book lovers’ paradise magazine
The art of print collecting: what you should know By Kirk Krommenhoek
I
n 1989, I walked into a print gallery in the design district of Dallas, Texas. I was drawn in initially by an image in the window of a large exotic parrot. I had always been an arm chair ornithologist and avid birder. After stepping into the print gallery, I was stunned by all of the visual imagery, birds, mammals, ships, and many other beautiful hand-colored lithographs and chromolithographs of all genres. I was completely hooked. I had no idea that such prints existed, I didn’t understand that these prints/images were all from books, and that the processes that they were made by were all printing processes of a particular time period. Print collecting is very personal and can be very broad as there are so many subjects to collect and as there are so many different processes in producing prints. The word print brings to mind all of the different processes: mezzotint, etchings, watercolor, pastel, steel engravings, copper or wood engravings to name just a few. The collecting of prints comes down to having some connection with a certain style, artist, time period, or just imagery. There are many variables. For this article, I am going to focus on prints extracted from books in the 19th century. Discussing some of the printing processes, paper types and tips on the identification of prints/lithographs extracted from books or plates issued loose in portfolios. first quarter 2024
