Ebay: 1887 Prince Potemkin Passenger Ship Colour Shipbuilder Print

This is a shipbuilder print of the Russian passenger ship Prince Potemkin built in 1887. There is the number "272" written in pencil in the top right hand corner, which is the yard number of the ship. There is the number "25" written on top of the name of the ship, but I am unsure what that means.

I am hesitant to take it out of its frame, but may do so on request.

Print Dimensions: 25" x 34"

This is a rare item.

(More pictures on my Ebay account.)

 

This may actually be rare...not like the word rare on eBidet.

 

Rare on Ebay means the seller only found one at the tag sales he hit that weekend. One of a kind means there was only one at the tag sale. This on the other hand may be something nice. I think this is her: http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/P-Ships/princepotemkin1887.html

 

@evelyb30 Yes, that's her. She has quite the history! I was surprised when I read up on it myself. If we could bring her back to life as a person, I am sure she would have a few stories to tell

As far as I am aware, this is the only one of these there is (unless I am mistaken.) I have found a couple of postings of this item on different websites, and they are all marked with the same number. Somehow, this has ended up in my hands, which I am delighted about! Now all I need to do is find it a loving home

 

I found a similar image on another site, but thought that might have been where you got it. A place in Carlyle?

 

@evelyb30 It was given to me by my father, so he probably got it from there (Carlisle.) He knows where the best auctions are, and he takes home some nice stuff. He handed a few items over to me to help me start my own antiques/collectables business. This item has bounced around all over the place and my Dad has ended up obtaining it. He wasn't even sure what it was, but when I did the research on it, I was pleasantly surprised.

 

If I had it I'd check for signs of a later re- printing, such as printing method by looking for tiny ink dots etc. Any original shipyard drawing I've seen has info on the shipyard plus all kinds of dates, signatures, revision numbers etc. usually in tabular form at the bottom. If this was done ca. 1887 I'd think at least the shipyard name and location would be on it.

 

@springfld.arsenal The number "272" is written in the top right hand corner, and you can clearly see the smudge marks. The 272 pertains to the yard number. There may be other stuff inside, but that means opening up the frame.

 

I'm still tempted to put the word rare up for sale on eBidet and see what happens.

 

Thanks, and I dunno enuf about graphics to give good advice but I'm sure there are things you'd learn by looking with a magnifyer, like those tiny lil' dots if present.

 

THat's a little better. I can't understand why people make do with such horrible dark pictures with no contrast.

 

@afantiques Because I don't have a fantastic camera

 

You don't even need a good camera, just more light and running the result through a photoshop type program. Virtually any camera nowadays, even the ones in mobile phones (you do need to study the instructions to get the best results) can do professional grade pictures.

I posted a thread here some time ago about making better pictures, and the web is thick with similar how-to articles. The picture on the viewer's monitor should be a near exact match to the item in front of you at home.

 

@afantiques Well, to be fair, I didn't think it was that bad a photo to begin with. Yes, the lighting isn't perfect but it seems acceptable enough to me. I don't know, maybe it's because I have ridiculously-good eyesight that I take it for granted.

 

If the actual colour of the paper is white, or nearly, it should look white, not a dark blue-grey.

People who buy antiques are often old, look at the profile ages on another thread. We do not need things exaggerated in contrast, just all the contrast that is there in the original. Here is a document I snapped casually and tweaked a bit to get the colours about right.


Including the slight staning.

One way to make your listings stand out in a crowded marketplace is to have really good pictures. Go for pictures that look exactly like the item. Not like a picture of the item.

It is really worth the time to do this and it does not take long with digital cameras as you can try and then discard ad lib.

It is not a sin to photo-edit pictures for listings, digital cameras are most frequently used on automatic and they do get things wrong. They are fine for the average views and portraits but not optimised for the sort of things antique sellers often need to illustrate. Practice will sometimes make perfect but always make better.

 

No bids yet. Ends in a couple of hours.

 

You are not going to get people snatching your hand off. A specialised marine sale would probably be the best venue. I know the major and some of the minor auction houses have them from time to time.

It should not be all that hard to find one with an internet search. I used to go to an occasional one at Bonhams Chester.

 

Good, let us know. The stats on watchers, hits, etc can tell u a lot about how much interest there is from Eboo buyers, if it doesn't sell this time at least note the stats to help decide future plans, which as has been said maybe should include auction.

 

Stick with those poor pictures and it is unlikely to sell. It's just not possible with mid grey on light grey to get any real idea of what the actual item looks like.

 

@afantiques You can zoom on Ebay.