy would be the last place to go for authentic 19th-century Colt engravings, but only because most Americans have never heard of the Dassa Brothers!
Sergio and Mauro Dassa grew up watching Westerns, simply as two classic brothers who appreciated movies, horses, gunplay, and the grandeur of the American West, the only difference being that they watched them in Italian!
When the young Dassa grew up in northern Italy, they were (and remained) big fans of the American West and the timeless, legendary folklore surrounding it.
Many of Mauro’s best childhood memories are of him and his younger brother Sergio playing cowboys and Indians.
“Sergio and I would often watch Western movies with American cowboys in the evening, and during the day, after school, we would play cowboys and Indians with our friends. We would pretend to be cowboys on horseback. We wore hats and boots and made noises similar to the sound of spurs. We would sprinkle talcum powder around to create the effect of dust. We held poker cards and cups full of orange juice as if it were whiskey. It was fantastic! At the time of the carnival parade (the last Tuesday before the beginning of Lent), we would dress up as cowboys or sheriffs and make sheriff’s stars by cutting them out of cardboard or aluminum foil.”
Engraving weapons has been an art form in Italy for more than 500 years. In the 19th century master engravers worked on Colts, Remingtons, and other firearms just as the Dassa brothers do today. (The style of Colt grips by Lewis Ezsak/Cowboy Emporium)
“The movies we used to watch most often and recreate were ‘Once Upon a Time in the West,’ ‘For a Few Dollars More,’ ‘The Good, The Bad, The Ugly,’ ‘For a Fistful of Dollars,’ ‘Down The Head,’ and many others by Sergio Leone with such extraordinary actors as John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Clint Eastwood, Terence Hill, Paul Newman, Jimmy Stewart, etc.”
The American West was in their veins.
Sergio and Mauro were the sons of an engraver, and in Italy, very often, engraving is a generational endeavor, with sons and daughters following in their parents’ footsteps.
This was inevitable for the Dassa brothers as their attraction to the Old West would inspire them not only to become engravers within the Italian tradition, but also to expand their expertise in traditional arts and to study and incorporate the designs of famous American engravers such as Gustave Young, Louis Daniel Nimschke, and Cuno A. Helfricht, who created some of the finest engraved Colt, Winchester, and S&W firearms of the 19th century.
A significant element of the success of Dassa Engravings s.n.c., which Mauro founded in 1986, in Collebeato, just north of Brescia, is that the brothers regularly engrave guns, mainly revolvers.
Most other engravers in the Valley have not engraved weapons nor will they ever do so. Why? Customers who appreciate and can afford the highest level of quality and coverage that the engraving profession can offer generally purchase high-end branded long guns, mostly flanked above and below by shotguns and rifles (side-by-side and over and under shotguns and rifles).
These firearms offer a wider “steel canvas” for engravers to showcase their talents, and they also require paying a higher price-$25,000 to $75,000.
The American War of Secession was a watershed period for gun engravings with luxury examples of Colt, Remington, and other brands being presented to officers by various manufacturers or individuals. Shown are Starr single action, Colt 1851 Navy, Colt 1860 Army and Remington New Model Army engraved by Dassa.
Mauro began recording at the age of 16 while attending the Caravaggio Art Institute in Brescia, Italy, and under the careful supervision of his father.
At school, Mauro continued to improve his drawing skills, while at the same time developing crucial experiences on a range of engraving techniques-everything from fine English chiseled scrollwork to ultra-detailed delicate scenes made with the burin technique using precisely a small burin to produce the lines and dots.
Today, the Dassa brothers are recognized in Italy as profitable engravers of rifles and carbines, but unlike other engravers they also understand the importance of the six-shoter and why it holds its iconic status for both American and international customers.
Sergio and Mauro found kindred spirits in Alessandro and Alberto Pietta, also second-generation gunmakers, and with their shared passion for the American West, they began a collaboration that resulted in some of the most impressive hand-engraved western guns of recent times.
Some of the company’s most recent creations, represented in this article, are currently the most historic and elaborate.
Inspirations
“American Westerns definitely made a difference,” Mauro says, “especially after meeting Pietta and having the opportunity to work on their reproductions. As we record Pietta’s western pieces, we think back to our childhood and listen to famous western movie soundtracks, masterpieces of music by Ennio Morricone and others….”
It is their inspiration, along with 19th- and 20th-century historical works by American and European engravers, most notably their father, Alexander Dassa.
Among Italian engravers of the post-World War II generation, Alessandro Dassa executed commissioned engravings for Franchi, Bernardelli, Perazzi, Beretta, and others after founding his own studio in 1945.
He was also instrumental in creating a painting technique using colored glazes to decorate long selected guns. His children followed in their father’s footsteps.
There are currently two Remington models of Pietta hand-engraved by Dassa, both of which are based on the original secession war display weapons. The nickel and gold example is based on a display revolver given to Major General George Meade sometime after his victory at Gettysbuyrg. The original in figure had carved ivory handles and a silver cartouche with dedication. (Photo courtesy of Rock Island Auction Co.)
This article continues in the next issue of the Pietta editorial…
