Collecting Antique Prints and Photographs

Wall décor, like any other aspect of home décor, changes with the tastes of the time. Collectors, however, generally do not concern themselves with this.

Collectors seek out antique prints and photographs that pique their interest and satisfy their need to own something unique. Because prints and photographs, unlike original works of art, are reproductions or reprints in the strictest sense of the word, their identification and valuation are often fraught with misunderstanding and misinformation.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Vintage photographs are printed from an original negative. However, photographs can continue to be reproduced from those same negatives years after the original printing. Such an example is shown at left.

It is a photograph created with 125 year old negatives! Edinburgh Castle is a famous landmark in Scotland , so to appease the tourists’ taste for a unique souvenir, hundreds of these photographs are reprinted and sold in specialty art stores.

Antique family photographs, often displayed under “bubble glass” with faux wood or gesso frames, often have value beyond the sentimental.

Photos of attractive ancestors are today worth more than plain or unattractive ones.! Sad, but true.

Creative sleight of hand was often employed back then to flatter the subject.

Stick charcoal was brushed over an existing photograph to give definition to the face, improve hairstyles and add accessories such as jewelry and handkerchiefs.

Artists created this niche for themselves when it appeared that the science of photography would wipe out their livelihoods. They used pastels to add color and sometimes went so far as to cover the entire photograph with oil paints, using the original only as an outline.

The monetary value of photographs is based partly on its condition as well as the quality and condition of the frame surrounding it. Provenance of the subject is very desirable, as is the accurate identification of the photographer.

PRINTS:

The term “print” is often used loosely to describe anything that is reproduced – be it a limited edition of a woodcut, etching, or a print of a painting. Years ago, as well as today, prints were created from original oil or acrylic paintings. A case in point: The Victorian print shown on the right is an engraving of an original painting. It was created as a faithful copy of a painting that spanned more than twelve feet !

Each person in this painting sat for the artist. Some had their likenesses painted from photographs posthumously. What makes this print especially interesting is that it came with a small booklet identifying every person in the picture and the story of the artist and the original painting.

Prints could be “vintage”, meaning they were made at about the same time the painting was created, or they could be reproduced over and over again later. Many images were sold for calendars or “free art” in many of the magazines of the time. One only has to think of the thousands of Norman Rockwell prints available today to understand this concept.

A would be collector needs to arm him / her self with information.

A magnifying loupe will help identify prints. Under extreme magnification, the picture is reduced to thousands of small dots of ink, a dead give away of the reproduction process.

Learning to use the sense of touch to determine brush strokes is also important, however many prints are mounted and impressed onto textured oil boards or canvas, giving the impression of hand strokes. A basic understanding of the various printing processes used by artists is also important, as is a good book on values of printed art works.

Ideally, the most important advice in buying any kind of art work is to buy something you like – that way the vagaries of fashion or loss of monetary value won’t matter so much in the end. Happy Hunting!

Written by Johanne Yakula

From Times Past

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