Perkins Bacon - Brief Timeline

Brief Timeline

• 1808-1810 Jacob Perkins and Gideon Fairman produce the first known books in the USA to use steel plates.
• ~1816 Jacob Perkins has "soft steel" plates to engrave on, and a method to harden the plates, and a process.
• 1818 (April 15), Heath discussed the American bank notes printed by Perkins at the Society of Arts Committee on Forgery.
• Bank of England was offering a £20,000 prize for unforgeable notes.
• 1819 (May 31) Perkins sets sail for England after communicating with Charles Heath.
• 1819 (June 29) Perkins arrives in Liverpool, England.
• 1819 (July) Sir Joseph Banks met with Perkins.
• 1819 (December 20) The Heaths join Perkins and Fairman forming Perkins, Fairman and Heath.
• 1819 George Heath provides some financial backing only.
• 1820 (Feb) Bank of England chooses another solution, but other business follows, including £1 notes and stamps.
• 1820 (Feb) Perkins among other ventures, goes into the book publishing business with the Heaths and Fairman.
• 1820 (summer) Perkins Fairman and Heath move to 69 Fleet Street, London.
• 1820 (September) Perkins had sold 1,000 plates he had intended to use on the Bank of England project.
• 1822 Perkins and Heath
• 1829 Perkins and Bacon. Joshua Butters Bacon ( Perkins' son in law), buys Heaths interest.
• 1834-1852 Perkins, Bacon & Petch (Henry Petch was an engraver, who was also made a partner).
• 1839 Perkins Bacon and Co are asked to make plates and dies for stamps (the Penny Black was their first stamp).

There is an overlap of Perkins, Bacon & Petch and Perkins, Bacon and Co; not all business ventures included all partners and percentage ownership is detailed as changing as shares were bought and sold between partners, and money was loaned to partners from the company. Additionally, Charles Heath had many other individual business ventures, as did Perkins. Heath and Perkins had numerous talents and successes, however, they routinely had financial problems. Fortunately, the accounting was very good. Charles Heath had professional relationships with several people that spanned decades.