meaning of "1st ed." on a woodcut

Discussion in 'Art' started by LIbraryLady, Apr 26, 2018.

  1. LIbraryLady

    LIbraryLady Well-Known Member

    Hoping the group can elucidate meaning of "1st ed." on a signed woodcut that I've found in an on-line auction. It is signed in pencil by the artist with the year (1968), has a title written in pencil, and, also written in pencil is "1st ed." I don't know what to make of the term "1st ed." as I am more accustomed to markings like 5/200 (i.e., no. 5 of 200); or A.P. (artist's proof).

    TIA
     
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  2. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    It's not possible to know what the artist means, as like you suggest, it's unusual.

    It may be the artists way of saying this print is a....
    Trial proof
    with no numbering scheme....it may have been a one off....

    but I'm speculating here.........
     
  3. daveydempsey

    daveydempsey Moderator Moderator

    I would take it as "First Edition"
     
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  4. LIbraryLady

    LIbraryLady Well-Known Member

    Thank you, @komokwa and @daveydempsey. I think that it does mean first edition, and that is an unusual way of expressing it. I appreciate the comments.
     
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  5. Mark London

    Mark London Well-Known Member

    It could indicate that the artist intended to do further work on the wood matrix to produce further impressions which would be different from those in the "first edition". Correct terminology would have been "1st state" rather than 1st edition though...
     
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  6. moreotherstuff

    moreotherstuff Izorizent

    Makes no sense to me.
    I suppose it might have been made for large scale mechanical printing, but first pulled by hand in a smaller edition. In a situation like that, "deluxe" is frequently the descriptor and the prints are numbered.

    Prints like that are sometimes called Artist's Proof, but it's an abuse of the term.
     
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  7. Mark London

    Mark London Well-Known Member

    Wood blocks do not lend themselves to large scale mechanical printing. I agree the prints should be numbered. There have been art publishers who try to inflate revenues by pulling two editions off the same matrix, one on paper "a" numbered in Roman numerals, and another on paper "b" numbered in Arabic... However, in this scenario, all prints would be numbered.

    It is hard to know what the OP has but it could simply be a trial proof or test print
     
  8. Marie Forjan

    Marie Forjan Well-Known Member

    Strange, I would expect to see "artist proof", maybe it means the same thing?
     
  9. Mark London

    Mark London Well-Known Member

    Sadly people often tend to confuse the terminology. In recent years an artists proof is the exactly the same as the regular edition. Prints which were made prior to "getting it right" are trial proofs, etc.

    In many cases the publisher pays the artist in part with artists proofs which he/she can either sell or give to friends. This is also the case for "printers' proofs."

    The notion that an artists' proof is somehow more valuable than a print from the regular edition is not supported by sales data on the secondary market.
     
  10. moreotherstuff

    moreotherstuff Izorizent

    Show us the print. Is it professional or amateur? In all probability, whoever signed it was simply unaware of the conventions.
     
  11. LIbraryLady

    LIbraryLady Well-Known Member

  12. moreotherstuff

    moreotherstuff Izorizent

    You could look up other Byron Randall prints to see how they're labeled. If you have the interest
     
  13. LIbraryLady

    LIbraryLady Well-Known Member

    @moreotherstuff - Thank you. I did, which is why I think if it goes for less the 80-100, there is lots of room for profit. His later works go for more, seems his earlier hover under 400/500.
     
  14. moreotherstuff

    moreotherstuff Izorizent

    Not familiar with his work. I was thinking more in terms of how he labeled things. Probably just idiosyncratic.
     
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