Lynton McKenzie (December 21, 1940–February 9, 1999) was an Australian-born American engraver. McKenzie engraved for heads of state all over the world and worked on some of the world's most valuable antique

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

Biography

McKenzie was born in

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an imprecisely-defined geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Cap ...

, Australia, on December 21, 1940. He became interested in

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very ...

ing at age eleven, and

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

at fourteen. By his late teens, McKenzie was considered Australia's leading gunsmith. McKenzie travelled to Europe carrying letters of introduction from the premier and prime minister of Australia, allowing him to study engraved firearms from museums and private collections. He studied engraving with masters in Belgium and Italy, and spent six years in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

where he engraved

double rifle The double rifle, also known as a double-barreled rifle, is a rifle with two barrels mounted parallel to each other that can be fired simultaneously or sequentially in quick succession. Synonymous with big game hunting found primarily in Africa an ...

s and

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

s for firms such as

Holland & Holland Holland & Holland Limited is a British gunmaker and luxury clothing retailer based in London, England, which sells handmade sporting rifles and shotguns. The company holds two Royal Warrant of Appointment (United Kingdom), royal warrants. His ...

, Purdey and Sons, and Rigby. He restored antique European firearms for museums, wealthy collectors, the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

, and the Queen's Collection. The last major firearm that McKenzie restored was a 1652 Louis XIV, built at the Royal Armory in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France. In 1980, McKenzie moved to

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

in the United States. He decorated two of five rifles for the

Safari Club International Safari Club International (SCI) is a US organization composed of hunters dedicated to protecting the “freedom to hunt.” SCI has more than 40,000 members and 180 local chapters. SCI members agree to abide by the organization's code of ethi ...

's Big Five Classic Masterpiece Collection. The guns were built by the Tucson-based David Miller Co. The first gun, commemorating the elephant, sold for $41,000 in 1982, and the fifth gun, commemorating the leopard, sold for $201,000 in 1986. McKenzie's work was respected worldwide. He engraved items for the

Sultan of Brunei The Sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates bac ...

, the

Saudi royal family The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling fa ...

, and British heads of state. According to Bill Quimby, director of publications for Safari Club International, McKenzie was one of the two top engravers in the world (along with engraver

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Lynton 1940 births 1999 deaths American engravers Australian emigrants to the United States People from Rockhampton