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John Sellers -
Engraver
Tool found in an Artist's Box
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What was
this tool used for? It was, found in an artist's box.
© Reproduced with
acknowledgement to Richard Howe
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Question
4
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This is one of several
questions that have been asked about
John Sellers.
This message was sent to me
in October 2006 by Richard Howe.
Richard wrote:
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"I
found this tool in an artist's box that was shipped to Milwaukee
in the 40's. Have you any idea as to what it's purpose was?"
Richard Howe: October 10, 2006 |
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Please
e-mail me if you feel that you can help to answer this question
above, then I will forward your message to Glen.
Thank you. - Peter Stubbs:
October 13, 2006 |
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Answer
1.
to
Question
4 |
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I asked a local artist , one
who collects artists' boxes, for his opinion.
He tells me that this item
is not a tool used in art. It is just a letter opener.
- Peter Stubbs: October
18, 2006 |
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Answer
2.
to
Question
4 |
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Thank you to Jonathan Small,
Rhode Island, USA,
for e-mailed me with the following message.
Jonathan wrote:
- Peter Stubbs: October
18, 2006 |
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The Tool
"If the other side of this tool is smooth, I
would guess it to be a burnisher, which is used for smoothing out errors
and imperfections on engraved or etched plates. If it is symmetrical
and the tip is unpolished, then I'm wrong about the burnisher, and It
could very well be a letter opener, as mentioned."
Banknotes
"I found your web site because I was curious
about John Sellers. There was a huge stash of steel bank note plates
from the American Bank Note Company found last year in the US, and they
are being auctioned off in a series of auctions. Many of them are
marked with "John Sellers and Sons".
Jonathan Small, Rhode Island, USA: March 7, 2007 |
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Answer
3.
to
Question
4 |
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George T Smith wrote:
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The Tool
"It looks like a letter opener to me.
The handle's design would not lend itself to the extended use of a
tool."
George T Smith, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island,
British Columbia, Canada: April 27, 2006 |
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Answer
4.
to
Question
4 |
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Thank you to Jason Marchiafava who replied:
The Tool
"I am a portrait engraver by
profession. I came across the John Sellers question/article
and would like to provide some info.
The
tool shown in the pic would be mounted into a wooden handle and
used as a scraper. If you look close at this picture of the dog
engraving you can see at the tip of the tool (called a graver or
burin) is a "curl" of metal.
©
Jason Marchiafava
©
Jason Marchiafava
The scraper would be used to go back
and clip this 'bur' or 'curl' off. The steel tool shown in
Richard Howe's picture is made from a heat treatable, high carbon,
steel, and shaped to the engravers preference.
John Sellers
John Sellers and Sons were providers
of many steel products and were known for making the finest
quality heat treatable steel in their day (mid-1800s).
They were the head supplier for almost
all of the great banknote engraving firms of the time in the U.S.
and U.K.
As for the printing plates, there are
almost never any signatures of the actual artist due to the fact
that they were 'security' engravers. Occasionally there is the
name of the firm somewhere and they are almost always numbered.
They would be printed via intaglio method.
Jason Marchiafava: September 12, 2007 |
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Answer
5.
to
Question
4 |
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Thank you to Dan Walker who replied
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Tool made by John Sellers
"I am a stamp collector and have a friend
who is also a stamp collector and retired official of major worldwide
paper making plants and security printing.
I showed him the 'Letter opener' and asked
if he knew what it was. His answer was:
©
'Depending
on how the point is ground, it would be either:
- sharp, in which case it would be a Burin to cut lines, OR
-
smooth, in which case it would be a burnisher to smooth out rough spots
or errors.
It is not a letter opener, which is always flat, not triangular.'
" |
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Stamp Dies
"One
of the areas I specialize in is the Indian Princely state of Hyderabad.
I have a steel stamp die made for a UK printer of stamps by John Sellers
and Son, Sheffield, England, pre-World War I, probably 1911.
We thought the stamp dies were made by the
stamp printer but that is not the case as John Sellers and Son made the
die." |
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Dan Walker, Lisbon, Maryland, USA: December 27.
2010 |
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Comments
5.
to
Question
4 |
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Thank you to Dan Walker who replied
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Tool made by John Sellers
"I am a stamp collector and have a friend
who is also a stamp collector and retired official of major worldwide
paper making plants and security printing.
I showed him the 'Letter opener' and asked
if he knew what it was. His answer was:
©
'Depending
on how the point is ground, it would be either:
- sharp, in which case it would be a Burin to cut lines, OR
-
smooth, in which case it would be a burnisher to smooth out rough spots
or errors.
It is not a letter opener, which is always flat, not triangular.'
" |
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Stamp Dies
"One
of the areas I specialize in is the Indian Princely state of Hyderabad.
I have a steel stamp die made for a UK printer of stamps by John Sellers
and Son, Sheffield, England, pre-World War I, probably 1911.
We thought the stamp dies were made by the
stamp printer but that is not the case as John Sellers and Son made the
die." |
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Dan Walker, Lisbon, Maryland, USA: December 27.
2010 |
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