11 



Thus this movement, when it is attached to any ruling ma- 



chine, and the model and plate move together, must necessarily 

 show any one that it can rule medals. 



1 am truly sorry if any thing which I have said is construed to 

 imply the least disrespect for the ingenious contrivance of Mr. 

 Saxton, for removing the distortion. Certainly it was very re- 

 mote from my intention to speak slightingly of him or his de- 

 vice. Such injustice would do little credit to my judgment or 

 candor. No one acquainted with that gentleman's extraordinary 

 skill, will be at all surprised at the ingenuity of his contrivance. 

 All that I meant to say is, that I, being limited as to time and 

 resources, was constrained to economy, and forced to use a dif- 

 ferent and a simpler method of remedying the difficulty. " Mr. 

 Saxton brought his improvement into successful action in 1S29, 

 and made no secret of it." You say the method employed by 

 me is essentially the same, and ask if it dates as early. I can- 

 not say precisely at what time it was done, though I am quite 

 certain it was sometime after that year, but long before I had 

 any knowledge that Mr. Saxton had done any thing in that way. 

 Although I had no idea how the thing was done, I had seen that 

 it was done before I attempted it. I lay no claim to originality 

 in removing distortion. Candor also compels me to confess how 

 little I deserve your compliments for extending, improving and 

 applying the art of medal ruling. 



I have always said and always endeavored to maintain, that 

 it originated with me, in consequence of my attaching the Rose 

 Engine movement to the ruling machine, for the purpose of ruling 

 waved lines ; and that the result was, that the first three persons 

 who put this appendage in action for ruling waved lines, obtained, 

 each, something like a copy of a medal at the same time. 



Here the affair rested. Nothing was done for the machine, to 

 improve or enlarge its medal-ruling power, until I revived the 

 art about the year 1827. The want of leisure limited the use of 

 it to our own business of bank-note engraving. It was not long 

 after this that my specimens made their appearance in London. 

 Although my machine was known there in 1820, not enough of 

 medal ruling had been seen to attract attention. But the appear- 

 ance of these specimens soon excited the ingenuity of different 

 artists, and about 1830, we find Bate of London, Collas of Paris, 

 and Mr. Saxton, powerful competitors in this art, the importance 

 of which was soon manifested in their various labors. 



