The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 18, May 6, 2007, Article 7

CHRISTIAN GOBRECHT NOTEBOOK AND SKETCHBOOK SURFACES

In the May 2007 issues of The E-Gobrecht (Volume 3, Issue 5), Len
Augsburger noted that "An interesting item recently appeared on
www.abebooks.com:

 Manuscript Notebook and Sketchbook.
 GOBRECHT, Christian.
 Bookseller: BOOKPRESS LTD. (Williamsburg, VA, U.S.A.)
 Price: US$ 9350.00 [Convert Currency]
 Quantity: 1, Shipping within U.S.A.:US$ 3.50
 Book Description:

(Baltimore and Philadelphia: 1806, 1806. Manuscript Notebook and
Sketchbook. - 1823). Small 4to. (8 x 6 1/2 inches). Shee spine,
decorated paperboards. 72 leaves, of which 2/3 are used. Christian
Gobrecht (1785-1844) was a noted American engraver, punch cutter an
inventor. This notebook can be divided into three sections. The first
has nineteen pen and graphite sketches of an organ he invented between
1816 and 1821, "a reed organ made of an assemblage of metallic tongues
placed in a case and operate with a bellows and keys." The second
section concerns itself with punch cutt and type founding machinery
from the early 1820s when Gobrecht worked for Murray, Draper, Fairman
& Company, Philadelphia, where he was noted for his designs and
models for the United States Mint. Manuscript material on American
engraving of the period is especially rare. The third section is
fifty-three pages of recipes and receipts, many of which deal with
gilding and faux-gild using brass, cast steel and silver, along with
great details on aquatinting, soldering for organ pipes, and other
craft functions. At the beginning are early drawings and later a
proof of an engraved calling card for 'Capt. Isaac Hull, U.S.N. The
ook contains the engraved bookplate of Chr. Gobrecht. The book remained
in the Gobrecht family until 1928 when it was presented to the Franklin
Institute and sold by them in October 2006.

"I inquired about this item yesterday and was told that it had already
sold. A pity. The second section would be the most interesting - Gobrecht
is thought to have created date and letter punches for the US mint during
this period - perhaps this sketchbook had further information on this?"

Len adds: "I have since talked with Dan Hamelberg, who saw the sketchbook
in person and reported that there was no numismatic content in there."

[Despite the lack of numismatic content, this is still a very significant
source for information on a key early U.S. Mint engraver.  Interesting!
-Editor]

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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