Featured Help with sold engravings.

I hit post instead of upload. Here are more close-ups out of the frame.

 

It's certainly a laid paper texture. Machine made papers can be given that texture (I have some here), but I can't see someone reproducing a picture for decorative purposes going to the lengths of reproducing the texture.

With hand-made laid paper, pulp tended to pile up around the vertical chains, which made the paper slightly thicker there. That effect does not occur with machine made paper.

Here's what I mean on a reliably 18thC piece of laid paper:


But that can be a very subtle effect.

This is also reliably 18thC, but I don't see the effect here:

(The watermark you see is called the Strasbourg Lily.)

 

It's possible that these decorator pieces could be old book plates or prints. Years ago when I was selling at flea markets, I met someone that purchased old prints, books and paper. He traveled a lot and did a lot of buying in Europe. He matted and/or framed the old prints and book plates and sold these at flea markets and antique shows. (before ebay).

 

You are right.

Here I disagree. Laid paper is made and used for prints until today. It is not that much more expensive and can be machine made.

I think its quite often used especially in decorative prints because it gives them a more exclusive look. Today its also used in books as endpaper.
And I have a cheap mass produced Vesalius book from Budapest 1968 that is printed completely on laid paper with a watermark. (see picture below)
We can assume that anything printed on wove paper is not before 1750 and anything printed on wood pulp paper is not before 1850, but it does not work the other way round.

 

Yes we all do know that laid paper is still being made today, thanks. I cannot comment on the rest of your thoughtful post, McAdder, because I don't quite understand it. This is my own shortcoming, not yours..

 

English is not my first language, please ask if I write nonsense, I will try to clarify.