CHIEF ENGRAVER WILLIAM KNEASS

Regarding the inquiry about William Kneass, I don’t believe there is a single source for his letters and other archival information. However, there are several institutions where some historical documents of Kneass can be located. William Kneass is mentioned in the “William Wood Thackara Diary” at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, along with an article by Robert Crompton that draws from the Diary, “ James Thackara, of Lancaster and Philadelphia, Engraver Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, Volume 62, Number 2, (April, 1958). Other sources include the Library Company of Philadelphia, the New York State Library, the Smithsonian, and the National Archives and Records Administration in Philadelphia, where the early US Mint records are located. More archival information could be found by researching the papers of the publishers that Kneass worked for.

From my research on Robert Scot, I also found the following information on the early engraving career of Kneass, from contemporary sources. In July of 1796, William Kneass became apprenticed to Philadelphia engraver James Thackara, who had just ended his six year engraving partnership with John Vallance, a Scottish immigrant. Thackara had been trained in engraving by Robert Scot and James Trenchard. It is probable that Kneass assisted with some of the 18 engravings that Thackara completed and signed for Thomas Dobson’s Encyclop¿dia during 1796 and 1797.

The first engravings signed by William Kneass were in 1802 for The Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith, published by Thackara. He also engraved Freemasonry illustrations including the Grand Lodge of Philadelphia. From 1806 to 1821, Kneass contributed many engravings for the American edition of Abraham Rees’ The New Cyclop¿dia, initially published by Samuel F. Bradford. Prior to his appointment as Chief Engraver at the US Mint, Kneass completed a large volume of engraving work, primarily copperplate illustrations. More research is needed on these early US Mint engravers to gain knowledge of the contributions they made to early American publishing.

To read the complete article, see: QUERY: PAPERS OF CHIEF ENGRAVER WILLIAM KNEASS SOUGHT (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n27a16.html)

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