Back to the focus of this thread.
A number of comments relating to a wonderful watch paper printing plate were previously posted (message # 6, 10, 13, 16, 22, 23) for a London maker, William Hext, that likely dates to the 1740's (my estimate). Exceedingly few plates exist because they had a rather short life and the copper, a valuable metal, was recycled. How few, I don’t know. But in the 30 years that I’ve been interested in watch papers, I've recorded under 15. The Hext printing plate was the only one that I knew of that dates to the early 18 century until fairly recently when another one turned up. This is for James Tattlock who worked in Leeds. His dates are 1727 to 1740 according to Brian Loomes’ book on Yorkshire makers that he published in 1972. Tattlock advertised as a clock and watchmaker in Leeds in 1728 and married the year before in 1727. So, its nearly certain that this printing plate dates to that time, the late 1720’s, although could also be a bit later. I’ve posted two photo’s of this plate, the second is flipped with graphics software so its easier to read.
