Facsimiles, and forgeries, of printed material can be made many ways, and
photography is not required for exact facsimiles. Mechanical copying was
conceived as early as the 17th century by Christopher Wren with a
pantograph type machine. The same principle could be used to trace type and
produce an exact reproduction. James Watt invented the copypress in 1780
and regular concern was expressed about its use by forgers. (see "Before
Photocopying") The electrotype was invented in 1839 and by 1845 it was used
to copy proprietary typefaces. Most woodcuts were transferred to typemetal
by electrolysis by the early 1840s so almost all woodcuts or wood
engravings made after that time are facsimiles. Lithography was also used
to make facsimiles since the ground can be stopped out with a variety of
materials easily transferred by tracing the type borders. The British
Library once had an emplyee with a hand so steady he reproduce almost any
typeface with pen and ink. I'm sure someone on this list remembers his
name. Plantin made copper engraved facsimiles in the 16th century. Relief
etchings have long been been used to copy the three dimensional "feel" of
letterpress printing. William Blake is probably the most famous
practitioner of relief printed etchings.
Gene