Angler's Companion

Information from Philip Sykas, Manchester, March 2017: 'I had a chance to check our ‘Angler’s Companion’ copperplate and indeed the size of the engraved area is roughly 74 x74cm which is the size of the black on ivory silk example shown at the Museum last week. The poorly legible identification on the pot should read Engraved by C Hudson 1883, but is only partly legible. Since the plate is in relatively good condition but the impression on the handkerchief is relatively poor, I expect that this is a 20th century impression made before the presses at Langley were decommissioned. My guess would be post-war, say between 1947 and 1960. The V&A has a similar impression from the Masonic plate in our collection: T.33-1968, and perhaps their donor files may have some more information about the date of printing. I think the presses were probably destroyed as part of the government’s redundancy scheme of 1960.'