William A. Grant was born in The Bronx, New York, on 10 August 1868. In 1908, he was in charge of the engraving section of the American Bank Note Company when Lorentzo Hatch asked him to come along to China, where they would found the Chinese Bureau for Engraving and Printing (BEPP). In November 1908 they sailed for China and set up the firm in Peking (now Beijing).
Grant was mainly a frame and lettering engraver, and so he was employed to engrave just those on the firm’s first products, a range of banknotes which in the end would never be issued, because of political changes brought about by the 1911 revolution.
Grant’s first work on stamps, a commemorative issue of 1912, depicting a map of China, was aborted as well, probably because of mistakes in the map design. The whole stock as ordered to be burnt but some half-burnt copies have survived.
Another issue planned for 1912 did go ahead. It would be the first stamp issue printed by the BEPP. Grant engraved the frames and lettering of the two designs, which carried portraits of Sun Yat-sen and Yuan Shih-kai. That same year, Grant engraved the full designs of two sets of revenue stamps: a set especially for the Board of Law, depicting a mythical animal, and a large set of general revenue stamps, depicting the Watch Tower of the Great Wall of China. In 1915, this set would be added to with two more values, though now in a smaller format.
Because of the ongoing political trouble, more issues were planned or halfway through the design or even production process before being aborted. These mainly centred around issues to do with the then President, Yuan Shih-kai. Grant engraved a stand-alone portrait of the president, which was used to incorporate into several designs although none of these ever materialised. The proofs of this portrait have survived, however.
The following stamp set Grant was involved with is arguably the most intriguing: it is the 1913 definitive series for China, for which Grant engraved the three designs; depicting a junk, a reaper and the Hall of Classics in Peking. As is widely catalogued, the set comes in three distinct printings: the London printings of 1913, the first Peking printings of 1914 and the second Peking printings of 1923.
The theory is that Grant engraved all the stamps of this set, but that because of political unrest the decision was made to ask Waterlow & Sons in London to help out. Waterlow had done this before at the time when the BEPP was not yet fully operational. The BEPP sent prints of Grant’s engravings to London, and Waterlow engraved new dies based on these prints. This resulted in the first type: the London printings.
Apparently, the Chinese Post was not too satisfied with the engravings done by Waterlow, so when new printings were needed, they asked Grant to create new engravings based on the waterlow stamps. These new dies by Grant were printed at the BEPP, which resulted in type II: the first Peking printings.
For reasons unknown, when even further printings were needed in the early 1920s, the Chinese Post decided to make use of Grant’s original engravings of 1913, and this therefore led to a third type: the second Peking printings.
After his colleague and co-founder Hatch had passed away in 1914, Grant became the principal engraver at the BEPP. He was responsible for all sets of the early 1920s, such as the 1921 Postal Service set and the 1923 Constitution set. Grant also engraved the 1920 airmail set; a set of stamps he was very proud of and for which he was very much praised at the time. In fact, Grant was decorated three times by the Chinese governemtn for his work at the BEPP, and was awarded the highest accolades afforded to foreigners.
Grant’s final stamps were those for the 1928 set marking the assumption of the title of Marshal of the Army and Navy by Chang Tso-lin. Grant left the BEPP and China that same year, returning to the United States.
It is said that Grant only ever learned one single word of Chinese during his stay at the BEPP, making use of translators all the time. That didn’t stop him training several hundred local workers the various tasks needed to run a printing firm such as the BEPP.
William Grant passed away in 1954.
You will find William A. Grant's database HERE.
Grant’s first work on stamps, a commemorative issue of 1912, depicting a map of China, was aborted as well, probably because of mistakes in the map design. The whole stock as ordered to be burnt but some half-burnt copies have survived.
Another issue planned for 1912 did go ahead. It would be the first stamp issue printed by the BEPP. Grant engraved the frames and lettering of the two designs, which carried portraits of Sun Yat-sen and Yuan Shih-kai. That same year, Grant engraved the full designs of two sets of revenue stamps: a set especially for the Board of Law, depicting a mythical animal, and a large set of general revenue stamps, depicting the Watch Tower of the Great Wall of China. In 1915, this set would be added to with two more values, though now in a smaller format.
Because of the ongoing political trouble, more issues were planned or halfway through the design or even production process before being aborted. These mainly centred around issues to do with the then President, Yuan Shih-kai. Grant engraved a stand-alone portrait of the president, which was used to incorporate into several designs although none of these ever materialised. The proofs of this portrait have survived, however.
The theory is that Grant engraved all the stamps of this set, but that because of political unrest the decision was made to ask Waterlow & Sons in London to help out. Waterlow had done this before at the time when the BEPP was not yet fully operational. The BEPP sent prints of Grant’s engravings to London, and Waterlow engraved new dies based on these prints. This resulted in the first type: the London printings.
Apparently, the Chinese Post was not too satisfied with the engravings done by Waterlow, so when new printings were needed, they asked Grant to create new engravings based on the waterlow stamps. These new dies by Grant were printed at the BEPP, which resulted in type II: the first Peking printings.
After his colleague and co-founder Hatch had passed away in 1914, Grant became the principal engraver at the BEPP. He was responsible for all sets of the early 1920s, such as the 1921 Postal Service set and the 1923 Constitution set. Grant also engraved the 1920 airmail set; a set of stamps he was very proud of and for which he was very much praised at the time. In fact, Grant was decorated three times by the Chinese governemtn for his work at the BEPP, and was awarded the highest accolades afforded to foreigners.
Grant’s final stamps were those for the 1928 set marking the assumption of the title of Marshal of the Army and Navy by Chang Tso-lin. Grant left the BEPP and China that same year, returning to the United States.
It is said that Grant only ever learned one single word of Chinese during his stay at the BEPP, making use of translators all the time. That didn’t stop him training several hundred local workers the various tasks needed to run a printing firm such as the BEPP.
William Grant passed away in 1954.
You will find William A. Grant's database HERE.