British Prints : Dictionary and Price Guide

Antique Collectors' Club, Woodbridge, 1988 reprint of 1987 first edition. Cloth, 4to, 28 cm. 359 pp, 650 black and white ills, 51 colour ills.. From the blurb: "..until now no work has given a complete coverage of [prints (as opposed to mass-produced or photographic reproductions)]. Such a book has been badly needed, for not only are there thousands of prints on the market, but the prices vary enormously, often for reasons that are not always obvious. Mounts, for example, are often important as are different editions..The author of this unique work, the head of Sotheby's Print Department, draws on his long experience to provide brief biographies of the British printmakers working from 1650-1950, as well as to detail their principal works and to give an idea of market values of specific works or general categories. His wide-ranging view takes in not only separate prints, but also plates made for books, for these represent the work of many printmakers and, in addition, are often and confusingly sold separately as framed prints. The inclusion of bookplates widens what is already an extensive field. Here then is a key 'collecting' book, accompanied by a concise and informative introduction which discusses condition and rarity, subject-matter, identification of prints, and the various processes used. Study of the subject will give pleasure to many, for printmaking has always been a medium respected both by talented artists and a discriminating public. Very Good in Very Good dustwrapper.