Object Status:
Unlocated
Accession Date:
September 13, 1815
Primary Source Reference:
Peale Museum Accessions Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 78
Notes:
John Meer (1756–1831), artist and inventor, immigrated to the United States from his native Wolverhampton, England. By 1790 he had settled in Philadelphia, where in 1798 he became a naturalized citizen. In 1795 Meer exhibited flowers painted on the back of glass and five flower pieces “in imitation of Enamel.” He served as the president of the Society of Artists and Manufacturers in 1804, and in 1813 both he and Thomas Jefferson were incorporators of the Columbian Society of Artists, formerly the Society of Artists of the United States. Meer was the regulator of weights and measures for Philadelphia, 1809–18, and in 1812 he contracted to paint canteens and knapsacks for the United States Army. He received a patent in 1815 for graphic plates used for banknotes and another in 1818 for an improvement in bookbinding.
On 18 June 1816 Meer sent Jefferson a copy of his bank note, "Which I believe to be superiour in many respects to any other hitherto used. It is engraved on a Steel plate (mostly with a Hair pencil) It will print ten times more coppies than any copper plate, and will come at the same price of copper plates in general made for Bank notes. This mode of work produces great strength and richnes of colouring, and a boldnes of expression not to be obtained by any other means, yet the most delicate tints may be produced; and it is susceptible of an infinite variety of pattern and design. This invention is most likely to secure Bank Notes and all kinds of Official and confidential papers from forgery." Jefferson Papers, Founders Online, National Archives / https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-10-02-0094-0001
