What the pencil marks on a print mean
Jerry Polizzi ·
Under the image of a modern print you will usually find two pencil notes: a signature, and a number or an abbreviation. The number says where the sheet sits relative to the edition. It is not a grade.
The fraction
A number such as 38/250 means impression 38 in an edition of 250. The right-hand number is the size of the edition. The left-hand number identifies the sheet. It is usually written in the lower margin, in pencil, often at the left, with the signature at the right or in the center. Baj's The General is numbered at the left and signed lower right.
A smaller edition is not automatically more desirable, and a low number on the left is not proof that the sheet was pulled first. The point of a modern edition is that the impressions match.
Artist's proof
A/P, or E.A. for épreuve d'artiste, marks an impression outside the numbered edition, traditionally reserved for the artist. It is often the same image as the edition. Proofs are sometimes numbered on their own, as A/P 2/10. The letters alone do not make the sheet rarer.
Hors commerce
H.C. stands for hors commerce, outside the commercial edition. These impressions were historically kept back from sale. In practice many of them were sold. Vija Celmins, Comet is numbered 4/10 H.C., a hors commerce impression aside from an edition of 80.
Printer's proof and bon à tirer
A printer's proof, sometimes written P.P., is an impression outside the edition kept for the printer. Yaacov Agam, Sparkling Night is a printer's proof aside from an edition of 72, signed in pencil.
B.A.T., bon à tirer, means good to pull. It is the impression the artist approved as the standard for the edition. There is usually one. The numbered sheets are supposed to match it.
A signature in the image
If the signature is printed in the picture, it was on the matrix. The pencil signature in the margin is the one that marks that particular impression. Roman numerals in the margin usually number a proof set rather than the main edition. How the printing looks, once the marks are read, is covered in how to tell a lithograph from a reproduction.
These notes are the advice we give across the counter. They are not an appraisal and not a conservation report.
Questions
Is an artist's proof worth more than a numbered print?
Not by the letters alone. An artist's proof sits outside the numbered edition and is usually the same image. Price follows the work, the condition, and how many impressions exist.
What if a print has no edition number?
Some prints are open editions, some are unique proofs, and some margins have been trimmed. A missing number does not prove the sheet is a poster, and a number does not prove the sheet is what a label claims. Look at the printing as well.
Where should the number be written?
In the lower margin, in pencil, often at the left, with the signature toward the right. A number printed inside the image is part of the picture, not an edition inscription.