The Royal Cameo Scrap Book of Embossed Heads.
London: Kendall and Son, (ca. 1840). 9 1/2 x 11. Ten compound-printed color plates (as issued) mounted on heavy stock: Address Plate, Inscription Plate, and profile portraits of King William IV, Queen Adelaide, Duke of Wellington,Earl Grey, Lord Broughan, Lord Byron, Sir Walter Scott, and Thomas Moore. Blank leaves are provided for the owner to add other "Scraps." This owner added an engraving of portraits to the album. Original embossed plaque red morocco binding, gilt & all edges gilt. The binding has some wear; the contents are fine. An extraordinary and deluxe production. Item #7035
Rare. We cannot locate another copy. The Scrapbooks were probably broken up for individual plates.
These high-relief color portraits were produced by compound-plate printing, which printed all the colors simultaneously with one pull of the press. Invented by Sir William Congreve, the process was created to prevent forgeries of British banknotes. The Bank of England did not adopt this method, and in 1824 Congreve turned his patents over to the printers Branston and Whiting. Compound-printing was used for postage stamps, labels, and similar small items.
"Congreve's compound plates...were composed of several interlocking parts, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. To print a plate the parts were separated, inked in their different colors, fitted together again and printed as a single plate." Color registration was precise, and could not be achieved any other way. Elizabeth Harris, Sir William Congreve and his Componud-plate Printing.
Price: $6,000.00