Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1861-09-20
How Bank Notes are Made.

Inc NcW ork Ecentny IOSL nIOrInS uS
that tho American Bank Note company,
located in that city, is the most extensive
establishment of the kind in the world. It
employs some Of the best artists in the coun.
try in sketching designs. In some cases tho
artists send original sketches, but generally
embody the ideas suggested to them. Darley's
designs are frequent in our bank-note cir
culation, and are ut once recognized by those
who are familiar with his style. The Wig
nettcs are combined with portraits of individ-
uals and the letters and lathe work whichl
make up a bank mote. The drawings are sent
from the design-room to the pictorial engrav-
ing department. The best artists are employ
cd in this dcpaIt tment, and there are fifteen
men, each at his own desk, who work eight
hours per day, and earn from 81, 900 to a.
900 per year. Some of them work exclusive.
ly upon "heads -; others upon human
figures. In some cases o vignette which
comprises landscapes, sky, architecture and
figures will pass through as many different
hands, and the separate parts of the work,
finished by artists who have made that style
speciality, make the whole as perfect 40
possible; indeed, first class vignette, un-
less q portrait, is hardly ever by one hand.
and portion of it is bit in I" with acid and
afterwards finished with graver. The por-
trait engravers become SO skillful that they
produce perfect likeness from photograph,
painting or engraving, and whatever work il
in hand is given to the artist who ia best
qualified to make finished picture Of the kind
required. All Of the vigncttes, and much OF
the larger letter work, are engraved on sepa-
rate pieces of steel, from which proofs only
are printed. These pieces are taken to tho
hardening room, where two men who arc
experienced in handling steel harden them,
by heating and plunging them into water or
oil.
The hardened plates are placed under
presses Of enormous power, and are " taken
up" upon decarbonized dies Of cylindrical
form, which are afterward hardened, and are
used to transfer the impression to the plato
from which the notes arc printed. Thus
the work is doubly transferred before it Is
printed. The shading Of the letters is done
by machinery, and in this way also is execut-
cd that curious, complicated and beautiful
ground work for the figures, and from which
the tints. on the face and back Of . note arc
printed. Such is the accuracy and uniformi-
ty of the gcomctrical lathe work and cycl0id-
al ruling, that it is impossible to initiate them
by hand. The production of these lace-lika
figures is the result of mathematical problem
worked out beforehand; SO many turns OF
certain wheels will produce certain figure,
which can be multiplied by the transferring
process indefinitely. The machines are very
complicated and expensive (though to sae
unacquainted with them they seem cheap and
simplex and require great skill and expert
ence in their management and operation. We
were shown in this department geometzical.
lathe, not twice as large as IN ordinary sew
ing machine, and less than half as noisy.
which was three years in building and cost
about $4,000. These machines are never
patented, as the secret Of their construction
is worth more than patent, and improve
mcnts and alterations are made from time to
time, while their great cost prohibits their
coming into general or proper use.