Lorenzo J. Hatch was born in Hartford, New York, USA on 16 July 1856. At the age of eighteen he became an apprentice at the BEP to study banknote engraving. He was a vignette and portrait engraver who worked for a while for the International Bank Note Company, which was a subsidiary of the American Bank Note Company.
In 1908, when the Chinese authorities were planning the foundation of their own printing firm, the Chinese Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEPP), Hatch was headhunted and asked to come to China to oversee that whole process. He agreed and was given a six year contract, which was basically a carte blanche to set up and run the business as he seemed fit. Sailing for China in November 1908, Hatch took several US colleagues with him, among which the engraver William A. Grant.
With the premises built in what is now Beijing, Hatch & co started working on a set of banknotes for China. Hatch engraved the vignettes for four or five different notes, with denominations ranging from 1 to 100 dollars, but even though some of these were actually printed, the notes were never issued because of the political changes brought about by the 1911 revolution.
Stampwise, work had begun in 1909 as well. Hatch engraved a design depicting the Temple of Heaven for a set marking the first year of the reign of the Emperor Hsuan T’ung. The printing plant, however, was not yet operational, so the master die was sent to Waterlow & Sons in England, who made the printing plates and performed the actual printing of the stamps.
Hatch’s role in the BEPP was more that of designer than engraver, but there was one other set he was involved in as engraver. The 1912 definitive set, portraying Dr Sun Yat-sen and President Yuan Shih-kai, were the first stamps to be printed at the Peking plant. Hatch engraved the two portraits, with the frames being done by Grant.
Before Hatch’s contract had run its course, he passed away, on 1 February 1914, in China. His body was brought back to the United States and buried in Dorset, Vermont.
You will find Lorenzo J. Hatch's database HERE.
With the premises built in what is now Beijing, Hatch & co started working on a set of banknotes for China. Hatch engraved the vignettes for four or five different notes, with denominations ranging from 1 to 100 dollars, but even though some of these were actually printed, the notes were never issued because of the political changes brought about by the 1911 revolution.
Stampwise, work had begun in 1909 as well. Hatch engraved a design depicting the Temple of Heaven for a set marking the first year of the reign of the Emperor Hsuan T’ung. The printing plant, however, was not yet operational, so the master die was sent to Waterlow & Sons in England, who made the printing plates and performed the actual printing of the stamps.
Before Hatch’s contract had run its course, he passed away, on 1 February 1914, in China. His body was brought back to the United States and buried in Dorset, Vermont.
You will find Lorenzo J. Hatch's database HERE.