Wendell Wolka writes:

Wendell describes the process of anaglyptograpy. I cannot comment on its use in banknote engraving as this is outside my expertize. I can comment, however, on anaglyptography as I have madean extensive study of it.

It is one of the most misunderstood words and process in numismatics. It is NOT a machine that creates engraving for medals, but rather the use of medals for the creation of engravings. Manynumismatists had the misconception that it was a machine that replaced the tedious process of hand engraving of dies.

The process was a forerunner (for a brief time, 1838-1861) of photoengraving for making printing plates. Coin and medal books were illustrated by this process, It can be traced back to 1817 by ayouthful watchmaker, Christian Gobrecht who later was to become Chief Engraver at the Philadelphia Mint!. The device is similar to a ruling pen. Gonrecht built one to engrave on the back of watchcases.

Later when he was at the Mint he had fellow mint worker Joseph Saxon build one which was used to illustrate several books by Mint Assayers Jacob Eckfeldt and William DuBois. Saxon also built onefor a banknote engraver who took it to England and sold it to John Bate.

Bate was a rascal. He claimed he invented the device and got a British patent. The history thereafter is a fascinating story which goes all the way up to British Parliament and involves a fightbetween French and English publishers with Royal Mint engravers also involved.

I selected the word Anaglyptography for my Vocabulary Word of the week (see elsewhere this issue). The complete entry is too long for an E-Sylum article (2,475 words or 7 pages). Iomitted the History. You can find the complete entry including the History on the Newman Portal (see Dictionary, under A for Anaglyptography).

You will enjoy reading the History. Who wins the battle?

To read Dick's complete entry on Anaglyptography, see: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/dictionarydetail/515360

"Anaglyptography" is an interesting word for an arcane process, but I don't see the word used by bank note engraving researchers who have written about the process. Ormsby's bookof 1852, A Description of the Process of Bank Note Engraving discusses the process, calling it medal engraving or medallion engraving, and even pictures a medal copying machine in plate 2,figure 2.

Bowers's book Obsolete Bank Notes calls it a medal-ruling machine. McCabe in Counterfeiting and Technology refers to it as medallion-engraving machine. I have long called itmedallion-ruling work. I don't see any of these people using "anaglyptography" as a term for the process. The people most identified with the process are Asa Spencer, ChristianGobrecht, and Joseph Saxton.

Bob McCabe, who devotes almost five pages in Counterfeiting and Technology to the process and the men who made the machines to do it, describes it this way:

He goes on to explain how these different spacings trick the eye. I strongly suggest readers get Bob McCabe's book if they are interested in this process.

From Webster's 1913 Dictionary:

To read the complete entry: http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/Anaglyptography

From the The Ephemera Society of America:

To read the complete entry: http://www.sheaff-ephemera.com/list/anaglyptography/