c. 1845 LADIES TICKET for a SOCIAL EVENT HELD by the WASHINGTON RIFLEMEN - ENGRAVED on COATED STOCK by W.L. ORMSBY

Item Details

NEW YORK NY, c. 1845

This c.1845  ladies ticket was engraved for a ball held by the Washington Riflemen.  It features a portrait of George Washington. 

The card was printed by important American engraver Waterman Lilly Ormsby - 116 Fulton St. New York.

From Wikipedia:

W.L. (Waterman Lilly) Ormsby (1809-1883) was a notable engraver, particularly recognized for his dedication to the reformation of currency production. While he had some formal training, most of his skills were honed through hours of hands-on work and experimentation in his workshop. He invented several ruling machines and transfer presses for improving the process of steel engraving. In addition, he is usually credited for the redesign of the five-dollar bill. Outside of banking notes, he assisted Samuel Morse with his telegraphic alphabet and provided engravings for Samuel Colt’s revolvers. In the end, Ormsby’s most influential contribution to the engraving trade was his personal crusade to bring attention to the proliferation of counterfeiting schemes in the U.S. In 1852, Ormsby published an impressive work on bank note engraving, the most extensive to date, with a particular focus on flaws in the current bank system and recommendations on how to counteract currency counterfeiters.engraving on metal.

Ormsby was born in Hampton CT and became an apprentice in an engraving shop at a young age. In 1829, he attended the National Academy of Design in New York City. Upon graduating he moved to Albany NY where he engraved over his own name for a few years. Eventually, he settled in New York City where he founded the New York Bank Note Company and became one of the founders of the Continental Bank Note Company.

Dedicated to stopping counterfeiters, Ormsby invented the “grammagraph", a machine used to copy medals and medallions onto bank note dies in order to give the illusion of a bas-relief. The device was later used as a pantographic engraving machine to produce "roll-die" engraving on metal. The machine automated an existing engraving technique that varied spaces between parallel contour lines to give the impression of depth to a print. In Ormsby's case this was most famously used on the cylinders of revolvers made by Samuel Colt.

3 1/2" x 4 3/4" - printed on coated stock and in good condition.