Summary

Part of a music engraving tool set used mostly by Gordon Baker who worked for a. Kynoch & Co. Pty. Ltd. in Melbourne from the 1930s to the 1980s. Gordon Baker was apprentice to his father Jack. At the time, Gordon was the only music engraver working in Australia.

When engraving on a pewter plate, the engraver works from right to left so the punched impression is the right way up for printing.

Pewter is a alloy, made up of between 85 and 99 percent tin, with the remainder consisting of copper and antimony, which act as hardeners. It can also contain lead. It is known in the trade as a 'short' metal, because it is an alloy.

Pewter is slightly harder than lead, allowing the punch to cut an even impression. However, pewter plates are easily scratched so had to be treated carefully, for example, a leather punch bag was used to rest a pewter plate while the engraver turned it in order to engrave curves, either for text or music.

Physical Description

Rectangular metal plate with musical notation etched on it. There is a green tinge to the etched parts..

More Information