Perkins Printing and Engraving Plant
The Perkins Engraving and Printing Plant was built for Jacob Perkins in 1808 during the height of Newburyport’s prosperity. Perkins was a silversmith, engraver, scientist, and inventor of some renown.
This building housed his engraving and printing operations in which currency for New England was printed from 1808 through the 1820s. Perkins’s success was due to his creating a process which prohibited the counterfeiting of early paper currency.
In 1809, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts passed a Special Act mandating that all paper money in the state be printed by Jacob Perkins’s stereotype steel plates. This was an effort both to prevent counterfeiting as well as to promote more uniformity in the design of bank bills.
By 1815, the Federal government recognized Perkins’s stereotype steel plates as the finest available for bank note engraving, and they were used for printing all notes of the new Second National Bank of the United States. Perkins resided in Philadelphia for several years to oversee the machines and the printing of our first United States currency.
Perkins Printing and Engraving Plant, 2017
c. 1890
2008, before restoration
2009, restoration in progress
Captains and Currency: A Chronicle of the Perkins and Brown Families of Newburyport
In 2017, the Museum of Old Newbury opened its first exhibition in the Perkins Printing and Engraving Plant, Captains and Currency. The exhibit weaves together the personal and professional stories of its two titular families, both of which made significant contributions to Newburyport’s 19th century success and stature. The Brown family produced four generations of illustrious ship masters, while the Perkins family developed revolutionary technology to produce currency for much of New England.
Featured items belonging to Brown family ship captains illustrate the life of a mariner. Beginning with Captain Moses Brown (1742-1804), four generations of Brown family men sailed the globe, bolstering Newburyport’s position as a hub of international trade and defending the fledgling United States by privateering in times of war. Paintings of Newburyport-built and owned ships, telescopes used by Brown captains at sea, and certificates of admittance to the esteemed Newburyport Marine Society represent the intersection of this family’s livelihood with the economic success of their hometown.
Rare and fascinating Perkins family objects featured in Captains and Currency highlight successful innovation and offer a glimpse of everyday family life in the 19th century. Over 200 years ago, Jacob Perkins (1766-1849), a prolific inventor, developed technology that helped to curb then-rampant counterfeiting, while his brother Abraham (1768-1839) put this technology to use and ensured the family business ran efficiently.
In the new exhibition, Perkins-printed currency paired with the earliest-known set of banknote engraving samples explain technology that transformed the production of currency in this country, while fine locally made silver and gilded, engraved glass decanters show success within the context of family lifestyle. Family joys and sorrows are illustrated by a pair of Perkins family wedding shoes and mourning jewelry made after the tragic death of 29-year-old Thaddeus Perkins.
