Folia historica 20

III. Műhely - elméleti, módszertani, gyakorlati kérdések - Garami Erika: Az 1860-6l-es londoni Kossuth pénzjegyeket nyomtató DAY & SON CO

the paper they had used for the banknote printing. In the mid-60s both the quality of their work and their popularity declined, finally they went bankrupt. William Day, head of the firm left the company, founded a new one, which turned out far from being successful. Vincent Brooks carried on the firm until 1912, when the owners sold the company, which played an important role in the history of the Hungarian banknote issue. The Day & Son Co. (Summary) The Day & Son Co. was the largest firm of lithographic printers in England at the time. Lajos Kossuth gave order of 21 million otes at a price of 8000 pounds for the perfection of the new Hungarian 1, 2 ad 5 forint notes in London in late December 1860. The company was founded by William Day, the elder about 1823, being the first representative of chromolithography, which was raised to high standard by Thomas de la Rue Co., one of the most outstanding banknote printers of the 20th century. The numerous book illustrations, the indigenous technique of photography i the 1850s brought the Day & Son prosperity, but the 60s brought declie, finally failure. The Kossuth-case did not mean them catastrophe, moreover, the press, the public opinion sympathised with them. Mr. Day was one of the guarantors ot both the 1851 and the 1862 World Exhibitions. The company founded periodicals, the Nature and Art and its continuation The Chromolithograph

, but both turned short-lived. In the advertising in Nature and Art they called themselves - among others - "egravers of bank notes and bonds". At those times their orders heavily declined, and so did the standard of their work. As a last resort William Day converted the business into a "limited" company, but he could pay his nmerous creditors only by selling his own shares. He had to leave the company, business was carried on by his brothers and his secretary. In 1867 the company went into liquidation, Vincent Brooks brought the name and goodwill and the firm appeared as "Vincent Brooks, Day & Son" unntil 1912, when it was old. Erika Garami 158