Engraved Watch Paper for A[aron] Willard, Watch & Clock Maker, Boston [Engraved by Paul Revere, Boston, 1781]

(Revere, Paul) engraver. ENGRAVED WATCH PAPER FOR A[ARON] WILLARD, WATCH & CLOCK MAKER, BOSTON [ENGRAVED BY PAUL REVERE, BOSTON, 1781]. Circular watch paper measuring 2" in diameter, six original slits around the edges, to fit the paper inside the back of a concave pocket watch, manuscript note on verso: "Enos Clap. Clean'd. $1.00. March 10, 1832;" some browning and one small dark stain. Watch papers, originally designed as a simple protective insert, came to be used as an advertising medium for the watchmakers in the second half of the 18th century, as well as another means by which print artists could ply their trade. In comes Paul Revere: "As for the watch paper engraved for Aaron Willard, the Revere Day Book in July, 1781, specifically charges Simon Willard with six shillings for 100 prints for 'Your Br Aron for Watches.' The search for such a watch paper has gone on for many years. In 1935, John M. Phillips of Yale University acquired such a paper from Francis H. Bigelow of Cambridge. He gave it in 1947 to Mark Bortman of Boston, and Mr. Bortman in turn presented it to the American Antiquarian Society in 1948. The paper is circular in shape, to fit the back of a watch, and shows an angel blowing a horn at the top, a branch of a tree, a watch, Father Time, a rooster, and in the center the advertisement of 'A. Willard Watch & Clock Maker Boston.'" The condition of the engraved watch paper offered here is VERY GOOD. Only three additional examples located, all in the Paul Revere Collection of the American Antiquarian Society. EXCEEDINGLY RARE. Literature: Brigham, Clarence S., Paul Revere's Engravings. Worcester, Massachusetts: American Antiquarian Society, 1954, pp. 122-123. # 000926