DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.73059#0027
How to Judge Prints.
CHAPTER XXXII.
How to Judge Prints.
/7f\qPT'7{r^ and their Qualities are not to be mastered by one effort or
§ ° by two; and the phrase which heads this chapter may
4 perhaps, be classed with " How to learn French in a fortnight," and " How to
swim without going into the water." There are intellects capable of assimilating a language
in a fortnight or less; and, doubtless, there are some peculiarly gifted persons who, after
listening to a lucid theoretical explanation of the art of swimming, have fearlessly plunged
into the water, and become as much at home in the new element as if they had gone
through a course of practical lessons. These, however, are exceptional people. And in
learning to judge prints, as in everything else, there is for ordinary minds no royal road ;
for without assiduity in using opportunities, producing in course of time a true experience,
little progress can be hoped for. All that can be done here is to indicate rather than teach.
A taste in a certain direction usually develops itself accidentally. A collector often begins
by purchasing prints, miscellaneous in character, of what he considers to be pleasing sub-
jects ; and whether he continue the practice of general selection, or eventually settle down
to the pursuit of a certain class, his object will always be, as his technical taste improves,
to obtain the brightest and finest, and sometimes the rarest, impressions. To understand
the difference between those that are bright, fine, and rare, and those that are not, con-
stitutes the art of judging prints. Proofs are treated of in another place; but in judging
prints, something more is required than a knowledge of mere differences in lettering. Every
impression that is taken from a copperplate helps to wear it down, and to decrease the
brilliancy of the one next succeeding ; and to this point careful attention must be given.
As mentioned elsewhere, there are proofs and proofs, and there are also prints and prints,
early impressions and late impressions. An early impression may be compared to a distant
view seen through an opera glass focussed to bring out the picture sharp, crisp, and clearly
defined ; and a later impression may be likened to the same view seen through a glass
more or less badly adjusted, so that it appears not quite so sharp, or even as somewhat
blurred and foggy. Engravings when first printed have ample, wide margins, and are clean
II
and
CHAPTER XXXII.
How to Judge Prints.
/7f\qPT'7{r^ and their Qualities are not to be mastered by one effort or
§ ° by two; and the phrase which heads this chapter may
4 perhaps, be classed with " How to learn French in a fortnight," and " How to
swim without going into the water." There are intellects capable of assimilating a language
in a fortnight or less; and, doubtless, there are some peculiarly gifted persons who, after
listening to a lucid theoretical explanation of the art of swimming, have fearlessly plunged
into the water, and become as much at home in the new element as if they had gone
through a course of practical lessons. These, however, are exceptional people. And in
learning to judge prints, as in everything else, there is for ordinary minds no royal road ;
for without assiduity in using opportunities, producing in course of time a true experience,
little progress can be hoped for. All that can be done here is to indicate rather than teach.
A taste in a certain direction usually develops itself accidentally. A collector often begins
by purchasing prints, miscellaneous in character, of what he considers to be pleasing sub-
jects ; and whether he continue the practice of general selection, or eventually settle down
to the pursuit of a certain class, his object will always be, as his technical taste improves,
to obtain the brightest and finest, and sometimes the rarest, impressions. To understand
the difference between those that are bright, fine, and rare, and those that are not, con-
stitutes the art of judging prints. Proofs are treated of in another place; but in judging
prints, something more is required than a knowledge of mere differences in lettering. Every
impression that is taken from a copperplate helps to wear it down, and to decrease the
brilliancy of the one next succeeding ; and to this point careful attention must be given.
As mentioned elsewhere, there are proofs and proofs, and there are also prints and prints,
early impressions and late impressions. An early impression may be compared to a distant
view seen through an opera glass focussed to bring out the picture sharp, crisp, and clearly
defined ; and a later impression may be likened to the same view seen through a glass
more or less badly adjusted, so that it appears not quite so sharp, or even as somewhat
blurred and foggy. Engravings when first printed have ample, wide margins, and are clean
II
and