I J
Magnified 5 to 10 times.
K
Magnified 10 to 15 times.
Diagrams I and J represent the appearance of counterfeit Medallions when magnified. K represents the appearance of a genuine Medallion as magnified 10 to 15 times. Every line is full length, and exactly of the same size. In J the lines break off and fork together all through the midst of the pattern, and some lines a little coarser than others, which gives it a scratchy appearance.
Whenever there are two or more medallions in a genuine bill that pretend to be alike, they are always exactly alike; being double-transferred from the same original die; (see medallion heads marked ‘3’ in the [steel plate],) but two medallions cannot be made exactly alike separately by hand. The following extract in relation to this work is quoted from the Mechanic’s Magazine, 1835: “The Journal of the Franklin Institute for September contains an elegant engraved portrait of Wm. Congreve, the dramatist, executed by Wm. A. Spencer of Philadelphia, in the manner described, and has inserted the following proofs that the invention can be claimed for America. ‘Believing that the credit of the invention of a machine for medal ruling is due to America, we will briefly set forth our proofs, and then speak of the improvements which of late years the method has undergone. The proofs to be given of the existence and state of the machine are to be derived from the results produced by it. In 1817, by the use of a machine which had been invented in Philadelphia, Christian Gobrecht, die-sinker, produced an engraving upon copper, from a medal having upon it the head of Alexander of Russia. From this engraving impressions were taken and distributed. One of these impressions we have seen. In 1819, Asa Spencer, now of the firm of Draper, Underwood & Co. bank-note engravers, took with him to London a machine of the kind above alluded to, which was designed principally for straight and waved-line ruling. This machine was used in London during the year just mentioned, and the mode of ruling waved lines, and of copying medals, was then exhibited and explained by Mr. Spencer to several artists—particularly Mr. Terrell, who took by permission a drawing of the machine, for the purpose of having one made for his own use. Little however was done in the way of medal ruling until about three years since, (1832,) when a desire to apply the method to the engraving of designs for bank notes caused it to be revived by Mr. Spencer, who bestowed great attention upon it, and overcame the difficulties met with in the onset.’—The peculiar construction of this machine has never been made a secret, nor has it ever been patented, although prudential motives have required that it should not be minutely described, and thus be placed in the hands of those by whom its use might be perverted. The operations performed by this machine are the ruling of parallel straight lines at any required distances apart, either continuous or broken; ruling converging straight lines; ruling waved lines, the waves being either similar, varying by more or less imperceptible gradations; and medal ruling or transferring to copper the fac-simile of a medal without injuring its surface, the waved lines presenting a copy of the minutest parts of the medal.”
RULE IV.
VIGNETTES—A GENERAL RULE.
Faces, Eyes, Stippling, Hair, Drapery, Limbs, Scenery, &c.
Rule IV. relates to the Vignettes, to notice whether they appear to come up to the usual standard of perfection in the following points: the faces, eyes, stippling, hair, drapery, limbs, scenery, landscapes, water and agricultural scenes, &c. This work is always done by hand, both in the genuine and counterfeit; but in the genuine it is done by first-class artists; men who are at the head of their profession, and who can always get such a complete remuneration for their labor that there cannot possibly be any temptation for them to counterfeit. It is only second, third, fourth, and sometimes hundredth-rate artists that counterfeit:—runaway apprentices and cast-off journeymen, and possibly amateurs. The points to observe are first, the human face, stippling, and the eyes. This is the most difficult of any part of the Vignette to execute well, and fails in counterfeits, more than any other part of the 4th Rule. In the genuine, the eyes have a perfectly natural expression, while in counterfeits they are, generally, merely two clumsy dots. The stippling is the beautiful artistic arrangement of the fine dots which produce the shading—the smooth, even, soft rounding of the features, the cheeks, nose, lips, chin, and limbs; this fails invariably in counterfeits—the features, and generally the limbs also, appearing flat, scratchy, inexpressive, and inanimate. The human hair in the genuine will look soft, silky, and natural; displaying a lustre in portions where the light appears to strike it. In counterfeits the hair generally appears stiff, coarse, wiry, lifeless, and unnatural. The drapery in the genuine beautifully represents the folds and texture of different kinds of cloth; sometimes the dark, heavy and glossy appearance of broadcloth is produced; sometimes the light, flowing appearance of silk or muslin—the folds always look easy and flowing—no stiffness. In counterfeits the drapery generally appears scratchy and stiff, sometimes having the solid appearance of cast iron, and sometimes like coarse wire-cloth, inexplicably twisted up in a snarl in trying to imitate the easy and natural folds of the genuine. The limbs, hands, or feet are always well done in the genuine, but generally fail in counterfeits. It is a very difficult matter to execute well, and it requires a first-rate artist to produce an elegant-shaped hand or foot and in an easy position. To engrave human figures correctly it is first necessary for the artist to acquire a thorough knowledge of Anatomy. Smoke in the genuine is always well done—generally in fine curved lines, and sometimes in straight parallels, fading off gradually at the edges. In counterfeits the smoke gradually appears coarse and scratchy. Also notice whether the “perspective” is managed rightly: the lights and shades, and the forms of animals, horses, cows, &c. &c. whether truthfully portrayed. Vignettes are transferred to the plates from double transferred cylinder dies.