"Gems of French Art - Reproduced in Photogravure with Descriptive Text" published by Nims & Knight, Troy, New York, 1888. Eight photogravures [etching on copper] on heavy cardboard like paper with tissue guards and descriptive sheets. All eight listed plates and text are present.

Hard boards, original blue cloth, black and gold decorated front board [soiling & wear: see photos]; large format: 10" x 12.3/4"; a few plates are loose, two plates separated from binding, some foxing, a few tissue guards are damaged, good / very good condition.

Plates:

Fishing-Boats of Dieppe by Marie-Auguste Flameng
The Pond by August Allonge
Mignon by Eugene Aizelin
Dante by Albert Maignan
Delilah by Marius-Jean Antoine Mercie
The Newspaper by Louis-Georges Brillouin
The Shepherdess by Henri LerolleThe Letter-Box by Timoleon Lobrichon
In the Meadow by Julien DupreA Breakful by Charles Monginot

In 1870s-1890s, Goupil & Cie were the leading art dealers in 19th century France, with headquarters in Paris and a network of branches in London, Brussels, The Hague, Berlin and Vienna, as well as in New York and Australia. Instrumental for this expansion was the "Ateliers Photographiques", a plant north of Paris, in Asnieres, which took up its work in 1869. The photogravures created in this plant dominated the world art market of 1880s-1890s.

The creation of the photogravure plate was a complicated process requiring a work by a photographer and experienced master-engraver. First, a copper plate was coated with a light-sensitive gelatin tissue which had been exposed to a film positive, and then etched, resulting in a high-quality intaglio print that can reproduce the detail and continuous tones of a photograph. It is a manual process. Therefore, the quality of the photogravure depends on the masterly execution by the engraver.

Photogravures were engraved on copper plates and leave a plate impression in the paper. Due to relative softness of copper, the editions of photogravures were limited to a few thousand copies similarly to copper engravings and etchings.

Rates vary per country, we will adjust shipping costs with the invoice.

US: Media (c 2-8 days) --------- $14.50
Canada: Priority (c 2-6 weeks) -- $52.50
World: Priority (c 2-7 weeks) --- $84.50