engraving block - National Parks Gallery

Who knew a piece of flanged copper nailed to a wooden block would reflect so much of the Keweenaw’s history? Looking closely at this printing plate, you can see an image of copper ingots stacked at the Calumet and Hecla Smelting Plants in Hubbell, MI. This image itself was probably created by Myrno Moss Petermann for “The Copper Country” souvenir book. This book was printed circa 1916 by the Keweenaw Printing Company, a company that occupied commercial space on the first floor of the Union Building (now the Calumet Visitor Center) for many years. Myrno was a photographer in the Copper Country whose family was invested in the printing company. Some of her images can be found in displays throughout the Calumet Visitor Center. In addition to the Visitor Center, the plate can be associated with the stacks of ingots which once came from the Quincy Smelter, the region’s only remaining copper smelter from the time. Though never owned by to C&H, the Quincy Smelter in Ripley, MI allows visitors to view and gain insight about smelting operations that occurred in the Keweenaw. A little block of wood and copper with a large impact.