About The Engraver

Graham Short is one of the few remaining copperplate hand engravers in the UK. A master craftsman who has worked for almost half a century producing steel dies and copperplates for the die-stamping trade. Engraving was always in his blood, with his ancestor being the West Midlands famed Hand-Engraver, Sir Francis Short, who became president of The Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers in 1885.

In 1962 Graham was apprenticed to William Evans, a highly skilled and respected hand-engraver who formed Efficiency Tool & Design Co Ltd, in Birmingham. At the time, 'Efficiency Tool' was recognised as the country's premier engraving company. Graham's six-year apprenticeship was spent at the bench under the guiding hand of his mentor, master engraver, 'Bill' Evans.

In 1974 Graham started his own one-man engraving business, trading under the name of Graphic Engraving. The workshop was based in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter. From then, until the present day, the engraving of letterheads, business cards, wedding invitations and personal stationery filled up almost the entire time spent in his Dickensian-style workshop. The idea to produce an engraving so small that it couldn't be read by the naked eye, took up much of his time, and led to the production of a masterpiece: The Lord's Prayer engraved on the head of a gold pin.

Providing stationery for the Royal Household was seen as the icing on the cake. He considered it a privilege to engrave for members of the Royal Family, and viewed this work as being so special that it merited its own kind of ambience.

When engraving for the Royal Palaces, the job was always started at 10.00 pm and the work continued through the night. The engraver was accompanied by a bottle of champagne, some crusty bread and a hefty chunk of Roquefort cheese to see him through to morning!

"Paul Helleu, the famous French engraver in the late 1800s, was known for working to the same ritual. I've recently read about a young Brazilian engraver, in his twenties, who is a late-night champagne and cheese man too. I look upon this extravagant indulgence as a romantic bond for those of us who earn our living by putting designs on steel and copper by using just our hands, a sharp graver and a keen eye."