Lorenzo J. Hatch Life and Times. Born: Hartford, New York 1857 Died: Peking, China 1914 In Lorenzo's early life he was a painter. Here is a painting he did. Sketch on the Potomac 1883 painting of waterscape and a boat. Later in his life he became an engraver for the US Bureau of Engraving. His most notable works are some of the most beautiful bills we have ever made. The $2 and the $5 Educational Notes. His part of these was the backs, more specifically the portraits of the people on them. The $2: Samuel F. B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph and Robert Fulton, inventor of the steam engine are the portraits on them. The $5: Lorenzo engraved the back portraits on the $5 Educational note of the two people General Philip Sheridan and General Ulysses S. Grant. These were put on this bill only 31 years after the civil war. That must have upset some Southerners. The Grant portrait was also used on FR259 to 265 Both of these two notes are in the "100 Greatest American Currency Notes" book written by Bowers and Sundman. The $2 comes in at: #11 And the $5 comes in at: #5 of course Later in 1908 Lorenzo went to Peking,China on a 6 year contract to establish The Chinese Bureau of Engraving and Printing. He and William Grant were the two responsible for the designs and vignettes on the early Chinese paper money and stamps. His work there is very famous as well and was an integral part of starting their Bureau. He died in 1914 while still working there.
Great presentation Duke! Thanks for the time that goes into researching and writing a piece that helps the group learn more! Best Regards ~ Darryl
Thanks for the write-up, Duke! I'd be interested to see some of those Chinese notes that Lorenzo engraved, if you have any. Dave
Duke...nice presentation & bio .Beautiful engraver in his own right , the Grant & Sheriden portraits are masterpieces!
Duke: Very nice job on the presentation. :thumb: Thank you for a welll done piece on a very talented Engraver. Regards, RB
Thanks all for the comments. I had been nervous about this for 6 months when I agreed to do this. I'm glad it worked out and it was almost painless
I enjoyed reading this one, too. I've always liked the Grant portrait, but didn't realize it was done by Lorenzo Hatch. Do you know if he was any relation to George W. Hatch of ABNCo predecessor Rawdon, Wright & Hatch?
I've not found any reference to that but if I ever do I'll add it to this one for you. Glad you liked it.
A collection of Lorenzo Hatch papers and effects digitized on the web site of the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art: Lorenzo James Hatch and Hatch family papers, 1902-1937, bulk 1908-1914 [h=2]Overview of the Collection [/h] [h=3]Scope and Contents [/h] The Lorenzo James Hatch and Hatch family papers consist of family correspondence, printed material, scrapbooks of printed materials and photographs, and a travel account.