How to Know the Value and the Price for Old Antique Prints

You have found an antique print that you like in the attic or at an antique mall, but you wonder how much it is worth or if the price sticker is a fair one. Antiques are all unique in regards to their condition and therefore there are no two that are exactly alike. What you will be looking for is a reasonable estimation of the price for this particular print. It will take you a bit of time, though we will make it easier for you with these two tips.

We are going to have to assume that you have the real thing in your hands and that the print is not a reproduction. Reproductions are another subject and are usually not worth anything. In this case just follow your gut feeling: does the print look old or is something not right about it?

Your two tips are: time to investigate and the internet. We are assuming you have at least access to the internet otherwise you would not be ready this. Time is something we seem to enjoy less and less of in the information age.

Let us start our investigation. Look closely at the print. Here we are looking at condition as this influences the price. We want the print to be complete, with no missing corners, holes or tears. We prefer prints with no water stains, mold, spots (called foxing) and finally the fading of colors if present. Check the back of the print for repairs plastic tape (very bad), writing (hopefully in pencil and not a ball point pen) or any notes about the origins of the print.

Write down your observations about condition. Your print should be in as good condition as possible to attain the highest price. Condition is an important criteria in the value of old prints. Your benchmark on price with be a print in very good condition.

We should mention that prints in frames are of particular concern as the actual condition of the print is difficult to determine without taking the print out of the frame. This can be tricky and the risk of damage to the print is very high. Taking the print out allows you to find out if it has any writing behind it, any repairs, look at general condition and most importantly see how it was framed. It the worst case the print had hidden portions missing and was glued to a board (not good).

Now you will need your second tool: the internet. In this step you will need to find and compare your print with other similar prints on the internet. Try eBay and the multiple e-commerce antique print shops. A Google search is equally good. You must find the same print, from the same edition or year as yours, now you can gauge a comparison between the condition of your print and the one for sale online.

You may not be able to find that exact print so go for a ball park figure. If you have difficulty identifying your print because it lacks a title or information on it then read our article on Print Identification.