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Guild Print Stamp

The Fine Art Trade Guild Stamp of Authenticity

The Fine Art Trade Guild is the successor to the Printsellers Association, an organisation formed in 1847 by several influential printsellers, who recognised that there was a need in the trade in engravings, mezzotints etc for the creation of an independent body which would not only control the quality of reproductions but would control and authenticate Limited Editions. It was recognised that there was a necessity to provide proof for the sake of both the public and the publisher that a Limited Edition was just that and that the stated number of the edition would under no circumstances be exceeded.

 

The old stamping machine, shown beneath, was used from 1847 until 1973 to place the embossed stamp on Limited Editions which had been approved by the Stamping Committee, later known as the Approval Committee. It was ensured that all unstamped copies of the edition were destroyed as well as the means of reproduction so that no further copies could be made. There was a maximum edition size of 850 prints, though some editions were smaller.

 

The Printsellers Association, and later Fine Art Trade Guild embossing stamp machine, in use from 1847 - 1973

The embossed stamp of the  Fine Art Trade Guild 1915-1973

In 1973 a new power assisted machine was bought,  designed especially for the Guild to speed up the stamping process. The new stamp consists of the Guild Logo followed by three letters each of which has a numerical equivalent as an guide to number control. i.e. the first copy to be stamped would be ‘AAA’, the second ‘AAB’,and so on, although only 10 selected letters of the alphabet are used. This machine was retired in 2003 at which point the stamping service was discontinued.

The embossed stamp of the Fine Art Trade Guild 1973-2003

The full list of letters and their numerical values are listed below to assist you identify which number print you hold.