The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-11-16
VOL. XXlI---NO. 13.
How Bank Notes are Made.

The New York Eceaing !'ost informs US
: that the American Bank Note Company
oCatt q In that city is he most ex ensiva
establishment of the kind in the world
1t employs the best artists in the country
IN s!ietching d9sig grs. In some cases the
artists send original sketches but geneI ally
embody the ideas suggested to them Dar-
ley designs are frequent in our bank note
cifcGiti!on, and are at once recognized by
tnoae ""o are f.snliliaEWi,h his style. Tie
! 'ISneucS are combined with portraits o.
/ individuals, and the / tiers and athework
which make up Il bank note The draw.
ings are sent from the design room to the
pictorial engraving department. The best.
artists are employed in this department,
J and there are fifteen men, each at his own
. desk. who wo. eight hours per day, and
earn from $1,000 to $1,000 per year. Some
of them work exclu iv, ly upon heads,
others upon human 6.urVs. IL some cases
yIgnettc which comprises landscape, sky,
architecture and figures, will pass through
as many different hands, and the sepe ratio
parts Of the work, finished by artists who
nave made that style 4 speciality, mako
the whole as perfect as possible, indeed a.
hrst class vignette, unless portrait, is hard,
ly ever by one hand, and portion OF it is
'' bit IN with acids, and afterwards finished
'-Nt4 q W. t-t I'OiAIs.ll l1TdNcfS Do
come so skilful that they produce a per-
feet likeness from Photograph, painting
or engraving and whatever is in hand is
given to the artist who is beet qualified to
make finished picture of the kind re-
qu!red. All Of the vi@nettes and much Of
the larger letter work, are engraved Oh
seperate pieces Of steel, from which proofs
oU!y are printed. These pieces are taken
10 tie harden ng room, where two men
who are experienced in hardening steel
hardcnsthe.G by heating and plum. iIg t.
water or oil.
The hardened plates are placed under
presses Of enormous power, and are 81 taken
up uyon decarbonzed dies of cylindrical
form, which are afterwards hai dened and
used 10 transfer the inprcss.n n to the
plate from which the notes are printed
Thus the work is doubly transferred befoys
it is printed. The shsding of the letters is
done 10y machinery. and in this way is ex-
ecuted also that curious, complicated and
beautiful ground Tor the figures, and from
which the tlnts o. the face and back of q
note are printed Such is the accuracy
Of tie q oDctrlcal lathe work and cyclo-
ld1l ruling that 1t Is impossible t. initiate
them by hand The production of these
lace ike figures = the result of a matho-
Ioatlcai prObI, IL woike out befor ehand; ;.
50 many turn, g! certain wheels Will pros
duce certasn figure, which can be multi
pie" by the transferring press indefinitely.
Ihe machines are very complicated and
expensive, (thoueh to one unacvua;nted
"lth them they seem cheap and SIMPLIFY
and require great skill and experience ia
their management and operation. We
were shown IN this department q Geomat
rlcal lathe, np, twice as large as an ordi-
nary sew Il. machine, and less than half az
noisy, which was three years in building,
and cost about $1,000 These machines
are never patented, as tie c, ret of their
construction Is worth more than a patent,
lud improvements and alterations are
made from time 10 time, while their great
cost prevents their coming intolGeneral or
improper use.