Tender loving care for a significant artifact
It’s not all currency. The Museum holds 1000’s of items related to the business of making money—literally. The addition of a 19th-century printing press to the vaults presented some unusual challenges to the collections team.
A venerable printing firm donates its history
In 2012, the Ottawa-based security printing firm BA International closed. Formerly the British American Bank Note Company, BA had been printing bank notes, passports, bonds and other secure documents since before Confederation. With this closure came an opportunity for the Museum’s National Currency Collection (NCC) to acquire objects that showcase the production processes used by BA and other security printers. Luckily, one of the pieces offered to us was a large production tool known as a spider press.
A 500-year-old tradition
Used extensively in the 19th century, this type of hand-operated press printed secure financial documents using the intaglio method. Intaglio literally means carving, and initially, an image would indeed be carved (engraved) into a soft steel plate. This plate would be coated in ink and wiped with a cloth to remove the ink from the non-engraved surfaces. It was then placed on the press underneath a clean sheet of paper. The press operator would turn the machine’s hand wheel, rolling the plate-and-paper combo between two large, heavy cylinders. The pressure of the cylinders would push the paper into the ink-filled areas, leaving a raised print on the paper. The multiple spokes of the hand wheel, reminiscent of the legs of a spider, gave rise to the name “spider press.”
The press is stored on a pallet and moved with a hydraulic jack. It takes four strong people to shift it even a few centimetres.
The Devil is in the humidity
When our BA spider press arrived in 2013, we discovered it had been exposed to a greater amount of moisture than expected. The result? A coating of bright orange corrosion had blossomed over all the exposed steel surfaces. As well, years of use had left crusts of dust, dirt and grime embedded in the crevices of the machinery.
As it was not intended to go on display immediately, we decided to treat the spider press before it went into storage at the Museum. The goal was to reverse as much of the damage as possible and hopefully prevent further active corrosion from appearing.
Gentle treatment for a heavy machine
After several spot tests, we decided that the corrosion should be removed with extra fine steel wool followed by gently wiping the surface with soft cloths and alcohol. The embedded dirt and grime was then removed with cotton swabs lightly dampened with mineral spirits. Finally, a thin layer of machine oil was applied to all the metal surfaces to act as a protective coating.
The original surface can be seen in the upper cylinder while the corrosion is being removed during treatment.
A fresh coating of machine oil was applied to protect the surface. This also has the added benefit of allowing the machine to function smoothly.
Putting the spider press to bed
Once the press was moved back into storage, it was sealed in a tent of polyethylene sheeting along with packs of moisture-absorbing silica gel. This created a drier micro-climate around the press. The condition of the spider press will be monitored as it remains in storage, making sure this valuable artifact will be around for generations more.
With the treatment fully complete, the rolling bed was re-installed between the upper and lower cylinders and the press photographed for the database.
Stay tuned for a further blog on the conservation of some of a large collection of intaglio printing plates obtained along with this press.
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Content type(s):
Blog posts
March 22, 2023
Security printing is a game of anticipating and responding to criminal threats. Counterfeiting is a game of anticipating and responding to bank note design. This cat and mouse relationship affects every aspect of a bank note.
Security is in the bank note
By: Graham Iddon
Content type(s):
Blog posts
Subject(s):
Economy,
Financial literacy
Grade level(s):
Grade 07 / Secondary 1,
Grade 08 / Secondary 2,
Grade 09 / Secondary 3,
Grade 10 / Secondary 4,
Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
February 2, 2023
From design to final product, bank notes and coins can be used to explore and teach art, media and process.
Teaching art with currency
By: Adam Young
Content type(s):
Blog posts
Subject(s):
Arts,
Education
Grade level(s):
Grade 05,
Grade 06,
Grade 07 / Secondary 1,
Grade 08 / Secondary 2,
Grade 09 / Secondary 3,
Grade 10 / Secondary 4,
Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
January 20, 2023
It’s a new year—the perfect time to look back at some notable artifacts the Museum added to the National Currency collection from 2022. Each object has a unique story to tell about Canada’s monetary and economic history.
New Acquisitions—2022 Edition
Content type(s):
Blog posts
December 6, 2022
The dollars and cents we use wouldn’t be worth anything to anybody if we didn’t have confidence in it. No matter if it’s gold or digits on a hard drive, public trust is the secret ingredient in a successful currency.
Money: it’s a question of trust
By: Graham Iddon
Content type(s):
Blog posts
Subject(s):
Economy
November 14, 2022
People on the street were randomly stopped and searched, and some were even arrested and imprisoned in an internment camp. Even German marks replaced Canadian currency in circulation—in the form of If Day propaganda notes.
The day Winnipeg was invaded
By: David Bergeron
Content type(s):
Blog posts
Subject(s):
History
Grade level(s):
Grade 10 / Secondary 4,
Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP
October 18, 2022
The imagery on the Bank of Canada’s 1935 note series depicts the country’s rich industrial history.
Positive notes
By: Krista Broeckx
Content type(s):
Blog posts
Subject(s):
History
