Assessing the nature and value of your Print

As a special service for our customers we evaluate your prints for free. We are upfront about the difference in wholesale versus retail value. If you are interested in selling your print ,we will advise you on your best options.

Taking care of your Prints

Prints are typically printed on paper. Prints are therefore fragile objects due to the material they are printed on. Because of its nature, paper will always deteriorate somewhat, but this process is accelerated if your prints are not properly stored or handled. History has proven that many of the papers used in early pre-1800 printmaking are of superior quality and less subject to alteration than papers composed later. As such, in paper making new is not always better. This is a result of the differences in physical and chemical characteristics of these papers. Although there are strong differences in paper strength, all prints are sensitive to temperature changes, to light, handling, to wear and tear as well as to humidity and excessive dryness.

Any restoring process begins with a careful examination of the work to be handled in order to diagnose the "health" of a print before deciding what treatment must be undertaken.

The most common alterations found in prints can be classified as follows:

• Tears, folds and wear due to improper handling


• Incorrect conservation (bad restoration work, poor framing, inscriptions, gluing)


• Light damage (paper yellowing, alteration of tones)


• Damage due to smoke and dust (blackening, dustiness)


• Damage due to humidity (mildew, spots, wrinkling of support)


• Damage due to heat (paper crumbling due to excessive dryness)


• Damage due to various types of substances (greasy spots, acid burns, excessive paper acidity


• Biological damage (mushrooms, bacteria, parasites)

We are capable of assessing your damage and advising you on the available alternatives. We also take economic issues into consideration. Sometimes a simple solution does the job, but more than often when the problem has been diagnosed, it is essential to find a specific treatment, which requires a specialist to do this properly. Otherwise treatment can damage the print forever. But sometimes, the cost does not justify the value of your print. We will always advise you as such.

Depending on you specific needs, we obtain the service of a specialist. Our partner restoration studios are located conveniently within a few miles of our office. We offer the following services:

Book- and Paper Restoration

• DELAMINATION: Removal of brittle and acidic cardboard backings which may have been glued or pasted to the art work ,often utilizing Enzyme solutions.


• DEACIDIFICATION: Removal of harmful acidity from art on paper wherever possible, and buffering with an alkaline reserve.


• CLEANING: Surface dirt removal by dry methods, and aqueous treatments using the mildest bleaching agents appropriate to the degree of "foxing" or general discoloration. Removal of varnishes is often possible.


• FUMIGATION: Fumigation within a vapour box to kill active mold spores.


• REPAIR & RETOUCHING: Mending and retouching to disguise tears and missing areas, often using liquid paper pulp for infilling. Facsimile work to conceal the visual impact of damages.


• MOUNTING DOWN: When appropriate, fragile or wrinkled paper can be pasted onto a light Japanese paper, or a thicker acid free paper, or light 100% rag museum board if necessary.
  Also paper inlays by the French technique can be done.


• FIRE DAMAGE:Moderate scorch discoloration caused by
  fire can often be reduced.


• DOCUMENTATION: If requested in advance, a copy of the documentation of condition and treatments can be provided for a small extra charge.


• COLLECTION CARE: Advice can be given on acid-free mounting and conservation framing for the long term care of valued works of art.


• BOOKBINDING

Painting Restoration

Coloring

Our partner coloring studio is an expert in authentic coloring. Experts are truely hard to find these days. Costs vary depending on the size of the print.

Framing

Framing at all sizes and material at prices well below your regular framing store.