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Authentication

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....Knowing What Is Authentic...
 
 
      For Starters, let us tell you what is not authentic : if someone offers you a so-called "Certificate of Authenticity", click your mouse and move on the the next cyber adventure.
 
"Certificates of Authenticity" are printed everyday in some ware-house without windows, along with the cheap contemporary repro-ductive canvas sludge sold as "art".
 
 

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      We will back what we sell.  If you change your mind, and with the usual proviso that the print is returned in it's original condition within a reasonable time, you will recieve full refund, minus shipping.      

      We offer a few technical  pointers that  are visually clarified on the "Knowing the Difference" pages.

       Additionally, we notice there is some confusion on the market over the issue of platemarks. One rule of thumb that helps clear the confusion : Neither the ab-sence nor the presence of a plate mark on an old print constitute a benchmark for identifying an engraving; es-pecially in the realm of bookplate engravings. All engrav-ings have platemarks upon their initial stage of printing, but publishers or binding companies would often trim away the platemark of an engraving in order to fit the for-mat of a book. This happened even with larger bound folios, though less frequently.

      In other words, a "photogravure" or "photoetching" with a platemark around it does not make it an engrav-ing, or , conversely, an engraving without a platemark can still be an engraving.

      A couple salient points  on the terms : "reproduc-tion" and "original".

      We do not sell 20th or 21st Century reproductions and represent them as "antique". On occasion, we will offer late 19th or early 20th century photogravures; on fewer occcasions, halftones if they are done extreme-ly well and constitute a particular rare find. ( Refer to our "Knowing the Difference " pages )

      In the 19th century, the word "reproduction" was commonly used to describe the process of an engraver who, in point of fact, "reproduced" a painter's painting or watercolor or draftman's drawing by incising the same image onto a metal plate or wood block ( or by drawing on stone as in the case of lithographs ) as accurately as talent would allow in order to facilitate the publication of an artist's work, or simply to "embellish" ( a term fre-quently used ) the text of a book.

      In this context, Victorians,  Europeans and Americans used the term "reproduction" with impunity and without shame : A "reproduction" did not bare the stigma engen-dered by the market abuses the 20th century.

      Thus we can distingiush between the term "repro-duction", meaning an image by one artist re-created by another artist; and the term "original", meaning an image created by one and ( usually ) only one artist.

       There are occasions when a painter will create an etching after his/her own painting, and if that etching is created by the original artist, "after" his/her own painting, it is still generally considered an original work of art, if for no other reason than that the etching remains the artist's own original image. ( Click "after" for Art Terms )

      In addition to the biographical  info. we will have on this site, we will also include complimentary bio. excerpts from the standard references of the trade, with the sale of each print. Our "Knowing the Difference" pages and our "Art Terms" pages will also assist you in the authentication process.

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Get in touch to offer comments and join our mailing list.
 
You can e-mail us at :
 
...or call us for pricing/shipping questions at :
Tele : (256)-714-0960
 
...or you can write us at :
P.O Box 7333
Huntsville, Alabama, 35807
 

Solution Graphics