The Engravers' Room
Copperplate engraving was one of the most demanding roles of all Bartholomew's departments. Staff were expected to be able to engrave very fine lettering and shapes on to a copperplate, in reverse.
Engravers incised lines by working away from the body, rotating the copperplate as they worked. This meant they were not only working back to front, but often upside down too. As a result, it took up to seven years to master this skill.
David Webster — photo 1
Engraver David Webster amending a copperplate. David started his career at Bartholomew in 1931 and he was the last engraver to be employed at the firm. (See also next image.)
Engraver David Webster — photo 2
This photo of David Webster captures the concentration engravers displayed while working. (See also previous image.)
Engraver Bert Bremner
Engraver Bert Bremner is revising the copperplate for one of Bartholomew's half-inch maps.
To his left is an amended half-inch sheet, sent to Bert from the draughtsmen. Bert would apply these changes to the copperplate using a vast array of tools, many of which are placed neatly around his desk.
Watch Bert at work in the short film 'Fine lines'.
Engraver Alex Knox
Alexander Knox was one of Bartholomew's longest-serving employees, beginning his career in 1906 and staying with the firm for 52 years. He also appears in the 1911 photograph of Bartholomew's engraving team at Park Road (see next image), when he was an apprentice.
Park Road engravers, 1911
Bartholomew's engraving team in 1911, the year the firm moved from Park Road to Duncan Street. There is a stark contrast between the senior, journeymen engravers, and the much younger apprentices. This suggests a major expansion of this department just prior to the move to Duncan Street.
Engraving tools
A selection of the engraving tools used by John Hutchison. John worked for Bartholomew in the 1960s although he began as an engraver in 1913.
Engravers used a series of tools to produce different effects. The tools here include burins (which look like chisels) roulettes (which have a rotating wheel to engrave dotted lines), a parallel rule and his hammer and magnifying glass.
Engraving workbook
Detail for 30 August 1918 from a workbook page.
This book records some of the engraving work Bartholomew were doing during the First World War. Each column names an engraver and below his name is the cost of the work he did on a particular map.
There aren’t many engravers listed during this time because many of them had been conscripted or had volunteered to join the armed forces.
'Fine lines' engraving film
Bartholomew copperplate engraver Bert Bremner features in this short film.
Correcting copperplates
Draughtsman Willie Hall describes how Bartholomew's engravers made revisions on copperplates during the mapmaking process.
Photo-lithography
Draughtsman Willie Hall describes how Bartholomew introduced photography into the map-printing process.
