# Lynton McKenzie

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American firearms engraver

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

## Biography

McKenzie was born in [Rockhampton](/source/Rockhampton), [Central Queensland](/source/Central_Queensland), Australia, on December 21, 1940. He became interested in [gunsmithing](/source/Gunsmith) at age eleven, and [engraving](/source/Engraving) at fourteen. By his late teens, McKenzie was considered Australia's leading gunsmith.[1][2]

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](/source/London) where he engraved [double rifles](/source/Double_rifle) and [shotguns](/source/Shotgun) for firms such as [Holland & Holland](/source/Holland_%26_Holland), [Purdey and Sons](/source/James_Purdey_%26_Sons), and [Rigby](/source/John_Rigby_%26_Company). He restored antique European firearms for museums, wealthy collectors, the [Tower of London](/source/Tower_of_London), and the [Queen's Collection](/source/Royal_Collection). The last major firearm that McKenzie restored was a 1652 Louis XIV, built at the Royal Armory in [Lyon](/source/Lyon), France.[1][2]

In 1980, McKenzie moved to [Tucson, Arizona](/source/Tucson%2C_Arizona) in the United States.[1] He decorated two of five rifles for the [Safari Club International](/source/Safari_Club_International)'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.[3][4]

McKenzie's work was respected worldwide. He engraved items for the [Sultan of Brunei](/source/List_of_sultans_of_Brunei), the [Saudi royal family](/source/House_of_Saud), 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Winston_Churchill_(engraver)&action=edit&redlink=1)).[1]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-obit1999_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-obit1999_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-obit1999_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-obit1999_1-3) ["Lynton McKenzie, renowned firearms engraver"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/tucson-citizen-lynton-mckenzie-renowned/130949647/). *Tucson Citizen*. February 11, 1999. p. 21. Retrieved August 30, 2023.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-quimby1983_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-quimby1983_2-1) Quimby, Bill (December 30, 1983). [""Don't try it," he tells others of his craft"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/tucson-citizen-dont-try-it-he-tells/130950276/). *Tucson Citizen*. p. 59. Retrieved August 30, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Wilson, Terry (July 11, 1985). ["Rifles as Art"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/tucson-citizen-rifles-as-art/130954777/). *Tucson Citizen*. p. 31. Retrieved August 30, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Anderson, Susan L. (February 4, 1986). ["Rare rifle sells for $201,000 at convention"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/pacific-daily-news-rare-rifle-sells-for/130954899/). *Pacific Daily News*. p. 23. Retrieved August 30, 2023.

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