Trade Card for Robert Griffith, Seal and Copper Plate Engraver

Art Historical Context

Step into the bustling world of 18th-century commerce with this charming trade card for Robert Griffith, a skilled seal and copper plate engr. Produced anonymously around that era, this petite engraving (just 2 3/8 × 3 1/16 inches) served as a portable advertisement, much like a modern business card. Distributed by craftsmen to potential clients, trade cards like this one showcased services while doubling as decorative keepsakes, often collected in scrapbooks. Engraving, the medium here, involved incising designs into a copper plate with tools, then inking and printing onto paper—a technique Griffith himself mastered for seals (personal emblems used on documents) and custom plates. This ironic self-promotion highlights the era's thriving print culture, where such ephemera bridged art and everyday trade. Donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1926 by Bella C. Landauer, it offers a glimpse into London's artisan economy, where precision engraving fueled everything from book illustrations to legal seals. Though small, this card captures the ingenuity of Georgian-era advertising, blending functionality with subtle artistry in its clean lines and elegant script— a testament to the unsung role of anonymous printmakers in shaping consumer culture.