Ninger would buy bond paper from Crane & Company, in Dalton, Massachusetts, cut it to the same size as the $50 and $100 United States Notes he was copying, then soak the paper in a dilute coffee solution. He would align the paper over a genuine banknote, place the two on a piece of glass, and trace the resulting image. He used a camel’s hair brush to put colors on the note, imitated the silk threads with red and blue inks, and suggested rather than duplicated the intricate geometric lathework. Notably, he omitted the line crediting the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from all of his bills, and some of them were also missing the counterfeiting warning. When asked why he omitted the Bureau of Engraving and Printing credit on his bills, Ninger responded, “Because dey [sic] didn’t make dem [sic].”
Apparently even in his time,
Finally an artist who was appreciated in his time!