Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/666

 654 ENGRAVING graving. The art of engraving owes some of its most important developments to the efforts of artists and mechanics in manufacturing bank notes. In the United States this business has nearly attained perfection, and whatever skill has been shown in Europe in bank-note engra- ving has been the result of improvements in- troduced from this country. The rude, cheap notes issued by the bank of England a century and a half ago were reproduced for nearly a hundred years, when frequent forgeries ren- dered a change necessary. In the year 1800 the directors first endeavored to furnish notes which should be secure from counterfeits, but forgeries multiplied, and it was not till 1820 that any remarkable improvement was made in the style of engraving them. In the United States a superior system had existed for some years. The continental notes, the first of which were issued in 1775, were engraved on copper by Paul Eevere of Boston. They were of no importance as works of art, and the notes engraved afterward for the bank of North America were little better ; but the invention of the transferring process by Perkins raised bank-note engraving to the rank of a special art. Perkins acquired so great a reputation as a manufacturer of bank-note plates that in 1808 a special law was passed in Massachusetts directing the use of a peculiar style of note with a "stereotype check," invented by him, by all the banks of the commonwealth. This, though a sufficient protection against counter- feiting at the time, grew so familiar in 20 years that fraudulent imitations became numerous, and the law was finally repealed. About 1814 Perkins associated himself in Philadelphia with the firm of Murray, Draper, and Fairman, with whom he remained several years, still ex- perimenting with his machinery. While he was there Asa Spencer, who was connected with the same firm, invented a method of ap- plying lathe work to bank-note engraving. This adaptation of the geometric lathe, although but a new application of an old principle, was made so successfully that Spencer received as high credit as if he had been the original in- ventor. To Mosley I. Danforth also, a native of Hartford, Conn., who spent 12 years in the study of his art in London and Paris, is due much credit for the rapid advancement of bank- note engraving in this country. He associated himself with^ Murray, Draper, and Fairman, and compelled rival engravers to adopt a higher standard by the exquisite style and finish of his work. In 1818 Mr. Perkins, attracted by the liberal propositions for competition offered by the bank of England, went to London, ac- companied by Mr. Fairman and a number of experienced workmen. The superiority of his work was immediately perceived, but not so readily acknowledged ; and unfortunately for his prospects, a London wood engraver, Mr. Darton, succeeded after many efforts in making a woodcut copy of one of his pieces of lathe work, a circumstance which was so strongly urged as an argument against the American com- petitor that he was obliged to withdraw from the contest, and the privilege of manufacturing the notes was awarded by the bank to Messrs. Applegarth and Cowper in 1820. But so con- fident was Mr. Perkins in the security of his notes, that when supplying a bank in Ireland he voluntarily agreed, if they should be forged, to furnish a new issue without charge. Per- kins remained in London, where he established a partnership with Mr. Heath, an eminent en- graver, which lasted during his life. His im- provements were adopted in England and in some parts of the continent; but bank-note engraving has been much less developed in Europe than in the United States. In the bank of England security against counterfeiting is sought by the use of a peculiar kind of paper rather than by fine engraving. The notes are printed from an electrotype surface, a method fatal to delicacy of work, although possessing the advantages of speed and cheapness. By this system, introduced by Mr. Smee in 1854, the engravings are used as moulds from which electro-casts are taken, and the notes are printed from these upon steam presses. The paper is made by hand in moulds which are just large enough to form a sheet for two notes. After printing, these notes are sepa- rated by an irregular cut, so that each has a selvage on three sides and on the fourth an in- dented edge. The notes of the bank of France are printed also from a surface, but they are neater in engraving and more elegant in execu- tion than those of the bank of England. The artistic perfection which characterizes bank- note engraving in the United States is the re- sult of a public necessity growing out of our banking system. Under the old local system the issues were so numerous that familiarity with the different notes became impossible; and as the laws furnished no sufficient protec- tion against counterfeiting, other means had to be adopted for security. This was attained in the superior execution of the notes themselves, and by the combination of the highest artistic excellence with mechanical skill, perfect coun- terfeiting is rendered almost impossible. The business of bank-note engraving is carried on in the United States by three companies, the "American," incorporated in 1858, the "Na- tional," in 1859, and the "Continental," in 1862, all of which are in the city of New York. A large part of the bank notes, bonds, and postage and revenue stamps used by many of the principal nations of the world are made by these corporations. Among the foreign na- tions for which work has been done are Rus- sia, Sweden, Italy, Greece, Spain, Switzerland, the British North American provinces, Cuba and other West India islands, United States of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, the states of Central America, Brazil, Peru, Bo- livia, Chili, Argentine Republic, Paraguay, Uruguay, Japan, and the Hawaiian islands. The national currency and legal-tender notes