After WWII, suburbs began springing up all over the country. As people began moving away from the urban centers and small towns of the past, they found it harder to reach engravers. In order to have something engraved, people now had to travel longer distances, which they proved, in large numbers, not willing to do.
Another factor contributing to the end of the push engraving era was the apprenticeship system, which was how the profession perpetuated itself. When a young man decided he wanted to be an engraver, he found an older engraver who was established and willing to train him. The conditions of the apprenticeship often involved years of a meager existence. The apprentices made very little money, and it was not uncommon for them to spend years with an engraver before being allowed to do any engraving of their own. To protect his trade, the engraver would keep the boy occupied with menial tasks, such as sweeping the floor, cooking and cleaning for a year or more, before the boy was ever let into the shop.
Once the boy began his training, he would be allowed to advance in such slow, incremental steps that it’s no wonder many grew impatient with the process and looked for other work. The apprenticeship system may have worked a century ago, but after WWII, when the country was booming and other options were available to those seeking a trade, it was no longer a desirable option for many.
Many engravers in this period had a very strong protectionist mentality that no doubt sprang from England’s “guild system.” Not only did they hold on to the ancient apprenticeship system for recruiting new engravers into the trade, but they were often guarded with their methods and vindictive towards the change they saw occurring in the country. Pantographs for precious metal engraving began appearing on a small scale in the late 1800s. However, pantograph engraving really started catching on during the postwar years as New Hermes began promoting its burgeoning line of “tracer-guided” engraving machines.