I’ve got friends with a family heirloom print. Its very nice. We rematted it (acid free materials and UV filtering plexi) and kept the original framing. It looks really good. My friends have some family members that would love to hang the family heirloom too but, alas, there’s only one…. BUT WAIT!. With todays technology, we decided to take a high resolution photo, have it printed by a professional printer on matte paper to look like the original and… wow… it looks JUST like the original! That’s even scarry. Now, this makes it look even scarrier… I’m going to take an antique frame (see photo) and have my framer cut it down to be the right size for the print, we’ll mat it up just like the original and it will look like, on the family member’s wall, like the “real deal.” No one will be able to tell the difference. Maybe I should write on the back that its a copy… I think I’ll suggest too, that they keep the digital copy in a safe place in case of disaster and back up… and maybe a copy at a family member’s house or bank vault.
Jordan,
Thanks for your comment on the blog. I once took an Old Master engraving print in black and white; then put a loose sheet of blank 300 year old paper in the laserwriter printer and hit “Print.” Visually, the effect was VERY convincing even though one could see immediately under the stereoscope that it was a photocopy.
While I’m, OBVIOUSLY NOT, advocating making fakes, this whole process will help a family who needs to make multiple copies for different family members of items that are important to family history, memories etc.
Remember, re-utilizing on old frame (cutting it down to fit) obviously helps in the whole “look.”
Its a GREAT technique also for a business who does not want to put anything on the walls that might get stolen, but wants it to look real and have quality.
Thanks again for your input. I too consult constantly on fakes and identifying them.
Scott
Hello Scott,
Thanks for your reply, and allowing me to contribute on your blog. I was googling some similar topics and came across it and thought it was a great read! Keep up the good work, and I hope we can both keep on top of the fakes! Hope to talk to you again soon!
Thanks,
Jordan
Good to have you commenting, Jordan. Its an interesting subject, no? I’ll keep blogging about what comes into the lab and what I see in my travels and perhaps you’ll find it worthy to refer it to others. Check out http://www.preservationcoach.com also for media articles you may find of interest.
All my best.
Scott
Nice website. Great read.
Nice website. Great read. Do you deal much with fakes?
Yes I do. Its one of the fun parts of my job. But it can be sad too when I have to give the bad news to someone… which is most of the time. Check out my lab’s website at http://www.fineartconservationlab.com
Of course, what a great site and informative posts. Being in the antiques business, we are always looking for good authoritative information. I will add backlink – bookmark – RSS feed this site. Regards, Thomas.
Just a note, I am speaking at the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando Florida at the end of the month (March 2010). So, you can see, I take the emergency preparedness part of my message very seriously. I’ll be talking more about this in the weeks coming up.
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this. It is extremely helpful for me.
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Nice article. Since I work for Armani (sunglasses) we see a lot of fakes too. Its amazing how our world is so filled with wannabes. But the real value is in the quality and I can see you understand the difference and help others too. Artwork is expensive so I guess its worth making sure. Its cool that someone can come to you to figure it out. Thank you for this info and I’ll stay in touch. Fun posts.
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