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Ruby Lane's newsletters are designed to celebrate the antiques and art, vintage collectibles and jewelry communities around the world. Our Past Times newsletter focuses on antiques and collectibles. Our Creative Hands newsletter celebrates fine art and handcrafted jewelry on Ruby Lane. Our shop owners are frequent article contributors, sharing their expertise and their passions for the items they collect and create. Enjoy!Subscribe Now to our Newsletters
Ruby Lane's Past Times Newsletter for August 2003
Past Times Fine Art, and Artisans
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Welcome to Past Times! Diane's Vintage Store
of Gordon's Fine Art
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Ruby Lane celebrates its 5th anniversary in business this month!
We are so pleased to have reached this important milestone. A
special thanks to our shops and customers. We couldn't have done
it without each and every one of you!
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As we mentioned, this month, Ruby Lane celebrates its 5th year
in business. So to celebrate, hundreds of Ruby Lane shops have
listed an item here that they want you to know about - some at
reduced prices! So be sure to check it out at 5 Year
Anniversary Finds __________________________________________________________________
POSTCARDS!
Pamela Franzmeier specializes in vintage and Victorian trade
postcards including Valentine, Thanksgiving, Artist Signed,
Christmas, Birthday, Santa Claus cards and more! Examples of
such treasures are a 1914 Francis Brundage Witch Hugs Black Cat
Halloween Postcard ($39), a 1911 Child w/Holly Wreath Christmas
Post Card Publ. by Int'l Art ($5), a 1913 Little Mother Doll
Repair Post Card ($5), and a 1909 New Year Postcard of
Beautiful Lady on Ice w/Skating Cherub ($9). Pamela labels the
condition of each piece using a grading scale of Excellent to
Fair (see her shop for detail definitions).
Pamela does not sell reproductions and guarantees the
authenticity of every item she sells. She is a proud member of
The Ephemera Society of America. All items are shipped in soft
protective sleeves for protection.
We invite you to visit Rebal's shop at Remember When Vintage
Postcards - Advertising Collectibles __________________________________________________________________
HULL OF DIANE'S VINTAGE STORE
The history of chromolithography really begins in the 17th
Century, when the reputation of a painter depended largely upon
the sales of etchings and engravings in the secondary market.
This is the earliest ėmass production' of an image. Some artists
hired their own engravers, but the majority of engravers merely
hovered around painters, copying their work. If the
reproductions were popular in the secondary market, it elevated
the reputation of the artist. Both a symbiotic and tense
relationship existed between the engraver and artist; they
needed each other to be successful. Painters were often
disappointed in the results, in either the quality or selection
of artwork. Even though, etchers and engravers were highly
trained in their craft and enjoyed a social status that was
almost level with painters. So different from today where the
value lies in the artist's image and not the ability of the
printer to accurately reproduce.
Trickle Down Economics
The ruling Royalty in the 17th Century quickly realized the
propaganda value of reproducing monuments, buildings, landmarks
and cultural treasures to spread the word of their power and
achievement. The Royals paid for them and started the trickle
down effect. The upper classes through the working class all
strove to obtain etchings and engravings. Thus a new market was
created, the demand for reproductions of popular art for display
in the homes of the masses. As a result, the drive to improve
the reproduction technologies had begun.
Newton's Theory of Light and the First Color Prints
J. C. LeBlon, an Amsterdam painter of miniatures, is credited
with experimenting with printing in color in 1708. Influenced by
Newton's Theory of Light, taught during his youth, LeBlon's
invention demonstrated, "that all varieties of colour are
expressed by means of three only, viz. yellow, red and blew."
(SIC) LeBlon recruited investors and opened The Picture Office.
He employed a large workforce of engravers, colourers, printers
and framers to reproduce famous old paintings. The Picture
Office is the first known commercial business that marketed
color reproductions to the public. The business operated into
the 1740's, when it fell apart amid scandal and legal
proceedings, with LeBlon's stockholders accusing him of stealing
from the company.
The introduction of color to images prompted etchers and
engravers to add color, too, beginning around the 1720's. Color
was both hand applied and mechanically applied to etchings and
engravings. Since the mechanical application of color to an
engraving and tied up the plates for too long which increased
cost, most color was hand applied.
Adding color was not popular with the upper classes; they
considered it "unnecessary" and "under-suspicion". The
development of color reproduction technology was slow during the
18th Century, due primarily to lack of patronage from a
conservative upper class.
Early Lithographs Competed with Etchings and Engravings The
first recorded polygraph method was invented by Joseph Booth,
who displayed the original painting beside the colored
reproduction at the first exhibition of The Polygraphic Society
in 1784. Unfortunately, the details of his method are not
documented.
Later, in 1798, Austrian Alois Senefleder was introduced a
lithography method and shortly afterwards, art lithographs
entered the marketplace. The lithographer drew or painted with a
greasy substance onto a porous printing surface, usually stone,
which was then pressed to paper or canvas. Only a few could be
done at a time; the image was re-drawn over and over to produce
many prints.
It would be awhile, though, before lithographs became popular.
Lithographs did not have the "tactile feel" of an engraving
desired by the aristocracy, who were accustomed to the lines and
dashes of a line engraver or the meticulous dottings of the
stipler.
The Chromolithograph
The term, Chromolithograph was first used by French lithographer
Englemann. He used it to describe a color lithography process
for which he was granted a 10-year patent in 1837. Englemann
based his chromolithograph process upon the 3-color theory
espoused by LeBlon 130 years before.
In 1848, mass production of lithographs became possible; the
word Fac-similes was coined in 1859 because the process was "so
perfect".
Using English machinery from Senefelder's design, Jules Cheret
began producing color lithograph posters on his own press in
Paris in 1866. "Cheret drew designs straight onto the
lithographic stone, re-establishing lithography as a direct
creative medium."
Revolution of the Printing Industry
In the second half of the 19th Century, "high numbers of
brightly colored lithographs of Old and Modern Masters were
produced from as many as 25 stones." While engravers and
etchers trained for many years as draftsmen before attaining a
high status commensurate with their skill, the lithography
process was more dependent upon "an industrialized team of
workers who saw themselves as technicians". Thus began the
shift from the individual craftsman towards the factory
environment.
The Camera Competes with the Chromolithograph
Mass production of chromolithographs transformed the printing
industry, but a new invention would soon take over. The
development of the camera also occurred during the 1800's,
providing new competition. By the turn of the century, it was
clear that lithography could not compete with the near
perfection achieved with a camera.
The heyday of chromolithographs was primarily from the 1870's to
the 1930's, when the Depression put many printers out of
business. By the end of WWII the printing industry was clearly
moving in the direction of the photographical image.
A Preserved Art Form
The art of engraving, etching and lithography continues as a
preserved art form, taught in Art Academies and Print Making
Departments of Universities.
Its fascinating when you think about it: The idea of color
printing began when Newton's Theory of Light was taught to a
little boy 320 years ago, who later applied the idea of three
primary colors to pigments used in painting. Today, the only
difference between process then and now, "the division of a
picture's full range of color into proportions of the primary
colors" is done digitally and photo-chemically, where it was
previously judged by eye.
Chromolithographs are very collectible; the colors are rich,
vibrant and do not fade. The chromolithograph was an important
invention that bridged the gap between the black and white
engravings of the 16th Century and today's color photographic
image.
We invite you to visit Diane at Diane's Vintage Store.
Lambert, Susan, The Image Multiplied, Abaris Books, New York,
1987, page 87
Ibid.
Barnicoat, John, A Concise history of Posters, Harry Abrams,
Inc, New York, page 7.
Lambert, page 98
Ibid.
Ibid, page 87
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BILL GORDON OF GORDON'S FINE ART
There is so much to know when collecting fine art. You can't
learn it all in a lifetime! But if you're new to collecting but
want to "give it a go," here are a few basic points for you to
think about, that will help get you started:
Fine art is a unique handmade creation by an artist. Fine art
may be an original painting or even an engraving or etching
where the artist was directly involved in the creation process.
The uniqueness and rarity of any collectible is an important
factor in establishing its value. This principle is also true
in the world of art. Informed art collectors are aware of this
and seek to acquire fine art that is unique and not mass
produced.
I cannot emphasize enough that fine art is never created when
different artists paint different parts of a painting in an
assembly line process. Sweat shop art may be hand made, but it
is not unique. Likewise, a print that is reproduced
photographically is not fine art. Many artists today are
selling photographically reproduced prints for very high prices,
but it is doubtful that these prints will hold their value in
the secondary auction market, much less that they will ever
increase in value. Many art buyers are unaware that these
prints have often been transferred to a canvas. You cannot
assume that something is a painting just because it is on a
canvas.
Another factor involved in determining the value of a painting
is its desirability to collectors. Some artists are in high
demand with collectors, and their art sells for fantastic
prices. Other artists are not desired by collectors and their
art sells only for its decoration value. This is why the most
important factor in determining the value of a work of art is
identifying the artist. A small painting by Picasso may be
worth a hundred thousand times more money than a large painting
by your aunt. When buying collectible art it is important that
you purchase it from a gallery or art dealer that you trust and
who will guarantee that the art is by the artist they claim.
One way of determining the desirability of an artist is to
discover whether the artist is listed in any of the art
reference books. Artists mentioned in these art books are often
referred to as "listed artists." Probably less than one percent
of artists ever make it into one of these books. If an artist
is listed it means that there is probably enough desirability
for the artist that a secondary market (art auctions) exists for
his art, although not all listed artists are equal in
desirability. A low level listed artist may have paintings that
sell in the low hundreds, while a high end listed artist may
have paintings that sell in the millions.
We invite you to visit Dr. Gordon's Ruby Lane shop at Gordon's
Fine Art
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