Artist

Swan Electric Engraving Co.

Swan Electric Engraving Co. is an artist. 1 work is cataloged here, principally at Victoria and Albert Museum.

They turned London’s gas-lit alleys into a printing press, cranking out portraits of actresses and politicians on sheets the size of a postcard. The Swan Electric Engraving Co. didn’t sign their own name, they hid it in the curls of a lace collar or the fold of a cravat, as if the work itself were the star. Hunt for their “H Beard Print Collection” on a museum site and you’ll spot a dozen tiny time-capsules from the 1890s, each one a gossip sheet you can hold in your palm.

Works by Swan Electric Engraving Co.

Collections represented

Catalog records compiled from museum open-access collections; the artworks shown are in the public domain. Spotted an error in this record? Tell us.