“Monitor and the Merrimac”, Progress Die Proof on india on card, ABNCo, by James D. Smillie

This progress die proof, entitled “The Battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac,” is a masterful example of 19th-century American security engraving executed by James David Smillie for the American Bank Note Company around 1862. The scene captures the historic March 9, 1862, naval clash at Hampton Roads, depicting the revolutionary low-profile USS Monitor and the casemate ironclad CSS Virginia (the former USS Merrimac) amidst a chaotic harbor filled with billowing smoke and distant shore fortifications. Rendered with the precise, fine-line intaglio technique that Smillie mastered under his father’s tutelage, the engraving was designed to be used as a security element for high-denomination banknotes and official documents to prevent counterfeiting. The proof’s intricate detail—from the distinct flags to the reflections on the water—showcases why Smillie was considered a premier bank note engraver of the “golden age” of American steel engraving.

The American Bank Note Co. traced its beginning back to Philadelphia and Robert Scott, who started a bank note business in that year. Scott was also engraving for the United States Mint. Finally he relinquished his interest in bank notes and the firm was taken over by John Draper, who had been his assistant. At some time during the long period to 1858, each of the founding firms in some manner, or form had been connected with Scott or Draper, thus establishing the date of beginning as 1795. The name “American Bank Note Company” was used by Joce­lyn, Draper, Welsh & Company, in addition to its regular name, since 1854, with the thought that it could be later used by a bank note engraving and printing institution. In 1858 the leading bank note firms-seven in number-united to form an association, which was incorpo­rated under the title of the American Bank Note Company, Association. The founding firms were Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson, New York, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Montreal, with Isaac Carey of the New Eng­land Bank Note Company, Boston, and George Matthews, Montreal; Toppan, Carpenter & Company, New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Boston; Danforth, Perkins & Company, New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Boston; Bald, Cousland & Company, New York and Philadelphia; Jocelyn, Draper, Welsh & Company, New York, with Draper, Welsh & Company, Philadelphia; Wellstood, Hay & Whiting, New York and Chicago, and John E. Gavit, Albany. It was agreed among the firms to associate and thus survive the depressions that were occurring, especially the one of 1857. The articles of agreement were signed April 29, 1858, and an official announcement of the Association was issued on May 1, expressing its purpose as:

“For the purpose of placing the bank note currency of the country upon a basis of greater security, with the same features of stability and perpetuity that pertain to Banking Institutions.”

In the spring of 1859, Edmonds, Jones & Smillie, a comparatively new firm, joined the Association. The Association continued business under the agreement until 1879 when the National and Continental Bank Note Companies joined, and the name was then changed to the American Bank Note Company, Consolidation.