Society of Arts. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTS, &C. TOGETHER WITH THE APPROVED COMMUNICATIONS AND EVIDENCE UPON THE SAME, RELATIVE TO THE MODE OF PREVENTING THE FORGERY OF BANK NOTES.London: Printed by Order of the Society and Sold by the Housekeeper at the Societys House in the Adelphi, 1819. Tall 8vo [25.5 by 16 cm], original paper-backed blue boards. 80 pages, as follows: (4), 1-59, (1), 57*, 58*, 59*, (1), (61)-72, complete as issued; text illustration; plate of T.C. Hansards Plan for a Typographic Bank Note; finely engraved plate of a Bank of England £1 note design submitted by Thomas Ransom; an exceptional engraved plate of bank note design elements submitted by R.H. Solly; a fine engraved folding plate of a printing press for bank notes also submitted by Solly; and 2 finely engraved steel-printed plates of geometric designs submitted by Richard Williamson. Binding rubbed and with some cracking at joints, but very well-preserved overall and an exceptional copy.<p>A landmark work, in its original state, untrimmed and bound in the plain boards in which it was issued. In the three or four years preceding publication, "convictions before the criminal courts for the circulation of Forgeries of the Bank of England Note" had risen precipitously, resulting in the "increasing reluctance of Juries to visit with the extreme penalty of the law." This impressive production presents the results of "an investigation for the purpose of ascertaining whether there exist any means, within the compass of the fine and the mechanical arts, not of totally preventing the Forgery of Bank Notes (for that is obviously impossible), but of increasing the difficulty of imitation, and thus of checking the prevalence of the crime." The committees findings, largely penned by Thomas Curson Hansard, had great impact on the course of anti-counterfeiting measures and technology in America as well as Great Britain. Many of the suggestions for technological improvements were in fact derived from American sources. Very scarce, and the only copy we have encountered in its original state.Ex Heather Hardin-Hudson Collection, purchased from the John E. Herzog Library and previously in the library of the architect Philip Hardwick (1792-1870), with his engraved armorial bookplate.
