DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.73058#0129
The Printsellers' A ssoelation.
CHAPTER XXV.
The Printsellers' Association.
SC?5 1C CD CT 7" times in the course of the present work has mention been
& UCmade of the trade tricks of print publishers and print-
sellers. The most common of these frauds is the simplest—a multiplication of proofs
after the promised number has been taken. To such an unconscionable extent is the
printing of so-called proof impressions sometimes carried, that plates have been known
to become worn out and to require retouching—termed mending or repairing—before the
requisite quantity could be supplied, and before the production of the prints had been
even begun.
The practice of printing extra "proofs" is, though largely developed of late, by no
means confined exclusively to modern engravers. Raimbach laments an error of judg-
ment on his own part in having had printed five hundred proof copies of the engraving of
Wilkie's " Blindman's Buff," and naively remarks, " That quantity, great as it is, does not
reach half the amount that has been taken of impressions under that denomination from
various plates published by the printsellers."
The injury to the purchaser no longer consists, as it did formerly, in his having to
accept, at the price of a proof, a late copy from which the sharp crispness of the earliest
impressions has departed, for the modern processes of steel engraving and steel facing
allow of a very large number of clear and sharp impressions without visible signs of wear
in the plate. The real loss of the buyer is rather commercial than artistic. When a
limited number of proofs of a celebrated engraving are advertised at a fancifully large and
altogether arbitrary price, the buyer naturally hopes that in course of time his purchase
will become more valuable, or if he ever wishes to realize, that he will be able at least to
get his money back again. What, however, is the fact? The so-called "proof" impres-
sions of many well-known plates are so numerous that the market is flooded with them,
and when they appear in print sales, as they frequently do, a tithe only of the original
price can be obtained, or perhaps even only a shilling for every pound invested. Art-
patrons have found this out for themselves, and many in disgust have abandoned their
103
hobby,
CHAPTER XXV.
The Printsellers' Association.
SC?5 1C CD CT 7" times in the course of the present work has mention been
& UCmade of the trade tricks of print publishers and print-
sellers. The most common of these frauds is the simplest—a multiplication of proofs
after the promised number has been taken. To such an unconscionable extent is the
printing of so-called proof impressions sometimes carried, that plates have been known
to become worn out and to require retouching—termed mending or repairing—before the
requisite quantity could be supplied, and before the production of the prints had been
even begun.
The practice of printing extra "proofs" is, though largely developed of late, by no
means confined exclusively to modern engravers. Raimbach laments an error of judg-
ment on his own part in having had printed five hundred proof copies of the engraving of
Wilkie's " Blindman's Buff," and naively remarks, " That quantity, great as it is, does not
reach half the amount that has been taken of impressions under that denomination from
various plates published by the printsellers."
The injury to the purchaser no longer consists, as it did formerly, in his having to
accept, at the price of a proof, a late copy from which the sharp crispness of the earliest
impressions has departed, for the modern processes of steel engraving and steel facing
allow of a very large number of clear and sharp impressions without visible signs of wear
in the plate. The real loss of the buyer is rather commercial than artistic. When a
limited number of proofs of a celebrated engraving are advertised at a fancifully large and
altogether arbitrary price, the buyer naturally hopes that in course of time his purchase
will become more valuable, or if he ever wishes to realize, that he will be able at least to
get his money back again. What, however, is the fact? The so-called "proof" impres-
sions of many well-known plates are so numerous that the market is flooded with them,
and when they appear in print sales, as they frequently do, a tithe only of the original
price can be obtained, or perhaps even only a shilling for every pound invested. Art-
patrons have found this out for themselves, and many in disgust have abandoned their
103
hobby,