Antique Edwardian Copper Letterpress Engraving Plate "Fredk R. Gower-Smith" c.1880-1920 - Used
£13.49
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Antique Edwardian Copper Letterpress Engraving Plate "Fredk R. Gower-Smith" c.1880-1920 - Used
£13.49
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Used / Pre-owned (antique) — condition as shown in images. Please refer to all photos carefully before purchasing.
A genuine antique copper letterpress / intaglio engraving plate dating to the late Victorian or Edwardian period (c.1880–1920). The plate bears the name “FREDK R. GOWER-SMITH.” engraved in reverse (mirror image) in an ornate serif typeface — as was standard for letterpress and intaglio printing, so the name prints correctly when the plate is pressed onto paper.
At approximately business card / visiting card size (8.2cm × 4.5cm), this is almost certainly a personal calling card printing plate — used by a printer to produce the visiting cards of one “Frederick R. Gower-Smith”. “Fredk” is the period abbreviation for Frederick, common in Victorian and Edwardian formal usage.
Item details (photo-verified):
- Material: Copper
- Type: Letterpress / intaglio engraving plate
- Text: FREDK R. GOWER-SMITH. (engraved in reverse on plate face)
- Font: Ornate Victorian/Edwardian serif typeface with decorative letterforms
- Dimensions: Approx. 8.2cm × 4.5cm (length × width)
- Period: c.1880–1920 (late Victorian / Edwardian)
- Origin: British
Condition (photo-verified — please read carefully):
- Used / antique — age consistent with c.1880–1920 dating
- Engraved face (front): Intact and fully legible; light surface scratches and age-related marks consistent with use; engraving crisp and clear
- Reverse face (back): Heavy age patina, oxidation, and dark spotting across the surface — entirely consistent with genuine age of 100+ years; some lifting/peeling at the top-left corner of the reverse
- Plate is flat and structurally intact
Ideal for: antique collectors, printing history enthusiasts, typographers, letterpress collectors, Victorian and Edwardian ephemera collectors, genealogists (the Gower-Smith name may be of interest to family historians), interior display, or as a film/theatre prop. A rare and characterful piece of British social and printing history.
What’s included: Copper plate only, as shown in images.
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