Collection: Antique Etchings

Etching is a method of making prints from a plate, usually copper, into which the design has been cut by acid. The copper plate is first coated with an acid-resistant etching ground, using a roller or dabber, through which the design is drawn with a sharp tool called an etching needle. The ground is usually a mix of beeswax, bitumen, and resin. The plate is then exposed to nitric acid which eats away those areas of the plate unprotected by the ground, forming a pattern of recessed lines. The depth of the line, and thus its darkness when printed, is determined by the length of time the plate remains in the bath, and also by the strength of the acid. When the plate is applied to moist paper, the design transfers to the paper, making a finished print. There are certain restrictions in using this technique. The artist cannot expose an area larger than a thick line, nor can he draw lines too close together, because the acid will bite under the intervening 'ground' and the acid will attack the plate indiscriminately. Print makers sometimes combined both etching and aquatint processes in the same print. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a technique called soft ground etching became popular. This involves drawing with a pencil on a sheet of paper placed over the copper plate coated with an extremely soft, sticky ground. The ground adheres to the paper wherever the pencil passes, leaving the metal exposed in broad, soft lines. The plate is exposed to acid as in normal etching, and when printed, gives results similar to pencil or pastel drawings.
11 products
  • The Village Quidnunc (gossip) - Antique Flemish Etching, circa 1600
    The Village Quidnunc (gossip) - Antique Flemish Etching, circa 1600
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  • Portrait of Napoleon - Antique Etching with Stipple c1850
    Portrait of Napoleon - Antique Etching with Stipple c1850
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  • Portrait of Horatio Nelson - Antique Etching with Stipple c1850
    Portrait of Horatio Nelson - Antique Etching with Stipple c1850
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  • Antique Victorian Valentine Card - circa 1840's
    Antique Victorian Valentine Card - circa 1840's
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  • Costumes of Tuscany - A Pair of Antique Etchings circa 1796
    Costumes of Tuscany - A Pair of Antique Etchings circa 1796
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  • A Pair of Fine Views of the City of Pisa - circa 1830's
    A Pair of Fine Views of the City of Pisa - circa 1830's
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  • A Florentine Gentleman - Antique Etching by Bartolozzi circa 1790
    A Florentine Gentleman - Antique Etching by Bartolozzi circa 1790
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  • Cuckfield, Sussex - Etching by Adrian Hill, circa 1948
    Cuckfield Sussex - Etching by Adrian Hill circa 1948
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  • Cleve Mill, Gloucester - Antique Etching by Heywood Sumner, circa 1880
    Cleve Mill Gloucester - Antique Etching by Heywood Sumner circa 1880
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  • The Queen of Hungary Stript - Antique Satirical Print 1742
    The Queen of Hungary Stript - Antique Satirical Print 1742
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  • The Princess Victoria - Soft Ground Etching circa 1830
    The Princess Victoria Soft Ground Etching circa 1830
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