Louis Sartain Schofield was born in Paoli, Pennsylvania, in
the United States, on 4 August 1868. He came from a family of engravers and was
soon studying the art himself. In 1888 he became an apprentice of the Bureau of
Engraving and Printing (BEP), where he would stay for the entirety of his
working life. Among his first engravings are the frame of the Franklin definitive
design introduced in 1912 and the ‘Automobile Service’ vignette on the 15c
parcel post stamp, of that same year.
When Schofield started engraving the 6c value of the 1934
National Parks Year issue, he had been told the stamps would be printed in
orange. Knowing the printing colour in advance is vital to an engraver, and the
fact that orange was chosen meant that Schofield had to engrave deep lines,
otherwise the colour wouldn’t print well. In the final stage, it was suddenly
decided to print the stamp in blue, which meant that the merit of the engraving
was lost completely, which was a huge disappointment for Schofield, who always
took such special pride in his work.
It has been stated that Schofield retired in 1932, but this
may well have been 1934, seeing that that was the year these National Parks
stamps were issued. Whatever year may be correct, Louis Sartain Schofield
passed away soon after, probably in 1938.
You will find Louis Sartain Schofield's database HERE.