I asked a friend who is familiar with wood engraving about where the Harper’s blocks might be. This is what she had to say:

 

Wood engravings were (and are) made from wooden blocks (generally pieces of boxwood bolted together for the old Harper blocks), although they were often printed from electrotype plates. The Portrait Gallery has a single Harper's block from the Civil War, although it does not show Abraham Lincoln. I know the Boston Public Library has lots of wood engraving blocks, but I don't know if any are Harper's, or Civil War era, or Abraham Lincoln. I wouldn't be surprised if the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, MA, had blocks, although I don't know if they would have Harper's blocks. There you would ask Georgia Barnhill. Since they are looking in Chicago they should ask the Chicago Public Library and the Art Institute of Chicago - either could easily have Harper's blocks, but I don't know if they do. I can do a little casual looking on the internet, but I can't take much time over it.

 

Elizabeth Tobey, Director of Communications & Research

National Sporting Library

P.O. Box 1335 (102 The Plains Rd.)

Middleburg, VA 20118-1335

540-687-6542 x 11

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http://www.nsl.org/