Hand engraved pictures

Hi

I am trying to learn more about these hand coloured/engraved pictures. The 2 sets of 4 pics I am showing here are clearly very common, however it’s proving difficult to determine the value as there are so many examples, and more importantly many of which are prints. These are not prints, they are hand engraved, you can see by the reverse shot, the embossed lines where it’s been drawn and also the colours in places starting to show through. Any ideas?

 

What is your definition of hand engraved? It doesn't appear to be a general use term as I know it.............. https://www.engraveraustralia.com/what_is_hand_engraving.html

 

What you have are prints on paper. They may be original engravings, but it is not possible to confirm that from the photos you have posted. In the engraving process, the image is first engraved on a copper plate, which is inked and pressed onto the paper in a printing press. The method creates a "plate mark" around the image area, which is a recessed area impressed into the paper by the copper plate. That is one of the first features to look for in determining if a print is an actual engraving. Do your prints show plate marks?
As you have found, popular images have been reprinted over the years, using many different techniques. Many you can identify by looking at the images under magnification.
A good reference for identifying the characteristic features of prints is:
How to Identify Prints. by Bamber Gascoigne. Thames & Hudson, 2004. ISBN 9780500284803.

 

Post close-up photographs of the plain paper so we can see the grain or lines. Another close-up of edge where the plate marks would be and one or two of the actual printed area.

 

https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3632320

 

Hi yes they do have plate marks. I will have a read through the info you provided. Thank you very much for your time

 

Hey all,

I have taken shots of the areas requested. I forgot to mention previously that I had an idea that these are not 'machine' prints, as demonstrated in the following images. Being a web/graphic designer, I knew that the way to identify a print is to zoom in, which ultimately will reveal dots (dpi).....I have numbered the images #1-8 for reference:

#1: The outer line is what I believe to be the 'copper plate mark'
#2: Upon closer inspection you can clearly see the impressed mark
#3: Close up of blank area @ 6x magnification
#4: Close up of blank area @ 8x magnification
#5: Close up of artwork @ 8x magnification
#6: Close up of lettering @ 6x magnification

and the final two images, taken from a re-printed piece, from the same artist @ 6x magnification clearly shows the difference between the two examples....

 

Sorry, I referenced that wrong....'Hand Coloured Engraving' is the definition I became familiar with.

 

As the link that @Fid provided, Thomas Henry Alken first prepared drawings for his series of "Sporting Notions", from which engravings were produced. The series appears to have first been published as a book, "The Comic Story of Men On Steeds At Unsafe Speeds", ALKEN, Henry. Sporting Notions. London: T. McLean, 1831-33.
https://www.davidbrassrarebooks.com/pages/books/02047/henry-alken/sporting-notions

The description of the prints is informative:
First edition. Oblong quarto (10 1/4 x 14 1/8 in; 261 x 358 mm). Thirty-six hand-colored soft-ground etchings and aquatints with tissue guards, as issued without title page, watermarked 1831-1833.

Other examples of the first issue:
https://www.georgeglazer.com/wpmain/product/sporting-notions-henry-alken-aquatints/

Yours do appear to be hand colored engravings, but I think they are later issues. There are several differences between yours and the original edition. Yours do not have the title, "Notions" at the top of the page, or the complete credits at the bottom of the page. The colors of yours are not as bright and crisp. It would also be important to compare the size.

 

I agree. To be honest I didn’t consider, or expect for one moment that these would be originals. Not sure where to go with this....I suppose it would just be useful to get an indication of their potential value, as apposed to an actual machine copy or print - as these are clearly extremely common. What is the significance between the two I wonder? A more modern recreation but using the same technique as the original, or simply a machine copied reprint of an original?

Such that a reprint of this kind could well have been produced only last week (!?) ....os there any indication of when a hand coulered engraving may have been produced?

I get the impression this is more than likely a much more dated method of recreating such works of art?

 

I don't think these are "new". The paper has some foxing. If these were "newer", the prints would have been done on acid free paper with an acid free backing to prevent foxing and yellowing. Most likely these were done before 1950. Were these framed or just matted?

 

I would guess your prints date to the mid 19th century - later than the 1830's originals, but before lithography and later photo-mechanical methods became the most common forms of reproduction.

 

Hi @Loz591

If they are copper or steel etchings (intaglio/gravure), there should be an impression from the paper being forced into the etched lines (besides the edge of the plate). You might feel it from the back.

A stone litho lays down ink on the surface of the paper, so the back should be relatively smooth.

Those two printing methods leave plate impressions, which can be easily simulated by decorative print purveyors.

I honestly don't know what you have

 

They were framed

 

This is a shot of the reverse. The outer line, which I believe to be the plate Mark is a prominent impression and if you run your finger over it, it’s raised or embossed. Based on what you have explained I would say for sure it’s been produced using the copper plate method?

 

It is unusual for a lithograph to show plate marks. While done under pressure, the lithographic stone is usually larger than the paper, so there would be no impression of the edges.

Could be copper plate, or could be steel plate. The differences are most apparent in the character of the lines in the print. I would really recommend you consult the Gascoigne reference, where he has many excellent photographs of the different methods.

 

If the originals are aquatints, as you say the Alken's were, what usually happened was that when the clarity of the image started to decline (due to the number of impressions), the original publisher would either re-engrave the plate (seldom seen) or more usually sell the plate to another publisher who would then re-engrave the faded aquatint and enhance the outlines by line engraving. The resulting later engraved edition would then be sold for a fraction of the original price by the second publisher.
When THAT plate was pretty much "done in", the plate would be sold off and re-engraved again and by this time the copperplate title would be so worn as it needed to be replaced.

These late editions can be spotted easily as the title is often in block letters not copperplate script.

When the plate was completely worn out, especially with super popular artists like Alken, the plates were sold off and re-engraved yet again, commonly by French publishers.