People love to have a tangible reminder of certain things - anniversaries engraved on weddings bands, lifetime achievements recorded on plaques, portraits of the favorite hunting dog cut on the side of a firearm. These things are most often commissioned by a client for an engraver to design and create.

However, it is rare that a professional engraver has the time (or money) to spend on a personal project. Engraved by Jeremiah Watt in 1991, this 6" square copper plate illustrates a day in Watt's life that he did not want to soon forget. It represents his memory of a time when he and a group of cowboys moved more than 3500 cattle over twenty miles of very rough country.

Watt said that the cattle drive was a hard process and worthy of an engraving, so he created this plate. It shows Watt's first attempt at engraving for intaglio printing, which he noted was a fun exercise. This talented saddle maker and engraver said there was a lot to be learned from working on this plate, like the reversed ranch brands that decorate the sides. Although the learning experience benefited his engraving skills, Watt ended up with a very personal keepsake of a day he will never forget.