large East India Co. Ship Hand colored etching.

Looking for in
formation on this particular piece. i have seen prints and engravings of this painting, But not any hand colored etchings. So it must be a later print then the engravings.
Rather large 16" x 21" at the mat. and 25" x 30" frame.

Edward Duncan was an engraver and painter who concentrated on Marine subjects as a result of his association with his father-in-law William John Huggins. He collaborated with Huggins on paintings and engravings.

Mikey

 

Bit puzzled here. It is or appears to be an engraving. Probably dates from whenever the Huggins Duncan team were batting. What's the question?

 

Thank you af, I have had lots of etchings so i thought this was, i have never actually seen an engraving in person so i assumed it was a later etching of the engraving. I wasn't sure if engravings left plate marks like etchings did.

Mikey

 

Any print process that depends on pressure will leave a plate mark. Think old Gutenberk with his screw press. Modern rotary printing and other processes do not leave this useful clue.

The hand colouring was usually pretty expertly done but close examination will disclose minor faults, and also the range of colours was limited, all hand coloured prints have a similar look due to this limitation in colour range. This look stands out after a while as you see lots of prints. At the time, any colours were pretty amazing so people happily paid more for the coloured version, hence the (probably forgotten by everyone except me) saying"Penny plain and tuppence coloured"

 

I didn't know that, Learn something everyday. Well this is a very large framed engraving so i won't be trying to sell it on my usual venue. i think ill try craigslist and see how it goes. thanks again for all your information.
Mikey

A little better pic of the whole thing

 

I think the water and the hills at least are a technique called aquatint. Some of the lines may be engraved, but there's lots there that look to me more likely etched. It is not at all unusual for a print to involve several different techniques.

It says "engraved" by the Duncan name, but I think that is more an acknowledgement of who worked the plate than the techniques involved.

Still... if you're going to sell it, you have to call it something, and it does say "engraved". If buyers want to quibble over the technique, just point to where it says that and allow that other techniques were involved in the production of this intaglio print (and familiarize yourself with the meaning of "intaglio print").

This is aquatint texture:

 

Interesting, thanks moreotherstuff. I was reading about Mr. Duncan and that is the type of engraving he learned to do.

 

In that case, it sounds like they're calling any intaglio print an engraving, which, I suspect, is a common enough practice, though there are multiple techniques.