The term "vintage print" is actually an artificial concept.  When the fine arts market became big business in the 1970's, many galleries tried to cash in on sales of photography.  The problem, however, was that photographs were not seen as "unique" works to the extent that any number of prints could theoretically be made from a given negative.  In other words, photographic printing was seen as a form of mechanical reproduction.  Thus, even an original print by such a renowned photographer as Edward Weston might sell for only for a few hundred dollars, if even that much, at a pioneering gallery such as Helen Gee's Limelight in New York City.

The solution, at least from the gallery owners' point of view, was to invent the idea of the vintage print.  Ideally, the vintage print was one made by the photographer within a few weeks, or months at most, of the date on which he had taken a given photograph.  Somehow, this nearness in time was supposed to impart an authenticity to the print which would otherwise be lacking.  The whole idea was, of course, bullshit.  Any photographer knows that it can take a very long time to discover the best way to print an image.  George Tice once showed a class I was attending one of his most famous photographs, a small car moving downwards on a hill at twilight.  Tice remarked that it was only when he had realized that the key was to heavily burn in the borders to each side of the car that he arrived at the print he had sought.

Nevertheless, though I myself have reservations about the ultimate value of vintage prints, I do accept that it is a consideration for collectors.  It also presents an opportunity for me since I do routinely print photographs within a few days of shooting.  Moreover, I limit the number of prints I make at that time to no more then five and often fewer.  All the prints offered for sale on this page fall into this category.

Unless otherwise noted, each print is 8 x 10" in size and is sold, unmatted and unframed, for $500 each.

These are NOT digital prints.  Each is a fine art print made on silver bromide paper in a wet darkroom using traditional photographic methods and is archivally processed for added permanence.  Satisfaction is guaranteed.  If you are interested in purchasing prints, please contact the photographer at the email address below.   Thank you.

surrealnyc@aol.com

Important: Note that  the colors in the scans shown on many of this site's pages have been adjusted for easier web viewing and that the tonal values on the actual prints may vary sharply.

Pictorialism

All photos and text, except where otherwise attributed, copyright (c) 2007 - 2008 by Frank McAdam.  All rights reserved.