Color Etchings with Aquatint - Jean Louis Andre David or Louis Davril

When I purchased these 3 color works by Louis Davril I misread the signature as David. To compound the problem there was not much accessible information about Jean Louis Andre David and only a few examples of his work on the net. Most of the information came from the website artoftheprint.com. According to their notes David specialized in marine subject matter: "Most of David's aquatints portray scenes in and around major French ports". The signature on an etching they sold, identified as David,  matched mine exactly.

The Art Of The Print has been selling works on paper since 1986 and is normally a wealth of good information but like me they make mistakes too.  So below are works now correctly identified as belonging to Louis Davril.

"La Barriere" or "The Fence"

                  "Rue Basse Des Tanneurs Amiens"

"Hiver en Flanders" or "Winter in Flanders"

Borin Art Products Corp, Chicago - Vintage Prints

I just acquired a large vintage print entitled Young Shipbuilder. The print impressed me with its quality and artful look. The label on the back reads "Vivitone Etching - each color applied with an intaglio plate by the Vivitone etching process. An authentic replica which retains the depth and blended colors of the artists original. Made by Borin Art Products Corp. Chicago, Ill."

Young Shipbuilder

Borin Art Product Corp - Vivitone Label

You can find many beautiful prints by Borin on different websites. In excellent condition, with original frame, these prints generally sell for $50-$150 (depending on size, age, artist, and quality of the image). The heyday of Borin Art Product Corp was the 1920's - 1940's. Unlike other companies that produced similar prints, Borin seemed to publish artwork that would appeal to both men and women. Certainly my print of the shipbuilder would look great in a man's den or office.

Below are photos of 5 other Borin prints. One by the well collected artist R. Atkinson Fox dates to the 1920s as do at least 2 other examples. Being a fan of silent movies my favorite is Arabian Love a clever move to capitalize on Valentino's popularity as the sheik without paying an royalties. Also a recent Kovels blog mentions an artist by the name of Alfred T. Terone who worked for Borin producing original artwork that was then mass-produced. So it would seem that Borin reproduced art by both well know artists and artists who employed directly by the company.

Title Unknown

Holland Flower Market 1928

R. Atkinson Fox print

Borin Mark with copyright symbol

1928 Arabian Love

Under Tripoli Skies - Signed La Tessa

Currently ebay has a 1940's photo of a Nathan Borin described by the press as a Chicago art dealer. He is news because he is one of the "Battling Borins", famous for their 150 appearances in court during their 14 year marriage. Here he announces plans to wed the former Miss Miami Beach, Janet Shore, 32 years his junior. I 'm not sure this is the same Borin who owned the art products corp. but it seems likely. If so he had an eye for beautiful art and beautiful women, but as husband he was not so good.

Photo from ebay seller Historic Images

Antique Framer's Label - Art Nouveau - David Bendann's Baltimore

Here is a photo of one of the most artistic framer's labels that I have come across. It advertises David Bendann's Fine Art Rooms located at 105 East Baltimore St. in Baltimore. The label is unusually large in size measuring 6-1/4" by 8-1/4". Brendann's is still in business although no longer at this location. Here is how the store looked C1900 (image fr bendannartgalleries.com).

I found this label was on the back a Louis Orr etching that I purchased. Using paper conservation and restoration techniques I removed the old and acidic paper backing and treated the discoloration and grime which had turned the paper yellow. Now its look closely matches the original appearance.

How to Research an Artist

Here is an etching entitled entitled Needles signed Elsa S Milius and dated 1928. I'm guessing that the title refers to the town in California. Not much is known about the artist Elsa Simmons Milius and I wondered how much I could find out about her. I started with the web site Ask Art, which states that there is an entry for her in Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975 by Peter Hastings Falk, but I can find no auction records or examples of her work.

I emailed the library at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and received a photo of the entry in Who Was Who..

The librarian also sent along a second jpg from The Salons of America, 1922 - 1936 list of exhibitions compiled by Clark Marlor and published by Sound View Press in 1991. Note the appearance of the name variation.

My friend Anne, a former reporter, unearthed these facts from newspaper articles available through ancestry.com :

She is actually Elsa SIMONSON Melius, born Dec. 24,1889. She married her husband Lester at Delmonico's in NY in Feb. 1910. They had a daughter, Winifred and son, Robert.

She had an exhibition at the Artists' Galleries in NYC in 1923 and traveled to Europe in 1929 and 1930. She died in 1933, leaving an estate worth $346,243; unfortunately all but $3,174 of that was the mortgage on her half interest in the Hotel Winthrop on Lexington in NYC.

So this is how to research an artist and obtain the raw data for a biography. Unfortunately the source of her training as an artist is still unknown, a type of fact is included in most artist biographies. If anyone has more information about this artist or additional photos of her work. Please email me at pcurtiss60@gmail.com.

Jacobi Reproof - Vintage Color Etching

Jacobi stamped signature & re-proof mark

Jacobi - Paper Label

Jacobi Re-Proof - Original Price

I collect vintage color etchings and have seen the signature Jacobi on prints by some famous and well listed artists such as Vaughn Trowbridge and James Alphege Brewer. Jacobi's signature usually appears on the left hand side of the print along with the word Re-Proof. I have assumed that this was some type of copy or facsimile of the original print, although the quality of the print looked very good.

Thanks to ebay seller "offthewallarttrader" and here is a photo of the paper label attached to these Jacobi Re-Proofs. It clearly states that these prints are reproductions and so only worth a fraction of the original (I would say that these Re-Proofs are worth 15%-30% of an original). I have also included an advertisement for Jacobi re-proofs from a 1916 copy of the Montreal Gazette.

Vintage Paris Etching by Paul Cushing Child - husband of chef Julia Child

Here's an etching by Paul Cushing Child, diplomat and husband of chef Julia Child. This print is number 8 of a tiny edition that totals 17. It measures 10 x 10 and was signed using his full name.

The cat in the foreground helps to pull you into the scene that shows men fishing the seine river while above the pedestrians cross via the bridge. The N on the bridge enclosed by a wreath lets you know that this is the famous Pont Saint Michel bridge.

Paul Child was born in Montclair, N.J. in 1902. He was educated at Boston Latin School and graduated from Columbia College. He worked professionally as an educator and as a Foreign Service officer. His talents seemed to know no bounds: artist, designer, carpenter, and black belt in Judo. He passed away in 1994 at the age of 92.