The "Lancaster's Master Engraver" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Thinking back to when I began teaching Graphic Arts in high school.  At the time I taught letterpress printing as well as teaching intaglio, screen printing and lithography.  During my intaglio section I had my students create, at first, copper plates.  They would etch images onto copper plates, rub ink into the etched lines, wipe the excess ink from the plate and print them, running them through a press with rollers, onto a damp piece of etching paper.  I eventually changed to plastic plates due to the cost of copper.  We continued to make intaglio prints in my classes until I retired about 20 years ago, since I thought it was important for students to know some of the basic principals used in the past.  Well, my story today deals with a premier historian of American printmaking.  David McNeely Stauffer was the son of Jacob Stauffer, a well known Lancaster County letterpress printer.  David was born on March 24, 1845 in the Lancaster County borough known as Mount Joy, became one of Mr. J.P. McCaskey's favorite students in high school. Mr. McCaskey recognized David's genius who eventually won a scholarship and took courses at nearby Franklin & Marshall College until his college education was interrupted by service in the Civil War.  After being honorably discharged, he eventually began his engineering career as a surveyor for the Columbia & Port Deposit Railroad in eastern Pennsylvania.  He then worked for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad as a civil engineer until 1876 when he went into private practice.  He also wrote scholarly articles and edited the Engineering News.  He was an established engraver on copper and steel and authored the pioneering study of American prints that is unsurpassed, even today.  The title of his 1907 work was "American Engravers Upon Copper and Steel."  He amassed a collection of close to 14,000 engravings which he eventually donated to the New York Public Library.  He excelled as a masterful designer and engraver of bookplates.  Beginning in the 1870s he created a variety of bookplates for friends and relatives.  Many of David's papers as well as his bookplate collection is housed at nearby F&M College.  The Smithsonian Archives of American Art also has a collection of his bookplates.  In 1892 David married Florence Hilton whose father was the Hon. G. Scribner Hilton, the secretary of state for the state of New York.   Two years later David created a bookplate for her.  David and Florence met on a cruise from New York to Panama.  They were shipwrecked for a week on El Roncador Island and later named their New York home "El Roncador."  Following are some of my favorite etchings that he did that are part of Lancaster Historical Society's collection (click on images to enlarge so as to see the fine detail of his etchings).

This was "Barney Mulhatton's home on the corner of Duke & James Streets in Lancaster, PA.  Done in 1881

Historical Donegal Church in Mount Joy, PA.

Washington Hotel on East King Street.  The hotel was operated by "Dare Devil" Dave Miller.  He got his name due to riding his horse up the steps of the Lancaster County Court House.

Thaddeus Stevens' House and Jacob Effinger's Hotel on South Queen and Vine Streets.

The George Ross House with arched spring in the cellar done in 1881.  George Ross was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

The Swan Hotel on the corner of S. Queen St. and Vine Street.  Etched in 1881.

The following are bookplates that he did for many of his friends and relatives.  David died on February 5, 1913 and was buried at St. Johns Cemetery in Yonkers, New York.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

1895 Bookplate for Howard and Anne who were David's brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

Bookplate for his business partner George Henry Frost.  Mr. Frost was David's civil engineering business partner in New York City.  This was etched in 1882.  

This was a 1896 bookplate made for William Uhler Hensel who was the attorney-general of Pennsylvania in 1891.  Mr. Hensel was President of the board of trustees of Franklin & Marshall College and helped found the Lancaster Historical Society.

Bookplate for B. Franklin Breneman who was a prosperous Lancaster businessman.  He helped create Lancaster's Hamilton Club.

Bookplate for Redmond Conygham who was an attorney in Lancaster, PA.  Many now spell the name Cunningham.

Bookplate for Richard Jackson Barker who had a successful lumber business in Fall River, Rhode Island.  It looks like these great danes are preparing to saw down this chestnut tree.