Trade Card: Thomas Harper Copper Plate Printer and Stationer

Dateca. 1750

Designer Mathew Lock

Engraver Evans

OriginEngland, London

MediumEtching and line engraving on laid paper

DimensionsOverall: 6 5/16 × 5 1/2in. (16 × 14cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund

Object number2024-7

DescriptionTrade card. Title read: "Thomas Harper/ Copper Plate Printer/ and Stationer,/ at the Bible in King Street Seven Dials, London/ All manner of Copper Plates neatly Printed/ Likewise Sells all sorts of Stationary Wares./ Wholesale & Retail."
Label TextThis trade card for Thomas Harper borrows its central design from an earlier advertisement for the shop of George Beacher (see 2023-3). At some point, the names of the designer and engraver of the trade card were removed. Copies at the British Museum and Metropolitain Museum of Art bear the imprints of "M. Lock Inv.t" (Matthias/Matthew Lock) and "J. Evans Sculp."
ProvenanceBefore 2023, Thomas Heneage (London); 2024-present purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).