Death of Robert Scot, Engraver

RogerB

This is the text of a letter sent by Robert Patterson to the President. I wonder if there is another letter that is a little more appreciative of Scot and less 'practical' in tone?

"Mint, U.S.
November 5, 1823

James Monroe
President , U.S.

Sir:
It has now become my painful duty to announce to you the sudden demise of our Ingravor [sic], Robert Scot, which took place this morning. He retired to rest last night, apparently in his ordinary state of health, and was, on opening his door in the morning, discovered to have recently expired.

No interruption, however, in the operation of the Mint will take place in consequence of this event, though I may probably be under the necessity of employing a suitable talent as a temporary ingraver [sic], until such time as it may be convenient for you to make an official appointment.

I have the honor to be, etc., etc.
Robert Patterson"

Coinstartled

Never met him, but it is always sad to lose a member of the numismatic community.

Coinstartled

CaptHenway

I didn’t even know he was sick!

RogerB

RE: "....on opening his door in the morning, discovered to have recently expired."

This is what happens when people don't pay attention to the "Use By" date....

lkeigwin

@RogerB said:
This is the text of a letter sent by Robert Patterson to the President. I wonder if there is another letter that is a little more appreciative of Scot and less 'practical' in tone?

I don't know about another letter. Maybe Bill Nyberg does. In his book on Scot he cites a fitting obituary notice in Poulson's Advertiser, Dec 15th:

DIED, Suddenly on Monday the 30th (should be 3rd) ult. Mr. ROBERT SCOT in the 79th year of his age. The deceased was appointed by President Washington, Engraver to the Mint of the United States in 1794, and faithfully fulfilled the duties of that office to the day of his death. -- With a vigorous mind, Mr. Scot enjoyed the advantage of an excellent education -- Through life he was persevering and industrious, strictly moral in all his habits, and truly amiable in his domestic relations -- Persevering to the last of his capacity for usefulness, he died in the enjoyment of the high respect of his coadjutors, and regretted by all who had knowledge of his worth.

Lance.

BillJones

@CaptHenway said:
I didn’t even know he was sick!

According to some, he had lost much of his abilities as an engraver in 1808 when John Reich was hired.

SiriusBlack

He couldn’t decide on which way to miss spell engraver

DCW

@RogerB said:
RE: "....on opening his door in the morning, discovered to have recently expired."

This is what happens when people don't pay attention to the "Use By" date....

I had this same problem with my cereal this morning

Nysoto

Here is the original letter about Robert Scot's death, from the National Archives at Philadelphia, Record Group 104, Folder 3 Letters Sent:

Other than the obituary that Ikeigwin posted, nothing appreciative or accurate about Scot was written after his death. Robert Scot quickly fell into obscurity, when Dunlap published his History of Rise and Progress of the Arts of Design in the United States in 1834, Scot's brief biographical sketch was a mixture of facts and errors, and completely ignored Scot's engraving throughout the American Revolution. It only got worse after that, with authors dragging Scot's name through the mud with their unfounded "research", wrongly attributing Scot's coin designs to other engravers, including a person who never engraved for the Mint, and making false and baseless assessments of Scot's character.

This is the text of a letter sent by Robert Patterson to the President. I wonder if there is another letter that is a little more appreciative of Scot and less 'practical' in tone?

Not a letter, but there was finally a biography written that was very appreciative of Robert Scot, 192 years after his death. The book was also practical, with over 800 of Scot's engravings listed, including many historically important such as the Siege of Yorktown, and an extensive bibliography of all sources

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Nysoto

afford - they have been up for awhile.

thefinn

Neat info. So, he was about 9 years younger than Franklin, 17 years older than Washington, and would have been about 60 when Lexington-Concord went down. He was in the middle of it all - from before the Revolution was really even thought of, during the time when it was not known how it was going to turn out, to enjoying the Era of Good Feelings.

Did he ever leave any diaries or writings of his experiences?

CaptHenway

@thefinn said:
Neat info. So, he was about 9 years younger than Franklin, 17 years older than Washington, and would have been about 60 when Lexington-Concord went down. He was in the middle of it all - from before the Revolution was really even thought of, during the time when it was not known how it was going to turn out, to enjoying the Era of Good Feelings.

Did he ever leave any diaries or writings of his experiences?

Washington was born in 1732, Scot in the mid-1840's.

Oops. Make that 1740's.

ricko

Interesting comments regarding his death...'..when opening his door'...'..ordinary state of health...' I find the written commentary of the time to be unique and often have wondered if the same niceties were employed in daily conversation. Cheers, RickO

RogerB

Thanks for the added info (and the excellent biography) Nysoto !

It's really sad that the only official document extant devotes half of its brief text to assurances that Scot's death won't affect production. Patterson might have been talking about one of the horses used to power the rolling mill, or the Mint's guard dog.

lkeigwin

@CaptHenway said:
Washington was born in 1732, Scot in the mid-1840's 1740's.

Nysoto

@thefinn asked:

Did he ever leave any diaries or writings of his experiences?

Unfortunately, no known diary of Scot exists. There are scattered business records of Scot's engravings, and 5 letters of at least a paragraph are known. Scot's longest letter is his engraving report to Congress in December, 1794. Scot left Richmond after it was burned by Benedict Arnold in January, 1781, and records were reported to be destroyed. Scot's last move in Philadelphia was after a fire ravaged his neighborhood on May 14, 1806, so it is likely that he lost records to fire. I am still searching for more records, tracing his descendants.

Some of the engravings by Scot during the Revolutionary period that are not widely known:

Virginia Currency 1775-1779 with the radical Virginia seal and the motto "Sic Semper Tyrannis"
Virginia Happy While United medal of 1780 - ordered by Governor Thomas Jefferson with motto "Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God" (one known in silver, identified in 2011)
Paper currency for Robert Morris, Supt of Finance "Morris Notes" used to help finance the Siege of Yorktown
Map of the Siege of Yorktown with a description of the battles, from an accurate survey of the battlefield, dedicated to General George Washington
Portrait of General George Washington
Engravings for the Society of the Cincinnati
Map of the United States, based on the Treaty of Paris
Original Great Seal of the United States, first attributed to Scot by government historians R. Dougall and R. Patterson
Seals for the College of William and Mary, Robert Morris, and other seals
Many frontispieces and illustrations to books

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Nysoto

link https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/950088/robert-scot-engraving-liberty

RogerB

Maybe buying a copy of Robert Scot: Engraving Liberty would be even better than links?

Zoins

@Nysoto posted some good information on his resting place in this thread. It would be great to get a photo and some genealogy on a site like FindAGrave.com.

https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/950088/robert-scot-engraving-liberty

His family grave marker has the names Sophia Scot (daughter who died at age ten), wife Eunice Scot, and Robert Scot. There is a picture of the grave marker in the book, which was discovered in research at the American Philosophical Society archives in Philadelphia.

Zoins

@RogerB said:
Maybe buying a copy of Robert Scot: Engraving Liberty would be even better than links?

I'd love to buy a Kindle version.

I'm currently reading a 7 book series. I could have purchased the 7 paperbacks in "like-new" condition for 20 cents a piece for total of $1.40 at my local library (more if new) or $7.99 a piece on the Kindle. Guess which one I purchased and am reading?

Nysoto

@Zoins - I plan to update FindAGrave, with Robert Scot information, in a few months. I will need permission from the American Philosophical Society to post the image of the Scot family grave marker.

No Kindle edition, but the Robert Scot biography is inexpensive for a numismatic book @ $24.95, with all color pictures https://www.amazon.com/Robert-Scot-Engraving-William-Nyberg/dp/1939995094/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1536252524&sr=8-1&keywords=Robert+Scot:+engraving+liberty

edit - I will ask the publisher, American History Press, if they can release a Kindle edition based on @Zoins comments.

Zoins

@Nysoto For me, it's an issue of space, not money. As I mentioned, I'd rather spend $54 for Kindle editions rather than $1.40 for print editions. I mostly read on airplanes and while working out now so it's nice to have them all on the Kindle.

thefinn

@CaptHenway said:

@thefinn said:
Neat info. So, he was about 9 years younger than Franklin, 17 years older than Washington, and would have been about 60 when Lexington-Concord went down. He was in the middle of it all - from before the Revolution was really even thought of, during the time when it was not known how it was going to turn out, to enjoying the Era of Good Feelings.

Did he ever leave any diaries or writings of his experiences?

Washington was born in 1732, Scot in the mid-1840's.

Oops. Make that 1740's.

You are right. That's what happens when you try to do math in your head at 3:00AM.

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