Definition Of Limited Edition Prints

These prints usually are the property of the studio that produced them.

Definition of limited edition prints. Every edition contains a number of prints made from a single plate in a single run. It is generally accepted that the printmaker can mark a p artists proof on up to ten per cent of the edition so an edition of 100 would have numbers 1 100 100 100 and an extra ten marked a p. The artist will typically sign and number the work. Limited edition prints are traditionally signed and numbered in pencil with the edition number on the bottom left the title in the middle and signature on the right.

Limited editions can contain anywhere between 2 and several thousand prints depending on the technique used and intent of the artist. In rare cases artists galleries or artist estates will decide to extend a limited edition and they will label these subsequent editions as a second edition third edition and so forth. Unlike unlimited edition prints also known as open editions that can be reproduced an infinite number of times limited editions are as their name suggest made in limited amounts. Bon à tirer or r t p ready to print a print signed with this mark french for good to pull means that this is the first print in the edition that meets the standards of the artist or printmaker and is used to measure the quality of the rest.

In comparison to open edition prints limited edition prints are numbered and have a limit on the quantity. Since the late nineteenth century the number of prints produced from a single plate or printing surface has usually been restricted and declared as a limited edition. Before this prints were often produced in as many numbers as the process would allow. Artists in the early 20th century produced fine art prints in limited editions so that each individual work would maintain its value over time.

Limited edition prints are marked with two numbers. Limited editions have been standard in printmaking from the nineteenth century onwards. A limited edition print is an edition that has a fixed number of prints from the beginning of the print run and the number of prints never changes. If the edition is created after the artist s death it will be called a posthumous edition.

Pdn has published an interview with art collector jonathan sobel who s suing photographer william eggleston for creating and selling new prints of iconic photos that were once sold as limited.