Three Vintage Photoengraved Copper Letterpress Printing Plates

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On offer are three vintage photoengraved copper letterpress printing plates. These high-quality commercial halftone plates were used in the mid-to-late … Read more On offer are three vintage photoengraved copper letterpress printing plates. These high-quality commercial halftone plates were used in the mid-to-late 20th century to mass-produce full-page national magazine advertisements, such as Hunt’s, in this case.
PLATE 1: The first plate features a prominent ad for Hunt’s Manwich (Sloppy Joe Sauce). The reversed text at the top reads: "They're homeward-bound and hungry. What do you give em?" It displays images of children riding bicycles alongside cans of Manwich, emphasizing a quick, hearty family meal.
PLATE 2: Shows an advertisement for Hunt's Tomato Products (including "Hunt's Tomato Sauce Special"). The reversed large text reads, “Create new excitement with these,” showcasing recipe ideas utilizing their canned goods.
PLATE 3: This one, for Litter Green, a pioneering organic premium brand of cat litter launched in the early 1970s and bought by The Clorox Company. displays a stylized portrait of a girl holding a cat.
PRODUCTION: The text and layouts are deliberately backwards or mirrored. In relief letterpress printing, the plate is inked and pressed directly onto paper, which naturally flips the image to read correctly. Photoengraving Process: A photographic negative of the original ad layout was transferred to a light-sensitive emulsion on the copper sheet, which was then chemically etched with acid to create the raised, ink-bearing text and dot-matrix patterns for photos.
The 14" x 10" dimension perfectly matches the standard "large format" full-page ad specifications for major mid-century American periodicals like Life, Look, or The Saturday Evening Post.
Signature/Maker’s Mark: Jordan & Horn Inc., San Francisco/Los Angeles (photo #6).
Unframed dimensions: All three plates 14 inches high” x 10 inches wide x 0.14 inches deep.
h x 10”w x See less