$5 bank note proof sheet

New Orleans, ca1850. As issued.. Very good; some toning to the paper; small marginal imperfections to some edges. An odd paper almost Japanese in composition and texture.. A proof sheet for an engraved $5 note with a registration mark; printed in three colors and in three languages - English, French, and Spanish; recto - verso. The note measures 74 x 184 mm. The bank note engravers were: Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson - New Orleans. The main illustration on the $5 bank note offered here appears on the firm's broadside sample sheet issued in 1843.

Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson, was the most prominent bank note engraving firm in nineteenth-century (truncated) America. The artistry of the firm's production set the standard for U.S. printing and engraving firms. Ralph Rawdon established an engraving and printing firm in 1816 at Albany, NY. His younger brother, Freeman Rawdon, created his own independent firm sometime after 1825. Each partnered with other engravers - Ralph with Vistus Balch of Williamstown, Massachusetts (ca. 1818-1822) and then with Asahel Clark to form Rawdon, Clark, & Co. At the same time, Freeman partnered with Neziah Wright in 1828, establishing Rawdon, Wright, & Co. of New York City. On March 1, 1832, their two firms merged to become Rawdon, Wright, Hatch, & Company. Tracy R. Edson joined the company as a business administrator at the time of this merger. Though he may have had training in engraving, he ran the operations of the firm’s New Orleans office beginning in 1843. Edson returned to the main office in New York City in 1847 to administer the entire firm, at which point his name was added to the company’s title as Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson. In 1858 they were one of the founding members of the American Bank Note Company. The Citizens Bank of Louisiana was founded in 1833. It was the second largest bank in America. (Inventory #: 23092)