Understanding Print Codes

Print codes can often help identify the age of a vintage ink blotter. Most publishers of blotters had print codes with the exception of Shaw-Barton. The code can be found at the base of the ink blotter. In the case of Brown & Bigelow blotters (the most prolific publisher) the codes indicate the year and the month within the series of blotters. For instance, Brown & Bigelow’s “Easy Does It” ink blotter with art by Gil Elvgren has a print code of 37-304-12 (for the 9″x4″ blotter, the shorter blotters had a code of 37-305-12). This indicated the blotter was initially part of the 1957 series (the “37” indicated 1957, “38” 1958, etc.) and the “304” (or “305” for the shorter version) the size of blotter with the “12” indicating the month of issue, in this case December. Not all advertisers (customers of Brown & Bigelow) followed this format however as some chose to issue the same art in later years (with the same print code as the original year) or in different months. Presumably, the customer was always right and Brown & Bigelow was willing to accommodate such out of order requests.