George W Babcock was born in Providence, Rhode Island, US,
on 21 April 1814. He worked as a watchmaker and was also an engraver for banks
in his hometown Providence.
In the summer of 1846 Babcock got the opportunity to engrave
the postmaster’s provisional stamp issue for Providence. It was a single design
in two values, a 5c and a 10c, both printed in black. The printing plate
included twelve stamps: eleven copies of
the 5c and a single 10c, in the top right corner. Unusually, Babcock engraved
the complete printing plate, not just a single stamp design. This means that
there are eleven individually engraved versions of the 5c stamp!
George W Babcock passed away in Providence, on 1 October
1883.
You will find George W Babcock's database HERE.