Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1894-03-01
MAKING PAPER MONEY.
Uncle Sans Expert Eugravers at Their
Work.


If you will look at the pictures upon
a one-dollar bill you will see that the
portrait of Martha Washington or OF
Stanton is composed altogether of
curved or straight lines-the only kind
of engraving that is allowed TO be done
in the bureau; because unless it is done
in this manner, and unless the lines
are cut very deep, the engravings can
not be used. Now this portrait was
engraved in a piece of steel by the use
of very sharp little instrument known
as graver.
Every little scratch on the steel plate
will, in printing, show black line, so
you will see how very careful the en-
graver has to be that he shall not
make any false scratches, and that the
lines shall be just so long and just so
broad.
Now, steel-engraving is the direct
opposite to wood-engraving The
scratches and cuts made on a wooden
block will be white in the print, and it
is only the uncut portions of the block
that print black; while on the steel the
unscratched portion leaves the paper
white.
When a design has been cut on a
steel plate, and it is ready to be print
ed, the ink is put on the plate or block,
and all the cuts and scratches become
filled with ink. Then the ink is care
fully rubbed off of the surface, SO that
none remains except what is in the
lines. When piece of dampened pa
per is placed on the plate and subjected
to very heavy pressure, it sinks into
the lines; and when ii is taken off it
draws the ink out with it, and thus the
picture is printed on the paper.
1t takes an engraver about six weeks
or two months to complete one por-
trait, and man who engraves the por-
traits never does any other kind of en-
craving. Each engraver does only a
certain portion of the work on a note;
no one is permitted to engrave an en-
tire note; so that besides the portait
engravers, there are some who do moth
ing but engrave the figures, the seal,
the lettering, the border, etc In this
way it would be impossible for an en-
gravcr to make complete engraving
for his own use, if he were dishone st
enough to do such thing.
Besides this manual work, some of
the engraving is done by machinery,
as, for example, the background of the
portrait and of the borders, and the
shading of the letters-this being done
by what is known as the ruling ma
chine, which can rule several hundred
perfectly straight lines within an inch.
The intricate scroll and lace-worls
around the figures on the face and the
back of the note is done by wonder
full machine known as the geometric
lathe. This machine consists of large
number of wheels of all sizes and in all
sorts of arrangements, together with a
complicated mechanism of eccentrics
and rods, all of which is Incompetent.
sible to anyone but an expert machin-
list.
BY a proper adjustment of its parts,
the delicate diamond point that moves
about over the face Of the steel is made
to work out perfect and artistic
pattern with greater accuracy and
much more speed than could be done
by hand; and hence this delicate and
intricate part of the engraving is one
of the greatest obstacles with which
the counterfeiter has to contend, for he
finds it next to impossible to initiate il
correctly.
Fortunately for Uncle Sam, the geo.
metric lathe is very complicated and
very expensive machine, and the coun
terfeiter is generally poor man; and
even if he did manage tolay up enough
money to buy the lathe, it is hardly
likely he would live long enough to use
it properly; for there are only four mer
in the world who understand how tc
operate it.
Indeed, the man who now has charge
of the geometric lathe at the bureau Of
engraving and printing is the only one
in the United States at the present
time who knows how to manage it; anC
if anything should happen to him, i
might tangle matters up for awhile il
this important branch of our Uncle
T, Sans big government. Century.