When navigating the ‘secondary market’ to buy or sell fine art prints and lithographs, knowing the correct terminology is essential to protecting your money and communicating effectively with dealers, collectors, and auction houses.
Usually, the first thing you look at is the paper, You are looking for paper degradation. A print’s condition directly dictates its valuation at auction or private sale. When looking at an old or poorly framed print, using the the right terms can help you so you don’t misidentify temporary framing marks as permanent structural damage.
By learning the vocabulary for assessing the art, you can confidently talk about whether something has a permanent structural damage or a superficial or cosmetic flaw. This specific area in knowledge is exactly where “sleepers” (highly valuable items mispriced) are born. For instance, Everyday buyers and general antique dealers see a stained, warped frame and price the entire piece discounted or ruined. As an educated buyer, you look past the ugly housing to see a flawless print waiting to be rescued.
Similarly, if a dealer lowers the price because of a “stain,” look closely. If the line is strictly on the blank margins and does not touch the ink, you can easily mat a piece out during conservation reframing. You buy it at a steep discount, hide the line, and unlock the full value.
Likewise, when a print looks heavily warped or wrinkled inside an old frame, amateur buyers assume the paper is ruined. It may be rippling due to trapped humidity, remove it from the tight old frame and the paper naturally flattens out completely—no expensive restoration required. Moreover, if a print has old tape marks on the back edge (corners), dealers often panic and slash the price. However, if the tape hasn’t bled through to the front image, the print can be brought back to pristine condition for a relatively low fee.
Let’s discuss the Terminology:
Print Authenticity & Edition Terms
- Catalog Raisonné: The definitive, master catalog listing every single artwork an artist ever created in their lifetime. If a $5,000 lithograph is not documented in the artist’s Catalog Raisonné, it is highly likely to be a fake or an unauthorized reproduction.
- Artist’s Proof (AP): Prints pulled outside the regular numbered edition for the artist’s personal use or quality checking. They are marked as “A/P” or “E.A.” (Épreuve d’Artiste). They hold the exact same—or occasionally slightly higher—value as the standard numbered edition. [1]
- Limited Edition vs. Open Edition: A limited edition has a fixed number of prints (e.g., 45/100), after which the printing plate is destroyed to ensure scarcity. An open edition can be printed indefinitely, holding very little secondary market value.
- COA (Certificate of Authenticity): A document provided by the original publisher, gallery, or a recognized expert certifying that the print is genuine
Condition & Valuation Terms
- Condition Report: A detailed, written document prepared by an expert or auction house describing the exact physical state of the print. For high-value secondary market buys, always request a condition report to check for hidden damage-like tears, light fading, or trimming.
- Provenance: The documented history of who has owned the artwork from the day it left the artist’s studio to the present day. Excellent provenance (like being owned by a famous museum or reputable collector) drastically increases a print’s marketability and value.
- Foxing: The dynamic, small brown spots that appear on old paper caused by mold or iron contaminants reacting with high humidity
- Mat Burn (Acid Burn): A dark, yellowed, or brown line scorched into the paper’s borders. This happens when the print has been sitting against cheap, acidic cardboard mats for years. This is where opportunity to find a ‘sleeper’
- Margins: The blank, unprinted borders surrounding the main artwork. If the “signs of framing” are strictly limited to the margins, the print’s primary value is usually perfectly intact.
- Fading (Light Damage): The irreversible loss of ink vibrancy and yellowing of paper caused by prolonged exposure to ambient UV light.
- Cockling: A structural warping, rippling, or waving of the paper. This occurs when a print is trapped tightly in a frame and expands or contracts from humidity.
Transaction & Market Terms
- Primary Market: The first time an artwork is sold, usually straight from the artist’s studio or representing gallery. (Since you bought this from a previous owner, you are strictly operating on the secondary market).
- Hammer Price: The winning bid amount announced when the auctioneer drops the gavel. This does not include taxes or house fees.
- Buyer’s Premium: An additional administrative fee (typically 15% to 25%) that an auction house adds to the hammer price. The buyer must pay this on top of their winning bid.
- Reserve Price: The confidential minimum price a seller agrees to accept for their item at an auction. If bidding does not hit the reserve, the item goes unsold.
Art Housing and Framing Terms
- Conservation Framing* (or Archival Framing): This is the exact term for replacing old, degrading housing with 100% acid-free materials and UV-protective glass to shield the art from future decay.
- Matting Out: This is the specific technical term for cutting a new cardboard border (the mat) to strategically cover and hide those old edge marks on the paper margins.
- Rematting: If you are only replacing the cardboard borders and keeping the glass or wood, this is the term used.
*When you speak to art dealers, appraisers, or frame shops, using the correct terminology will ensure your print is handled with the proper level of care.
By telling a frame shop you want “Conservation Reframing with an acid-free mat to mat out the old edge lines,” they will immediately know you have a high-value piece that requires expert, museum-grade handling.