Collecting Prints

by Leila Lyons

Learn the languageof techniques such as woodcut and lithograph, and art period terms such as Baroque and Art Deco, and the answers to these questions and more: What determines value? What does an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375720561
• ISBN13: 9780375720567
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: House of Collectibles
• Length: 146 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Witty, Concise, and Extremely Informative!

Leila Lyons' book is an interesting and informative explanation on the world of antique orginal prints. Having known nothing about antique prints before, I felt like this book has well prepared me for buying and collecting antique prints. The book talks not only about the various print processes, artistic movements, and print values, it also provides the reader with most invaluable advice - to collect only what you love. I find this emphasis on personal interest and hobby to be a refreshing take on the otherwise exclusive antique industry, and Ms. Lyons herself gives examples of prints costing as little as $27 to as much as $27,000, so that there are prints at every price range, making them accessible to many people. Her writing style is refreshing as well, with little quips of humor and charming anecdotes - I read this in a single sitting, and felt compelled to learn more about antique prints, and to go looking for antique prints myself.

A fascinating introduction to the world of antique prints

I became interested in collecting prints knowing relatively little about the market or why original antique prints were relevant in the art world. This book -- a clear, comprehensive, and fun overview of printmaking processes, periods, and artists -- provided me with the knowledge and I confidence I needed to begin my own collection. Now I can approach an auction, a flea market, or a gallery knowing what questions to find an original, not a reproduction, and one worth the money I pay for it. By reading this book, I've been able to develop what Ms. Lyons calls the "educated eye." My educated eye helps me to select prints not only for their aesthetic value, but also for their intrinsic value. Even if you aren't a serious collecter, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in history and the visual arts. You can learn a good deal about the artwork that essentially served as the pre-industrial revolution photograph; long before we could snap a picture or google images, artists were painstakingly engraving images of species, places and people, to share with the world. Aside from its fascinating material, the book is well organized, easy to follow, comprehensive, and even funny. I highly recommend it!