Original Antique Prints

Original antique prints were generally published in book form and sold either to the general public or, more commonly, a list of wealthy subscribers. Making money on these editions was rare, but the images are often of fine quality and were well preserved in book form. These etchings, lithographs, engravings, chromolithographs, etc. were printed on high quality paper and often hand colored before being distributed. Original antique prints can be very expensive depending on rarity, original vs. later coloring, printing process, and a variety of other factors. A knowledgeable and reputable antique dealer should be able to give you a general idea of whether you have a treasure or just another piece of, well you know, trash.

For additional information on the various printing processes listed above, visit the DAF Printing Processes page.

Hand Colored Restrikes

Restrikes can be thought of as a new edition of an old print. Often, after the earliest editions of a book were published, the plates used to create the images were warehoused for future use, but more commonly, they were melted down and recycled to make a fresh plate. If the old plate survived, years later a publisher would discover it in a dusty corner and decide to print newer images using the original old plate. This new image, originating from the old plate but colored by a more recent artist, is called a restrike. Hand colored restrikes are generally not as expensive as original antique prints, but they are often quite pricey depending upon the quality of the printed image, the coloring, and the relative scarcity of the image itself.

Hand Colored Prints:

As noted above, often the plates were melted down for reuse, so the only thing that survived was the printed image itself. Today, there are many wonderful images available without their original old plates, so print publishers have two options: 1.) Create a new plate of the old image and print a new edition of that image. or 2.) Scan the image into a computer, print the image, and have an artist hand color the new image. The image itself often has a historical reference, and the coloring is usually based upon the look of the original image, but commonly some creative design license is taken with these newer images to appeal to present day consumer tastes. Hand colored prints are generally less expensive than original antiques but more expensive than reproductions, because you are paying for the artist who does the hand coloring. The hand coloring makes the image pop.

Reproductions

A reproduction is a machine, or these days, computer produced image with machine/computer produced color. Very nicely reproduced images and books are produced today with equally dear price tags, some are even signed and numbered (though with editions in the 1000's that may not mean much), but the average reproduction is relatively inexpensive and produced for the general public. Remember, the antique prints of today, in many cases, were once the cheap reproductions of the last century. Art for the masses may become "fine art" some day. That is the reason I prefer to use museum conservation framing techniques on every framing project. Your great great grandchildren may appear on Antiques Road Show in 3030 with a "fine reproduction of a 17th century botanical print by Redoute that is in pristine condition due to the fine framing of Decorative Art & Frame." Then again, the same piece may end up in the trash when the kids clean out your storage locker upon your departure from the planet.

Giclee Prints

The basic idea of a giclee print is the same as any reproduction, but the work is being produced via computer. There are very well known artists producing original giclee prints that command very high prices. I myself often take expensive antique prints from inventory, have them scanned into a computer, "repaired", and printed for sale at a price far below that of the original antique. You get the look without the sticker shock.

Monoprints

A monoprint means that the signed image you are looking at is the only one in existence which makes it unique. Since rarity is always a factor in art prices, you may assume that this would make monoprints quite expensive, but that is not necessarily the case. Many contemporary pieces are unique, but that might simply mean that the artist changed a color on the next monoprint of that particular image. The uniqueness is relative.

Serigraphs
Serigraph is a fancier word for silk screen which is basically the same process used to print on tshirts. Contemporary serigraphs of pieces by well known artists can be quite expensive and can be thought of as fine art reproductions. They are often signed and numbered.

Scotty, beam me back to the art homepage, please!

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