Vintage Castle Steel Engraving Prints

• Vintage
• Hand colored steel engraving prints of English Countryside Castles
• Unframed
• 10.75" long x 8.25" wide

Steel engravings were the new and improved method of copperplate prints. The process involved engraving or etching an image into metal plates (copper was used as early as 1430 up until steel became popularized in 1792) then ink was applied to the plate which then is transferred onto paper by placing a damp sheet of paper over the metal plate before it is moved through the press.

Copperplate engravings wore out quickly due to the soft, mailable nature of the metal and therefore could only product a few hundred copies before it wore down and the lines became too thick or blurry.

Steel engravings were more durable and could product a few thousand before they wore down.