A Quick Guide from Glitteringsky Antique Prints

What is an Antique Engraving?

An antique engraving is an image printed on paper one hundred or more years ago. The engraver carves/cuts a drawing or design into a support with a sharp tool. The support might be a sheet of copper or steel, or a wood slab. The engraved sheet is then passed on to the printer. The printer spreads ink over the plate to fill in the engraved lines. The excess ink is wiped away, leaving the incised lines filled with ink. The engraved sheet is then pressed onto paper. The white areas on the engraved print are where the ink was wiped away, leaving highlight. Many factors can influence the appearance of an engraving such as the cutting tools, paper or type of ink. The ability of the engraver and the quality of the original artwork from which the engraving is taken is very important. An engraver is a craftsman and is often interpreting the artist’s original work. Most artists have a very close relationships with their engravers.

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Image #1 above is a close up scan of a tiny portion of the complete engraving # 2. The magnified image shows the characteristic lines of an engraved print. This is sometimes hard to see without a magnifying glass. The entire print on the right is small, about 6 x 8 inches. The shading and detail is very fine and well executed.

Sometimes you can see plate marks on an antique engraving. Plate marks are the impression left behind from the edges of the engraved plate being pressed into the paper. If the paper is smaller than the engraved plate used for printing,  plate marks will not be present. Thicker stocks of paper and harder pressure will show deeper plate marks.

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Image #1 is a close up the plate mark impression from printing the engraving in image #2.

(*Note: Print started out as black and white, and was hand-colored.)

Often people are surprised that something so delicate like a piece of art on paper can survive for hundreds of years. Great care and time went into the making of prints so the finest materials where often used. You can find hundreds of beautiful engravings at our store,

Glitteringsky Antique Prints.

Landscapes      Assyrian Engravings          Hogarth 1700's

Please see our other guides below:

Antique Lithograph - A Quick Definition

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