Making your mark

Hi,

I'm a little confused about something, and I suspect it's the
terminology that's causing me the confusion. (Mat/mount/etc!)

I'm going to mount some prints as limited editions and sign/number
them. Am I right in thinking that the accepted convention is to sign
and number below the print, but inside the mount? (IE. On the print,
in the white border surrounding the actual picture.)

Furthermore, what's considered the best thing to sign with in this
way?

Thanks,
Gabrielle


G V

I recommend you read Levey, Irish & Kazdan, "Photography: Composition
Color Display" (Amphoto, 1979) if you can find a copy. [A number of
copies are for sale on alibris.com and abebooks.com] It has an
excellent 50 page chapter on the fundamentals of display, including the
proper use of the terminology.

In particular:

mount: any stiff material to which a print is affixed to
keep it flat.
Full-mount: the mount and print are of the same size.
Mat-mounted: the print is smaller than the mount.
border: the non-image margin surrounding a picture.
mat: an add-on border.
Overmat: a mat placed on top of the print.

And there are more.

As to materials for signing, the authors recommend a black pencil [most
pencils are gray, not black] or black ink. They mention that if you
write on the print itself you will dent or emboss the emulsion. Their
recommendation is to place the signature on the front of the mount, near
the print.

I recall once reading about a famous print - either Stieglitz or Adams,
and he had signed the mat. As the years went by, the mat aged badly,
but the museum hesitated to do away with the mat because it had a
valuable signature.


Francis A. Miniter


G V wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I'm a little confused about something, and I suspect it's the
>terminology that's causing me the confusion. (Mat/mount/etc!)
>
>I'm going to mount some prints as limited editions and sign/number
>them. Am I right in thinking that the accepted convention is to sign
>and number below the print, but inside the mount? (IE. On the print,
>in the white border surrounding the actual picture.)
>
>Furthermore, what's considered the best thing to sign with in this
>way?
>
>Thanks,
>Gabrielle
>
>