The numismatic chronicle and journal of the Royal Numismatic Society

THE TECHNIQUE OF SIMON VAN DE PASSE. 239
in their irregularity. I am assured, by those who
know, that a good paper impression taken from one
of these engraved plaques would show even such
minute details, and that they would be transferred to
the new plate, and would be followed by the engraver.
At the same time, we should expect to find occasional
variations. And we do. Indeed, they are much more
common than is generally supposed. The eye accustomed
to deal with different states in engravings
can discern with ease innumerable variations in the
shading
lines. But the differences are not confined
to the minute features.
It may be worth while as hitherto we have only
had general statements on the question to give a few
instances of the more salient variations. We
specific
must of course eliminate all doubtful or secondary
pieces from the inquiry. There are, for instance, some
comparatively free modern copies, and there are old
casts. Two such casts one of which is in the British
Museum, the other in a private collection, both being
of the plaque of Frederick Ct. Palatine and Elizabeth
of Bohemia and their son are made of a pewter-like
metal. There are also old copies, like that of James I,
Anne and Prince Charles, in the lid of a silver box in
the Victoria and Albert Museum. On the reverse of
this, in the escutcheon on the shield of the Queen, in
the fourth quarter, the engraver of the lid has mis-
understood the charge (a horseman wielding a sword)
and given us some kind of rampant beast. But if we
compare apparent duplicates
of undoubted authenti-
city, it is possible, with patience, to find on the
majority now slight, now considerable differences. The
signature on the Kensington Queen Elizabeth is quite