Description and research notes
Prepared for the Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay, this sepia photographic proof pair preserves a complete face-and-reverse design for the ten pesos denomination authorized under the law of 4 August 1896. Produced by Bradbury, Wilkinson and Company Limited, the two full-size photographic impressions document the proposed banknote through its Serie A numbering, all-zero serial fields, legal obligation, portrait placement, architectural imagery, national arms, denomination structure, and complete ornamental framework.
Both the face and reverse photographs are mounted on original cardstock and carry the handwritten date 29 April 1925 along the upper margin. This dated archival notation establishes a specific point in the later review, preservation, or internal handling of the design. Although the monetary authority and legal reference belong to the 1896 framework, the mounted photographic pair shows that the design remained active within the printer's working archive nearly three decades later.
The face proof carries the Serie A prefix and paired all-zero serial numbers in the form A000000. These zero serials preserve the intended location, spacing, and visual weight of the circulation numbering system while identifying the image as a controlled reference design. The face also includes the designated signature positions for the General Manager, President, and Government Delegate beneath the central monetary obligation.
The issuing title EL BANCO DE LA REPUBLICA ORIENTAL DEL URUGUAY dominates the upper field. Beneath it, the bank promises payment to the bearer in moneda legal de oro sellado, directly connecting the denomination with Uruguay's gold-based monetary structure and the law of 4 August 1896. The wording gives the design the formal character of a redeemable banking obligation backed by legal gold currency.
The denomination is correctly lettered DIEZ PESOS across the center of the face. This correct spelling is an important diagnostic distinction from the related black photographic proof design, where the denomination was mistakenly engraved as DEIZ PESOS. The sepia proof therefore preserves a separate and corrected design state rather than merely a tonal duplicate of the black photographic pair.
The central DIEZ PESOS panel is surrounded by dense floral ornament, scrolling foliage, geometric security structures, repeated denomination devices, and layered line patterns. Large ten-pesos numerals occupy the four corners and side panels, while a broad lower value panel reinforces the denomination. The face is organized to remain immediately legible despite the complexity of the surrounding ornamental work.
A large oval portrait vignette occupies the left side of the face. The profile is lightly rendered within the photographic image, preserving the intended position and scale of the portrait without overwhelming the central monetary text. Its placement creates a strong visual balance between the human vignette, the all-zero serial fields, and the heavily ornamented denomination panel.
The reverse presents a monumental twin-towered building within a broad urban setting. The structure is shown frontally and dominates the central field, framed by elaborate architectural and floral ornament. Its symmetrical facade, towers, entrance, surrounding plaza, and carefully controlled perspective give the reverse a strong sense of civic permanence and national development.
The national coat of arms appears at left beneath the radiant Sun of May, embedded within an ornamental cartouche. At right, the same profile portrait used on the face is repeated within a large circular frame. This repetition creates visual continuity between the two sides and establishes the portrait as a unifying element within the complete design.
The reverse also contains a large lower denomination panel and repeated ten-pesos devices in all four corners. These value indicators frame the architectural vignette and ensure that the denomination remains visually dominant across the reverse. The combination of national arms, portraiture, architecture, and repeated values creates a design centered on institutional authority, civic identity, and monetary stability.
The sepia photographic treatment gives the pair a visual character distinct from the related black photographic proof. The warmer tonal range softens the contrast between portraiture, architectural detail, and ornamental fields while preserving the full structure of the engraved design. This tonal difference, combined with the corrected DIEZ PESOS spelling and different face-and-reverse composition, confirms that the pair represents its own documented design state.
Photographic proofs such as these formed part of the archival and approval infrastructure of security printing. They allowed the printer and issuing bank to review the complete arrangement of portraits, lettering, serial fields, signature positions, value panels, architectural subjects, and front-to-reverse continuity without requiring an additional direct impression from the engraved plates.
The pair also preserves the relationship between the original 1896 monetary legislation and the continued development or archival review of the design in 1925. The handwritten date, all-zero Serie A serials, corrected denomination spelling, repeated portrait, national arms, and architectural reverse together form a surviving production trail rather than a simple photographic reproduction of a finished note.
Certified PCGS 63 Choice New for both the face and reverse, this photographic proof pair survives as a coordinated archival ensemble. Its importance rests in the Serie A all-zero serial numbers, handwritten 29 April 1925 date, correct DIEZ PESOS denomination spelling, gold-standard obligation, repeated profile portrait, national coat of arms, monumental twin-towered reverse building, and complete sepia presentation. Together, these elements preserve a major unlisted design record from the Bradbury, Wilkinson and Company Limited archive for the Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay.