About 25 years ago, I purchased a group of Belgian advertising cards that date to the 1840s. They're all printed from engraved metal plates that were beautifully inked by hand. As one who has experimented with etching plates, I can tell you that the inking of these cards was done by a real master. These colors were all applied to one plate by essentially rubbing the colors into etched grooves. The surface of the plate was then wiped clean, without smearing the colors. Inking the type above into three distinct colors was therefore extremely exacting work.
The originals of all the cards are a little creamier than the scans, but all of the cards are in remarkably clean condition. Each card is approximately the size of an index card, or 3" x 5". I'm including an angled photograph of one of the cards to show that the inks have a rich metallic sheen. Where you see a rusty red on the scan, you see a lovely coppery red on the original.
The cards have lasted for about 170 years in part because they were printed on a very high-quality, stiff paper that was baked with a clay surface. That in turn produced the glossy finish you see above.
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| Click on any card to enlarge it. |
This detail from the last card would date it no earlier than 1841, though several of the cards look as though they could easily be from the 1700s.
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What a spectacular set of cards. This type of high-quality engraving seems to have been a Belgian specialty. Design survivals of this period survive on wine labels, cocoa tins, and other old-fashioned products.
ReplyDeleteThese look like they might have been assembled as a set of salesman's samples for the printing company or stationer, considering their similarity of condition, design, and general appearance. I have seen sample sets of business cards, calling cards, rewards of merit, etc., but none nearly as impressive as these.
Hello Mark:
ReplyDeleteThese Belgian advertising cards are truly miniature works of art. The clarity of the detail is remarkable and to have endured in such an excellent condition must, as you say, be an indication of the high quality of the initial production.
The colours are so beautifully faded, the range of blues is particularly appealing. Our favourite is 'A. Tyman'. We love the honey pot with its swarm of buzzing bees. So much detail in such a tiny space.
Hello, Parnassus - I agree with you that these cards might have been saved as a set of samples, particularly since they probably were designed by the same engraver. One wonders how they ended up in Tampa, Florida, which is where I bought them!
ReplyDeleteI wish that the scanning could reveal the metallic luster of all the colors - that makes them all the more attractive when viewed in person.
Hello, Jane and Lance - The A. Tyman card is my favorite as well. aside from having charming details, it has, I think, the most classic design.
ReplyDeleteThere is very fine detail in these advertising cards Mark. The more you look the more you see. I had not noticed all of those lovely little bonnets and hats until I clicked on to the image of card No. 5.
ReplyDeleteHi, Rosemary - Card No. 5 has perhaps the most Victorian feel in design, and it's a glimpse into the style of the 1840s, isn't it? I like all the fancy adornments to the top hat on the left. Perhaps that was for a coachman.
ReplyDeleteWhat finely detailed and complicated work, Mark.
ReplyDeleteBut to also have added such beauty into the mix is incredible.
I can hardly believe the richness of detail. Just gorgeous.
Thanks, Yvette - The viewer would probably have a greater appreciation for these cards knowing that the multicolored inks were applied to the engraved grooves of a plate, and then the plate was wiped clean, without smearing the colors.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll go back and edit that in ...
Mark, how coincedental that you ahve posted this. Over the weekend in a junk shop I picked up a little porcelain dish with a transfer design similiar to these advertising a chemist in Brussels. It was a bit battered, however for the $3.50 I paid for it it was a steal! Now in my bathroom with guest soap!
ReplyDeleteHi, David - Your find sounds delightful. I have a similar dish with a horoscope and old German graphic, and I never cease to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteTell me more about the clay surface....the first marbled papers I ever saw were done on clay coated paper. (about 40 years ago)
ReplyDeleteHi, Theresa,
ReplyDeleteThe cards that I'm featuring in this post may in fact have been produced on a paper that incorporated lead, which produced a heavy glossy-white paper known as "porcelain." That was a process developed in the 1840s, and it's possible that these cards were using the very latest technology.
It's also likely to have been made using a white clay called kaolin. Kaolin was the clay mined in the Kao-Ling region of China to produce porcelain. The clay filled the spaces between the paper fibers, making the paper ultra-smooth, then also coated the surface, producing gloss. Clay-coated papers are still used today for high-end glossy printing jobs.
WONDERFUL> I want to frame each one and put them up on a wall. And as always, I appreciate the education that I get while browsing through your wonderful posts. : )
ReplyDeleteHi, Valerie - In my last house I did have these on a very narrow wall, framed in a tight column with the frames painted the same color as the wall. It was quite a striking statement! Thanks for the compliment!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteAnyès
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Thanks, Anyes! ... Mark
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in porcelain but never knew that fine kaolin clay had an application for paper making. These cards are so beautiful, and I admire all the rich detail. One could examine them with a magnifying glass for long periods of time. Amazing that they are of such quality that they've lasted an incredible length of time.
ReplyDeleteHi, Terry - because the porcelain cards are treated with a layer of clay, they are a stiff stock, and I think that's been a big factor in their preservation. I wish I could better share the beauty of their metalic inks ...
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