America's Finest Engraver - Waterman L. Ormsby

[WVEngraver]

W.L. Ormsby was once commissioned by Sam Colt to engrave the dies for the cylinder scenes on his revolvers. I do not believe that only the greatest engravers are/were strictly firearms engravers (opinion). In the 19th century, most printed images in publications were engraved in plates. Ormsby pioneered the technique here in the United States for both currency and periodical.

Resources for the study of line engraving (bank-note style) are out there ... just very difficult to locate. In some cases, extremely expensive. A signed copy of Ormsby's 1852 book "Bank-Note Engraving" sold at auction for $6,900.00.

http://currency.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=338&Lot_No=16959

This is an engraving of the Declaration of Independence engraved circa 1870. No magic templates, tools, microscopes or clean-room laboratory studio (ok, a bit of sarcasm). Just a push graver swiped across a stone and a whole bunch of secrets in knowing how to do this ... some of which are revealed in a close up image.

A full-size print of the original engraving can be downloaded from the Library of Congress. It is 222MB.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?pp/PPALL:@field(DOCID+@lit(96521535))

http://engravingschool.com/forum-pics/full.jpg
http://engravingschool.com/forum-pics/closer.jpg
http://engravingschool.com/forum-pics/closest.jpg

[ron]

thanks Chris for posting that info .. the question now is , what lines are cut first , how deep are they cut and in what direction . i sure would love to be able to do belino and to do it that good is mind boggling , with me the problem is ,, i don't know how to cut these lines , yes i do see them but the hand and mind does not corporate .. ron p

[SEngraver]

WOW! Some engraving that!!!!
Mohd

[Alain]

thanks Chris for posting that info .. the question now is , what lines are cut first , how deep are they cut and in what direction . i sure would love to be able to do belino and to do it that good is mind boggling , with me the problem is ,, i don't know how to cut these lines , yes i do see them but the hand and mind does not corporate .. ron p

Ron,
line engraving needs a lot of practice and a good knowledge of the drawing.
I forgot to mention that I prepared a course synopsis for my class at the Grand Masters' Program. I would like to find the time to complete it for a publication, maybe next year (or the year after). I hope that it can help, because precise information on the line engraving method is hard to find and there is, as far as I know,no school to teach that technique. (Or maybe in Paris?)
Alain

[WVEngraver]

I seems I'm always better prepared for the previous (or two or three) years Grand Master's. Maybe I never will be.

Yep Ron, I know we've discussed this at length. Tomorrow morning I'm putting a bend into my line cutting tool and it's practice and trial and error. I'm on a bit of a quest as this style of engraving is historically accurate. Anything and everything that is history, is always my most favorite subject. I had a great deal of enjoyment browsing the Library of Congress for fine examples of 19th Century engravings. Researching history is ... well ... it's fun. I look forward to visiting the L.o.C., as soon as time permits, to obtain more digitized steel plate engravings which are not available for download.

Unattainable books on the subject and the known Holy Grails to date ....

1852 Ormsby's Banknote Engraving

1924 Commercial Engraving and Printing

Books available new (kinda within he last 20 years anyway):

"Etching Engraving and other Intaglio Printmaking Techniques" by Ruth Leaf (http://www.amazon.com/Etching-Engraving-Intaglio-Printmaking-Techniques/dp/048624721X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224042927&sr=8-1)dedicates a mere 4 pages to line engraving in addition to tool making.

Engraved on Steel: The History of Picture Production Using Steel Plates (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?r=1&ISBN=9780859679718&ourl=Engraved-on-Steel%2FBasil-Hunnisett#TABS)

A phenomenal resource up for auction ....

William Hogarth. The Works of William Hogarth, Consisting of One Hundred and Forty-Eight Engravings - In Two Volumes.... (Total: 2 Items) (http://historical.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=684&Lot_No=92440)

As Mr. Lovenberg has pointed out, there is very little out there in the way of learning resources. A new book would be a huge contribution and would most certainly be the new "Holy Grail". I'm very excited ... till then, it's self study, learning from existing examples, and a 90 degree uphill challenge.

It certainly is exciting to see the fine examples being posted by both (Alain and Phil) here in this forum.

Here's another one of Ormsby's engravings .... George McClellan (in an authoritative "Bonapartish" pose which I find rather humorous for McClellan). Many of his engravings (such as these I've posted) are from original oils clearly giving him good knowledge of the subject. He was an eccentric perfectionist and like myself ... very paranoid. Anyway ... I won't be posting for a while so I'll catch y'all later. Enjoy.

http://engravingschool.com/forum-pics/Gen_McClellan_cropped.jpg

http://engravingschool.com/forum-pics/McClellan_cropped02.jpg

[rbaptiste]

Very nice, it is a good learning to make the "taille rangée".
Now you can learning this technic in the school "BOULE" in Paris or with different engraver.

[jlseymour]

Chris that's some study, great pic's...
Thanks
Jerry

[WVEngraver]

Hi Roland,

Just out of curiousity ... I searched Yahoo (French) for Boule and I seemed to get everything but a school. Even when I entered "college".

Sometimes a school has some very good resources available on the web including access to a book store. I always wanted to visit but figured I'd never wanna come back because I'd be off in the Legion Estrangere (but now I'm too old).


Chris

[Gail]

Chris,
Google Ecole Boule in Paris.
gailm

[Alain]

Hi Roland,

Just out of curiousity ... I searched Yahoo (French) for Boule and I seemed to get everything but a school. Even when I entered "college".

Sometimes a school has some very good resources available on the web including access to a book store. I always wanted to visit but figured I'd never wanna come back because I'd be off in the Legion Estrangere (but now I'm too old).


Chris
Boulle was a famous French cabinet-maker, XVIII th century. The school Boulle in Paris:http://www.ecole-boulle.org/english/welcome.htm.

[Alain]

An other link:http://www.artdutimbregrave.com/english/En_index.html

[Alain]

an other one: http://www.ecole-estienne.org/
An old school in France for graphis arts and printmaking

[WVEngraver]

Interesting info to explore ...

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecole-boulle.org%2Fmetiers%2Fma%2Fgravure_ornementale.ht m&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

http://engravingschool.com/forum-pics/La-gravure.jpg


Thank-you for posting. I hope Steve will add some of the books and sites listed in this thread to his resources page. I will certainly add more engravings and books as I discover them ... certainly after my visit to the Library of Congress and the Boston Public Library where I am sure I will find a great deal of illustrations from the American Bank Note Co., who had two offices, one in New York and the other on State Street in Boston.

Merci,

Chris

[plat955]

Hello my name is Jason. I am a big fan of Ormsby and fairly educated on the history of him and the Banknote industry of the mid 1800's. My experience as a gun/knife engraver having trained to do banknote engraving is that they really are not related and almost cannot be compared. The only similarity is the use of the graver. Everything about the process is different then what we use to engrave a knife or a gun. We work on guns and knives to see the product in metal. Banknote engravers work to show the print. It doesnt matter what the plate looks like. Lines are cut to hold ink. The actual job is to transfer an image from a photo or a painting to a minature printable replica "to scale" on a printable steel plate. as shown on the incredible images posted of Ormby's work on this thread are from oil paintings.

The process is fairly complicated and alot more scientific then you might think. It is a combination of black and white photography, to reduce the image at a high resolution, dry point/acid etching, and engraving. All the tones of gray come from a "tint" plate which acts as a guide for line spacing that is established before the job starts. That's why all the tones are so uniform. Mathmatical line spacing. Most importantly you have to have an intaglio press to pull "proofs" that is the only way to know where to put each set of lines in layers. On top of all that... it's all done with the image reversed.LOL

It is NOT bulino or even close to the same process. Actual banknote engraving used for a scene on a gun or knife would not look right.

A few words on Ormsby:
W.L.Ormsby certainly was incredible, and also quite a character. His book was quite contriversial in its day. At a time when all currency was privately comissioned by individual banks. Banknote engravers were small bussinesses up until the federal government stepped in after the civil war. His books were actually written to snubb his competition...LOL. They weren't very happy and he spent quite a bit of time in court over it. Unfortunately his competeters joined together to forn American Banknote Company, put him out of business, and absorbed his company and assets.

He invented many machines and processes for the industry that are still used today. For example: the "webbing" pattern around U.S. currency was done with a geometric lathe that was invented and pattented by Ormsby in the mid 1800's. He also invented the roller die transfer press that is still used by the B.P.E. to transfer an engraving from one plate to another. He owned Continental Banknote Company and a few others.

Engravers in the mid 1800's were highly recognized, respected, and wealthy artists in there day.

American Banknote Company was the largest and most powerfull engraving firm the world has ever seen... Fact: if you took a world map and put thumb tacs in all the countries they engraved plates for... there would only be a handfull left without tacs in them. It would sort of be like if we all got together in 2009 and made an engraving monopoly headed by the greatest engravers of our trade from all over the world. That is why their work was so incredible.

Anyway, I hope someone finds my ramblings interesting... LOL Take care.

[WVEngraver]

That's fantastic Jason. Welcome to the forum and many thanks for your e-mail on this subject. Looking forward to speaking with you.

We can also add the Confederate States of America to the list of countries that the American Bank Note Co. (under the name Southern Bank Note Co.) engraved plates for. Those notes sure are pricey today too.

Chris

[plat955]

Thanks Chris,

It's interesting that you brought up the southern banknotes. I am currently doing some research what exactly went down durring the civil war. What I never realized was that there were only a few areas banknote engravers were located. Mainly New York, Chicago and up through New England...The only southern firm was located in Louisiana. Most were branches of existing firms located in the north east U.S. Durring the civil war printing money for the south was considered treason. Very serious stuff and cutting off the banking industry in the south was a pretty affective campaign for the Union.

So check this out.... you own an engraving firm in say Philadelphia and you send your brother to Louisiana to open a shop and the war breaks out... insanity!!! if you print money for the south the punishment is death and if you refuse to print... the Confederates will kill you.... and of coarse the Union went to the main offices in the north to enforce and hold accountable.

LOL anyway this is just some weird historical stuff im learning about.

[WVEngraver]

What a great bit of history Jason!! Of course, there's no such thing as a patriot that didn't risk his/her life. (and being a "patriot" all depends on which side you're on right?).

I think the ABNC office was in New Orleans. Under orders NOT to aide The Confederacy they created the "Southern Bank Note Company". The quality of their central vignette was so superior that their notes are easily distinguishable from others. It took them so long to engrave the notes that they were ordered to re-locate the operation to Richmond. When they refused, the plates were apparently seized by the CS govt and moved for them. I suppose being too good is one way of getting out of that kind of pickle. As far as I know, they ceased producing notes for the Confederacy in 1861 but continued producing notes for banks in Louisiana until the city fell to that over-the-hill, "Damn the torpedoes" Farragut in April 1862.

I only wish I had $750 bucks to buy a SBNC bill.

I'll give you a call tomorrow!

Chris

[Roger Bleile]

Jason,

Thanks for the information and history on the field of banknote engraving. I hope you will continue to contribute additional historical information in the future.

C. Roger Bleile

[plat955]

Thanks Roger I will certainly try my best.