Age Toning - A natural yellowing of the paper of the vintage print due to aging. In my
opinion it is not a negative but ads character to a piece of paper over one
hundred years old.
Allegorical - An antiquarian
print representing a universal truth by using imagery, often using a classical
theme such as Homer’s Illiad.
Antique print - All prints printed and published before 1912
and over 100 years old are considered unique antique prints. Often this is expanded to
also include original vintage prints (not photo-mechanically reproduced) produced
before the start of the 2nd World War.
Blind stamp - An
embossed seal impressed without ink onto a print as a distinguishing mark by
the artist, the publisher, an institution, or a collector.(Often referred to as
a blind-embossed stamp). Unfortunately, libraries love to ruin vintage art using this process.
Block - A (wood) block is a solid piece of wood
used as a matrix for woodcuts or wood engravings.
Catalogue raisonne - A catalogue raisonne
is a documentary listing of all the works by an artist which are known at the
time of compilation.
Chine applique (chine colle') print - A
chine applique or chine colle is a print in which the image is impressed onto a
thin sheet of paper, originally China
paper, which is backed by a stronger, thicker sheet. China paper takes an intaglio
impression more easily than regular paper, so chine applique prints generally
show a richer impression than standard prints. Proof prints are often done as
chine appliques.
Chromolithographs - Color printed
lithographs, using separate stones or plates from three up to 15 colors (also known as "chromos" or 'chromoliths"). You
sure would not want to make a registry mistake on the 14th or 15th
pass or the total print is ruined. Chromolithography is a planographic process and so no platemark is
created as it is in printing engravings.
Cityscape prints - Prints
depicting scenes of cities or towns. These are usually steel engravings that in some cases were hand colored.
Counterproofs - In printmaking, impressions
taken from a print or drawing by passing it through a press against a damp sheet
of paper. The image appears in reverse.
Edition - An edition of an antique print includes
all the impressions published at the same time or as part of the same
publishing event. A first edition print is one which was issued with the first published
group of impressions. First
edition vintage prints are sometimes pre-dated
by a proof edition. Editions of a print should be distinguished from states of
an antiquarian print. There can be several states of a print from the same edition, and
there can be several editions of an antique print all with the same state.
Engravings - Antique prints taken on paper from
incised plates. The two main classes of engravings are intaglio and relief.
In intaglio copper engravings,
the line engraved has a positive value. The line which is engraved on the plate
is the line which appears on the rare print. Heavy pressure is applied to the plate
to extract the ink from the plate to the paper.
In relief copper engravings,
the lines engraved are negatives to leave the design in relief. Relief
printing, or surface printing, transfers ink from the lines left on the surface
of a plate (like printing from type). Usually copper engravings date from prior to 1850 while steel engravings were common after 1850. Steel engravings were made of harder material than copper engravings and lasted longer or were good for more vintage prints to be produced.
Etchings - Vintage prints taken
on paper from plates incised using an acid to corrode the plates' surface.
Foxing - Brown-Orange spotting caused by
the chemical composition of earlier papers. Foxing can be chemically cleaned and a vintage print can be brought to as-new condition.
Genre Prints - Vintage Prints
depicting scenes from everyday life that include groups of people. Genre prints are common within the Victorian print category.
Hand Colored - A secondary process where a print is colored manually. The price of a hand colored print was usally double or more as compared to an uncolored variety. Engravings and Lithographs were hand colored. In some cases, vintage prints are hand colored years or centuries after publication.
Heraldry Prints - Antique Heraldry Prints depict images associated with family names. Examples of antique heraldry prints are tartans, family crests and coats of arms.
Impression - An impression is a unique antique print including chromos, engravings or lithographs with an image printed on it from a matrix. The term as applied
to prints is used in a manner similar to the term "copy" as applied
to a book. It is the number of “units” or individual antique prints produced.
Intaglio - An
intaglio print is one whose image is printed from a recessed design incised or
etched into the surface of a plate. In this type of vintage print the ink lies below
the surface of the plate and is transferred to the paper under pressure. The
printed lines of an intaglio print stand in relief on the paper. Intaglio
prints have platemarks or indentations in the paper and are usually engravings.
Lettering - The lettering of a vintage print refers
to the information, usually given below or above the image, concerning the
title, artist, publisher, engraver, plate number and other such data.
Limited Edition - A limited edition vintage print
is one in which a limit is placed on the number of impressions pulled in order
to create a scarcity of the print. Limited editions are usually numbered and
are often signed. Limited editions are a relatively recent development, dating
from the late nineteenth century. Earlier prints were limited in the number of
their impressions solely by market demand or by the maximum number that could
be printed by the medium used as the engraving plate used to create an antique print woudl wear out ofer time.
Lithographs - Lithographs are
vintage prints made from a drawing on a polished limestone tablet, a zinc or
aluminum plate. The drawing is done with waxy crayons, pens, or pencils.
A solution containing gum arabic and dilute nitric acid is washed on the stone
(or plate). This solution fixes the design in place. The entire plate surface
is washed with water and then inked. Print paper is applied and sent through a
press, transferring the image of the stone (or plate) to the paper and producing the lithographs.
Matrix - A matrix is an object upon which a
design has been placed and which is then used to make an impression on a piece
of paper, thus creating a print. A wood block, metal plate, or lithographic
stone can be used as a matrix.
Mezzotint - A mezzotint creates tonal effects rather than lines that one sees in an engraving or etching. The plate is
prepared by use of a rocker, which is like a chisel but with a serrated
edge. About 40 times from different anlges, the plate is worked creating
burrs which will hold the ink and create a dark velvety tone. The engraver uses a scraper to remove the burr and reveal smooth copper
which will hold no ink and print white, thus he works from black to
white. For greyer tones he uses a burnisher to remove the burr. Since a limited number of vintage prints could be created from a set of plates, mezzotint prints are usually rare prints.
Mixed Method - A mixed method antique print is one
whose design was created on a single matrix using a variety of printmaking
techniques, for example: line engraving, stipple, and etching.
Numbered Print - A numbered print is one
which is part of a limited edition and which has been numbered by hand. The
numbering is usually in the form of x/y, where y stands for the total number of
impressions in this edition and x represents the specific number of the print.
Offset lithographs - Lithographs
printed by transferring an images from a stone or plate to an intermediate
surface and then to the print paper.
Offsetting - The undesirable transfer of ink or color onto the paper surface
from the adjoining antique prin - most ofton an engraving. This is usually due to binding performed before the ink has
totally dried.
Oleographs - Chromolithographs or chromos printed on a
textured surface. Popularly used to produced inexpensive reproductions of oil
paintings in the late nineteenth century.
Original Print - An original print is a unique antique print printed from a matrix on which
the design was created by hand and issued as part of the original publishing
venture or as part of a connected, subsequent publishing venture. For fine art
prints the criteria used is more strict. A fine art print is original only if
the artist both conceived and had a direct hand in the production of the antique print. Original antiquarian prints should be distinguished from a reproduction, which is
produced photomechanically, and from a restrike, which is produced as part of a
later, unconnected publishing venture.
Paper - Laid paper is made by hand in a mold, where
the wires used to support the paper pulp emboss their pattern into the paper.
This pattern of closely spaced lines can be seen when the paper is held up to
light. Laid paper often has a watermark. Wove paper is made by machine on a
belt and lacks the laid lines. False laid lines can be added to machine-made
paper. Though wove paper was invented in the eighteenth century and laid paper
is still produced, the majority of vintage prints made prior to 1800 are on laid paper
and the majority of antique prints made subsequently are on wove paper. China paper is a very thin paper, originally
made in China,
which is used for chine applique prints.
Photomechanical prints - Prints made from photographically prepared
printing surfaces. A distinctive dot pattern is usually visible. This is also
called “offset lithography”.
Platemark - A platemark is the rectangular
ridge created in the paper of a vintge print by the edge of an intaglio plate producing old prints.. Unlike
a relief or planographic print, an intaglio print is printed under considerable
pressure, thus creating the platemark when the paper is forced together with
the plate. Some reproductions have a false platemark.
Print - A single print is a piece of paper
upon which an image has been imprinted from a matrix. In a general sense, a
vintage print is the set of all the impressions made from the same matrix. By its
nature, a print can have multiple impressions.
Proof - A proof is an impression of vintage prints
pulled prior to the regular, published edition of the prints. A trial or working
proof is one taken before the design on the matrix is finished. These proofs
are pulled so that the artist can see what work still needs to be done to the
matrix. Once a printed image meets the artist's expectations, this becomes a
bon tirer ("good to pull") proof. This proof is often signed by the
artist to indicate his approval and is used for comparison purposes by the
printer.
Relief - A
relief print is one whose image is printed from a design raised on the surface
of a block. In this type of antique prints the ink lies on the top of the block and is
transferred to the paper under light pressure.
Remarque - A remarque is a small vignette image
in the margin of antiquarian prints, often related thematically to the main image.
Originally remarques were scribbled sketches made in the margins of etchings so
that the artist could test the plate, his needles, or the strength of the
etching acid prior to working on the main image. These remarques were usually
removed prior to the first publication of the print.
Reproduction - A reproduction is a copy of
an original print or other art work whose matrix design is transferred from the
original by a photomechanical process. A facsimile is a reproduction done to
the same scale and appearance as the original.
Restrike - A restrike is a print produced
from the matrix of an original print, but was not printed as part of the
original publishing venture or as part of a connected, subsequent publishing
venture. A restrike is a later impression from an unrelated publishing project.
Rough Edges – Print edges slightly damaged possibly
with slight tears that will not show when the vintage print is matted and framed.
Signed - A
signed print is one signed, in pencil or ink, by the artist and/or engraver of
the print. An antique print is said to be signed in the plate if the artist's signature
is incorporated into the matrix and so appears as part of the printed image.
Proof prints were originally signed as "proof" that the impression
met the artist's expectation. Later proof prints were signed in order to add
commercial value to these impressions
Soiling – General dirt or grubbiness such
as coffee, tea, dust etc.
State - A
state of an antiqurian print includes all the impressions pulled without any change being
made to the matrix. A first state print is one of the first group of
impressions pulled. Different states of a print can reflect intentional or
accidental changes to the matrix. States of a print should be distinguished
from editions of a print. There can be several editions of a print which are
the same state, and there can be several states of a print in the same edition.
Stone - A lithographic stone is a slab of stone,
usually limestone, used as a matrix for a vintage print. Lithographic stones are used
to make lithographs and chromolithographs.
Watermark - A watermark is a design embossed into a piece
of paper during its production and used for identification of the paper and
papermaker. The watermark can be seen when the paper is held up to light.
Weak Impression – A weak image that is
fainter than normal due to either a worn plate or insufficient pressure or
inking of the plate during printing.
