Constitution - Old Ironsides

All engravings for sale in this gallery have been struck from the original antique copper plates on traditional intaglio presses. Marine subjects include New York Harbour, Boston Harbour, The Fighting Temeraire and USS Constitution. .. .

All the prints in this gallery are newly-struck on a heavy art paper using a traditional Intaglio press and the original antique copper- or steel- plates.  They are then hand-coloured.  So although these are new prints, undamaged by time, they are otherwise no different from the same article which is over a hundred years old.

The art of hand printing from Intaglio, meaning incised or cut-in, plates has barely changed from the very earliest days of its development. To achieve a result that would satisfy both artist and engraver, the craft printer requires a tremendous depth of skill. He must assess the result that the artist and engraver or etcher planned to create, and mix inks in tone and consistency to suit the engraving, inking and wiping in a skilful manner to achieve the desired result.

The production of each individual print require the same attention to detail, as the plate must be inked, wiped, hand wiped & polished after each impression has been taken. Presses used for intaglio hand printing have changed very little in the last one hundred and fifty years. Indeed some of the presses at used in the creation of these engravings are of around that age, and in the intervening years, no reason has been found to alter the basic design, which resembles a greatly magnified clothes wringer!

All images in this gallery are courtesy of Thomas Ross Ltd. No reproduction is permitted without permission.

New York Harbour