I. Questions about the mechanics of the PRINTS-L
1. What is PRINTS-L?
2. Who belongs to PRINTS-L?
3. How do I join the group? 4. How do I leave the group? 5. How do I send a letter to the entire group? 6. How do I ask about my status?
7. How do I stop messages during vacation
8. How do I restart messages after vacation:
Send e-mail to: 9. How do I get information about the list? 10. How do I change my subscription to a digest form? 11. How do access the prints-l archives?
Send e-mail to: To view an archive, such as log0010 (the archive for October 2000), send e-mail
to 12. Why was I removed from the group? 13. Why isn't anyone answering my letters? 14. I have something for sale but I don't know how your list feels about commercial
inquiries or advertisements.
II. Questions about prints.
15. I have a print and I want to know what its value is. 16. I have a print and I want to know if it is original. 17. I have a print and I want to know how to properly care for it. 18. I have a question about a printmaking technique.
The views expressed on prints-l are not necessarily those of the Spencer
Museum of Art or of the University of Kansas
Prints-l is a discussion group run by listproc software that is dedicated
to the study of
prints and multiples. Our discussions include, but are not limited to:
printmaking history, printmaking technique (both new and historical),
conservation issues, collecting, digital printmaking, and bibliographic
inquiries. You will also find news about new publications, exhibitions,
and print editions.
When we last looked, about 300 print enthusiasts including printmakers,
museum curators, collectors, conservation experts, appraisers,
publishers, dealers, independent scholars, art historians, and students.
Send e-mail to:
listproc@ku.edu
with the text:
sub prints-l firstname lastname
When you first join the group you ar invited to post a brief note of
introduction.
Send e-mail to:
listproc@ku.edu
with the text:
unsubscribe prints-l
You must first subscribe to prints-l. Then, address your letter to:
prints-l@ku.edu
Reminder, do not send your request to join or leave the group to this
address.
Send e-mail to:
listproc@ku.edu
with the text:
query prints-l
Send e-mail to:
listproc@ku.edu
with the text:
set prints-l mail postpone
listproc@ku.edu
with the text:
set prints-l mail
Send e-mail to:
listproc@ku.edu
with the text:
help
Send e-mail to:
listproc@ku.edu
with the text:
set prints-l mail digest
listproc@ku.edu
with the text:
IND prints-l archive
listproc@ku.edu
with the text:
GET prints-l log0010
The listowner routinely removes members from the group when their addresses
create multiple error messages. If you think you have been mistakenly removed
from the list or have any quations contact the list owner:
goddard[at]ku[dot]edu
While it is possible that your letter is simply falling on deaf ears, the
listserver does occasionally crash. When this happens be patient.
Prints-l will rise again from the ashes. When prints-l uses up its disk
allocation it is automatically shut down without warning. The listowner
tries to monitor disk space, but we have creashed before, and it could
happen again. Also, when the
listowner travels the list is left untended for up to two weeks at a
time. If a serious problem develops during such a period it may remain
unresolved until the listowner returns.
We welcome information about new prints, texts, artists' materials, as well
as announcements about jobs, symposia, professional meetings etc. so long as
they are clearly relevant to the general arena of printmaking. However, we do
not wish for prints-l to become a marketplace and we request that any commercial
or promotional announcement begin the subject heading in the letter with the
word NEW. Some examples:
NEW list of prints for sale
NEW exhibition catalogue
NEW job listing
NEW print invitational
NEW exhibition for rent
In general it is best if you indicate that interested parties may contact you
for a full listing of available works, books, etc., rather than simply posting
long lists to the entire membership.
Since prints-l readership does not change rapidly there is no need to repost
such announcements unless the contents have changed substantively.
While opinions may be offered by members of the group chances that you will
be referred to one of the several standard references that record auction prices:
Martin Gordon Inc. Gordon's Print Prices Annual. [annual inventory of
old and modern master print auction records]
Contemporary Print Portfolio. A Guide to Auction Prices. Edited by Joseph
E. Zanatta. Shawnee (KS), Bon a Tirer Publishing.
It is very difficult, even impossible, to make this kind of judgment call without
seeing the work in person. Research begins by consulting a catalogue raisonné
(listing of all of an artist's prints), if one has been published for the artist
in question. The standard index to these specialized and very useful reference
works is:
Timothy Riggs, Index to Oeuvre-Catalogues of Prints by European and American
Artists. New York, 1983.
This text will lead you to the standard catalogues. In some cases the catalogue
will include information about copies and forgeries. If you can not locate a
copy of the catalogue raisonné suggested by Riggs (check your local art museum
library) then it is possible that someone on prints-l will have access to the
work and will be able to help you out.
An on-line addendum to Riggs (and eventually the integral text plus the addendum)
is available at the Print
Council of America website.
The texts listed under no. 18 below can also help determine some common kinds
of facsimiles.
The basic rules are: keep your print away from light and humidity and be sure
that it is matted in acid-free mat board ("museum board"). Useful texts on proper
care of works of art on paper are:
Anne F. Clapp, Curatorial Care of Works on Paper. Oberlin, 1978.
Francis W. Dolloff, and Roy L. Perkinson, How to Care for Works of Art on
Paper. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 1979.
Margaret Holben Ellis, The Care of Prints and Drawings. Nashville, 1987.
You might wish to check one of these resources in addition to posting your question
to prints-l:
Luis Nadeau, Encyclopedia of Printing, Photographic, and Photomechanical
Processes_. Fredericton (New Brunswick), 1994.
Bamber Gascoigne, How to Identify Prints. A complete Guide to Manual and
Mechanical Processes from Woodcut to Ink Jet. London, 1986.
Antony Griffiths, Prints and Printmaking. An Introduction to the History
and Techniques. (London: British Museum), 1980.