Commercial intaglio engraving involves incising designs and letterforms into metal, filling the carved-out areas (which are intended to print) with ink, wiping clean the top surface of the plate, then pressing (often dampened) paper against the engraved plate under great pressure, thus transferring the ink in the grooves onto the paper in standing relief. This results in the characteristic "feel of steel" if one runs a fingertip over the surface. In this section I have broken out trade cards of steel engravers from The Printing Trades section. I have not included here those who were exclusively copperplate engravers or wood engravers, nor printers who offered many services of which engraving was but one of many (and may have been farmed out to some other steel engraver in any event).
Engraved trade card ( Collection of Joe Freedman )
Engraved proof, Homer Lee Bank Note Company ( Sheaff collection )
Engraved trade card ( Sheaff collection )
Engraved trade card ( Sheaff collection )
Engraved trade card on glazed stock, 1857 ( Sheaff collection )
Engraved card or proof ( Sheaff collection )
Engraved trade card
Engraved trade card ( Sheaff collection )
Engraved trade card ( Sheaff collection )
Trade card. This unusual "card" is embossed and foil-stamped on book cloth over book board.
( Collection of Joe Freedman )
Engraved trade card ( Sheaff collection )
Engraved trade card ( Sheaff collection )
Engraved trade card folder ( Sheaff collection )
Large steel engraved store card, American Bank Note Company ( Sheaff collection )
Engraved trade card ( Sheaff collection )
Engraved trade card ( Sheaff collection )
Engraved trial color proof ( Collection of Joe Freedman )
Calendar header ( Sheaff collection )
Engraved trade card ( Sheaff collection )
Engraved trade card (Sheaff collection
Engraved trade card ( Collection of Joe Freedman )
Engraved trade card ( The Ephemera Archive for American Studies, Kit Barry, Brattleboro, VT )
A fine example of a steel-engraved trade card, by National Bank Note Company
American Bank Note Company, 1876
Large engraved, beveled edge card for the New Orleans Mardi Gras "Mistick Krewe of Comus", 10” tall
1970s. A personal note. I drew this logo for a client, as I was drifting self-taught into a career in graphic design. Steel engraved on a Strathmore laid paper stock. Long before I began to collect any ephemera, I knew that I was somehow intrigued by vintage sworls, and loved steel engraving. In fiddling with this, I quickly learned that laborious, amateur hand-drawn simulation cannot begin to replace the grace of flowing vintage penmanship.
Clicking on a thumbnail image opens a larger image . . .American Bank Note Company, 1876L