Frederick Girsch

Background

Girsch was born on March 31, 1821, in Biidingen, a suburb of Darmstadt, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Hesse.

Education

After receiving some instruction in drawing from Carl Seeger, an artist of his native town, Girsch entered the Royal Academy of Darmstadt where he continued his studies.

Career

The Revolution which upset Central Europe in 1848, caused Girsch to leave Germany and go to Paris, where he again took up his studies. Almost immediately the French capital also was disturbed by the wave of revolution, and in 1849 the artist emigrated to the United States.

Landing in New York, he at once received commissions for engravings from the New-Yorker Criminal-Zeitung, for which publication he engraved the premium plates - given with subscriptions to the paper - “Die Helden der Revolution, ” and “Niagara Falls. ”

These are large folio plates engraved in line, and display a thorough knowledge of technique but do not show any marked individuality so far as their artistic features are concerned. They are typical of their period, however, and at least the equal of any similar productions.

During the last few years of his life, Girsch engraved for his own pleasure a large plate entitled “Grand Ma’s Toast, ” and another, which bore the title, “The’ Gipsy Girl. ”

He died at his home, Mount Vernon, New York.

Achievements

• During the Civil War, Girsch’s attention was directed to bank-note engraving, for which field he was singularly well fitted. Among the designs made by him for this purpose, are “De Soto Discovering the Mississippi, ” on the ten-dollar notes, and the head of Liberty, on the fractional currency of that period. He engraved a plate 12 x 14 inches, entitled, “The Legion of Honor, ” which President Lincoln proposed to give to soldiers who served in the war, but the latter’s untimely death frustrated the plan.