How to Identify Prints, Second Edition [Paperback]

Bamber Gascoigne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 24, 2004

This comprehensive reference work provides all the answers to all the technical questions that constantly arise when trying to identify accurately any kind of print. Is the print in my hand a woodcut, an etching or a lithograph? Is it a stipple engraving or a photogravure reproduction? The book is arranged in sections which can be consulted individually or as part of a larger detective operation. Some ninety different techniques are described, as well as essential features of printing history and related matters such as paper, plate marks, states and the principles of colour separation. A special section entitled 'The Sherlock Holmes Approach' leads the reader with no previous knowledge towards the correct answer, while cross-referencing between sections provides a sequence of clues on some unusual kinds of print which even the expert will find revealing. A key feature of the book is the many illustrations of enlarged details showing the different appearance of various techniques under strong magnification. A glossary provides a clear guide to terminology and to the book itself, completing an unrivalled and indispensable work of reference.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An exceptional introduction to the field of printmaking as a whole. A must for any art collection. -- Choice

Exquisitely presented and profusely illustrated. -- Library Journal

Starts with the basics and covers all aspects of print connoisseurship. -- Philadelphia Inquirer

[An] engaging compilation of information about every printmaking process one could possibly explore, uncover, or imagine. -- School Arts

About the Author

Bamber Gascoigne is a widely known broadcaster, author and publisher. He presented University Challenge from 1962-87. Among his other books are Twentieth-Century Drama and The Encyclopaedia of Britain.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; 2 edition (May 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500284806
• ISBN-13: 978-0500284803
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Art
  • #42 in Books > Arts & Photography > Other Media > Prints
  • #50 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Books

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must-read" for anyone collecting authentic prints, June 6, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Identify Prints, Second Edition (Paperback)

Now in an updated and expanded second edition, How To Identify Prints: A Complete Guide To Manual And Mechanical Processes From Woodcut To Inkjet is a superb reference and self-teaching tool for discerning between manual prints, process prints, and screenprints/non-prints, whether the print in question is monochrome or color, and whether it is relief, intaglio, or planographic. 272 illustrations, 40 of which are in color, highlight the meticulous attention to detail in this excellent manual, which also covers essential aspects of printing history and the craft of printmaking. This new addition is revised with insights concerning how increasingly sophisticated yet inexpensive cheap printing processes such as quality inkjet and laser prints affect the process of identifying and evaluating printed images. A "must-read" for anyone collecting authentic prints or pursuing a career involving the identification of prints.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-Have for the print lover, September 22, 2004

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Identify Prints, Second Edition (Paperback)

I almost said "for the beginning print lover," but even the pros might want occasional reminders about obscure processes.

This book displays an incredible number of processes and variations. Even within etching, there is standard intaglio process, relief etching, intaglio so deep it's amost relief, spit-biting or open-biting - well, a very long list. This gives an exacting look at the marks specific to each process, and gives good diagnostic descriptions. A special strength in this book is the differential diagnoses, the questions to ask that help distinguish two very similar kinds of marks. Every point made in the text is illustrated real samples, and that makes for a heck of a lot of illustrations.

I have almost no quibbles with this text. There are just a few minor points that Gascoigne could have brought out more clearly. First is that Japanese woodcuts are under-represented. It's a rich tradition with a number of distinguishing features: gradations of ink hand-placed on a block, occasional use of mica for luster, and occasional use of un-inked "blind" impressions to impress texture into the paper. Second is a mark that I think is unique to drypoint: the line is often asymmetric, crisp on one side and blurred on the other, capturing the asymmetry of the drypoint burr. The split drypoint line is more famous but, in my experience, less common. I've seen it only in the most aggressively worked drypoints, such as some by Picasso. Third is a feature of some dust-ground aquatints: that the white marks can sometimes form a connected mesh around the black dots, where a spirit ground always has a black ocean dotted with white islands. I know these are minor points, and I hope you see how few there are.

I'm a process nut. It's not the only way I enjoy prints, and not the way everyone enjoys them. For me, though, it really adds something to know how the maker's hand created each mark that I see. This isn't strictly a process book, and only accidentally a book of process history. It's a book about how a print looks, and seeing even more in the finest part of its looks. In the end, that's really the best reason to love a print.

//wiredweird

PS: A little while ago, I was given a very nice color print. It was done in mezzotint style, using burnishers to work from dark to light. Instead of a rocker-made ground, though, it had an aquatint ground. Color came from inking au poupee, dabbed on the plate. The giver was quite surprised that I read its story so precisely. Read this book, and you'll know just what I saw.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lasting, classic work essential to any art library, July 16, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Identify Prints, Second Edition (Paperback)

Back in print and updated in a new paperback edition is Bambar Gascoigne's classic How To Identify Prints, first published in 1986 and enjoying ongoing acclaim as an essential resource for any involved in identifying prints, whether they be woodcuts, lithos, or etchings. Some ninety techniques - manual and mechanical alike - are described to round out an accompanying history of prints. A lasting, classic work essential to any art library and many a general library reference collection.