Shadows Antique Print Mystery series

I am a big fan of mysteries and so was delighted when I found out that there was a series of mysteries that revolved around antique prints. This is the Shadows Antique Print Mystery series written by Lea Wait, an antique print dealer from Maine. Lea is a fourth generation antiques dealer who started her own business in 1977. Lea lives in Maine and does antique shows, as well a writing both her mystery series and historical novels for children.

Lea began her print series with Shadows at the Fair, which was a finalist for the prestigious Agatha Award for Best First Traditional Mystery in 2002. I have found the books, which feature an antique print dealer named Maggie Summer, to be well written, good mysteries, and a lot of fun. I especially enjoy the way that prints play a part in the stories and Lea’s accurate description of the world of antique dealers.

You can read more about Lea and her books on her web site, but she kindly agreed to be interviewed for this blog.

CWL: How did you come to start writing antique print mysteries?

LW: I've always supported myself by writing, but I for many years I wrote corporate nonfiction. I wrote my first Shadows Antique Print Mystery to prove to myself I could write a full-length novel. Then, in 1998, I took an early retirement offer, moved to Maine, and started writing (and dealing in antique prints!) full time. My first book to be published was an historical novel for young people, Stopping to Home. My editor at Simon & Schuster heard I'd also written a mystery, and she told a friend at Scribner, and my mysteries found a home there.

CWL: Where did the name the series (and of Maggie’s antique print business) come from?

LW: As it says in Shadows at the Fair, "[Maggie] named the business Shadows because that's what old prints were -- outlines of worlds to which the doors have closed; shadows of pasts that have vanished except for memories and remembrances."

CWL: You introduce each chapter with a description of an antique print. How does this tie into your stories?

LW: Each description is a clue ... if there is a print of a snake at the beginning of a chapter, watch out! The books also have themes which are reflected in the prints. For example, Shadows on the Coast of Maine features Winslow Homer wood engravings because of the Winslow Homer -- Maine connection, even though the engravings were done before Homer actually moved to Prout's Neck. And Shadows at the Spring Show is about a murder connected with an antique show benefiting an adoption agency, so most of the featured prints are by illustrators like Jessie Willcox Smith, who specialized in drawing or painting children.


CWL: Maggie Summer must to some extent be based on yourself. How are you and Maggie the same and how different?

LW: Maggie isn't really me -- she's young, and much braver! But she does have a "day job," as I did for many years. She's a widow; I was divorced very young. We both love Dry Sac Sherry. And one other major theme in the books ... Maggie is 38, and is feeling her biological clock ticking, so is considering adopting a child. I didn't wait until I was 38, but I adopted four children (ages 4-10) as a single parent when I was in my early 30s. And Maggie lives in Somerset County, New Jersey -- where I used to live. So -- we do have a lot in common. But I haven't solved even one murder, so there are a lot of differences, too! Maybe she's who I'd have liked to have been.

CWL: Are other characters in your stories based on real people?

LW: No; none of the other characters are based on specific people! In fact, I go out of my way to avoid doing that, although if you've ever been at an antique show or known many dealers, you've probably met some of the characters in my book! I do have a granddaughter who has Down Syndrome, and a recurring character in my book also has Downs. Maggie's best friend has post-polio syndrome, and I've known several people who've had that. So there are pieces of people I know in the books. But no one is there unchanged.


CWL: What is it like selling prints at antique shows?

LW: Despite the work it takes to set up antique shows, I do love doing them! I love talking with other dealers, and I love having the opportunity to educate customers, especially younger people, about antique prints. But there are some people .. one man at a major show last year spent perhaps half an hour looking through my Winslow Homer engravings. Finally he turned to me. "This guy could really draw," he said. "Did he do anything about World War II?" Some questions are best answered with a simple, "No."


CWL; What are your favorite print(s).

LW: I have a soft spot for Winslow Homer wood engravings; the ones printed in Harper's Weekly and Every Saturday and other newspapers from 1858-1874. I try to keep as many of them as I can in my inventory, although they're becoming harder to find. I have about 160 of them now. Although they've gone up in value in the past twenty years they are still affordable, and I think, as the early work of one of America's greatest artists, they will continue to be an excellent investment.

CWL Do you plan to continue with the Maggie Summer books?

LW: There are four books in the Shadows Antique Print Mystery Series and after the 4th book my editor retired, and Scribner discontinued most of the mystery series' she had contracted for, including mine. My agent has tried to find another publisher to pick up the series, but so far he hasn't been successful. So -- I've written another Maggie book, but I don't know if it will ever be published. I hope so! In the meantime, I'm continuing to sell antique prints.

I hope Lea finds a publisher and encourage fans of antique prints and mysteries to find one of the Shadows books and give it a read. You’ll enjoy it!

Framing art on paper

This is the second part of our blog of the care of art on paper (click here for first part). Here I will give our recommendations for the proper framing of prints. The manner in which a print is housed in a frame is the most important factor in the preservation of that print. There is no question that proper framing (often called "museum quality" or "conservation framing") is more expensive than not bothering with the recommendations below, but by properly framing a print, you will preserve it over time, whereas not to do so will likely lead to its ultimate destruction.

The following are the important factors involved in archival framing.

Matting material should be 100% cotton rag.
Of the many types of mat board available, one should use only 100% cotton rag mat board when framing a print. Cotton fiber is 99% acid-free; it is then buffered to pH 8.2 with an alkaline reserve of 2-3% to counteract environmental acids and air pollution which may come in contact with the art. The most deceptively named boards are some "acid-free" mat boards made from wood pulp. While the acid content of these boards has been reduced from that found in the raw pulp, it has not been eliminated. The buffering agents used on the surfaces are only effective against airborne compounds, and do not protect against heat and light activation of acidic elements remaining in the board. For the short term they can be alright, but there is a considerable risk over time.

If there is no mat between the glass and the art work, a spacer should be used.
A spacer is used to keep the paper surface away from the glazing. This procedure is important because high or changing humidity can cause condensation to form on the interior of the glazing surface, and without the air space between the art and the glazing material, this condensation will be in contact with the art work. This may lead to mold, mildew and water spots on the art work or may cause the art work to stick to the glazing.

Hinges should be made of Japanese paper, with natural wheat or rice paste used as an adhesive.
Hinges are the invisible attachments between your art work and the backing board. It is important that these not have any acidic content and that the hinges be easily removable without damage to the art work.

We recommend the use of conservation quality glass or acrylic.
Manufactured to filter out 97 to 99% of ultraviolet rays, conservation quality glazing will protect your art work from fading due to sunlight and bright fluorescent or incandescent light. The advantages of acrylic are that the material is lighter and safer, especially when art work is to be shipped. Conservation glass has the advantage of being less likely to bow in a large frame and being less susceptible to scratches.

All frames should have a paper dustcover stretched across the back.
This prevents dust particles and tiny insects from gaining access to your art work. At the same time, the porous quality of the paper will allow the art work to breathe within the frame.

Try to maintain a stable environment for your art work.
Consistent 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 50% humidity are optimal. Some slow variation in these factors is acceptable over a period of months or years, but any sudden change can be harmful. It is advisable not to hang or store art work on a damp wall, a wall that has been recently plastered, over a working fireplace, or in any area subject to excessive sunlight, heat or dampness.

When cleaning the glazing, great care should be taken.
Be sure to take the frame off the wall. In order to prevent the moisture of the cleaner from seeping into the frame and onto your art work, it is best to clean the glazing in a horizontal position. Use a non-abrasive cleaning product, spraying onto a soft, lint-free cloth, rather than directly onto glazing. Never use glass cleaner on acrylic. While the frame is off the wall, check the dustcover on the back of the frame. If it is missing or has been ruptured in some way, the frame should be taken to a frame shop to determine whether any damage has occurred and to replace the cover.

It is advisable to have your art work in frames evaluated every five to seven years.
Over time, acids and dirt in the environment can have a harmful effect upon your art work.

Prints with "decorative value"

Throughout history, the production of prints was intended as a relatively inexpensive way of creating images that could be distributed in multiple examples. That was the whole point of most antique prints—that information could be transmitted or a decorative image could be produced that would reach many people at an affordable price. This is in contrast to hand-lettered documents or drawings, watercolors and paintings, where wide distribution was usually not the goal.

There are, of course, some prints that were made in relatively small numbers, designed to be more expensive objects intended for a wealthy buyer. John James Audubon’s double elephant folio bird prints, Robert Thornton’s Temple of Flora, Karl Bodmer’s images of American Indians are examples of series of prints issued in small numbers, produced by means of elaborate printmaking processes, and intended for an upper-class audience. Similarly, fine art prints were often designed to be valuable and collectable, and the whole notion of numbering a print was introduced in the late nineteenth century in order to demonstrate that a print was not issued in large numbers, and so to preserve its value through scarcity.

Many of the most famous antique prints are “up market” like this (which makes sense, since valuable prints tend to get more notice than inexpensive ones), but in terms of number produced, there are far more prints that were aimed at the lower or middle classes, prints designed to be affordable and distributed widely. Many antique prints were produced for ornamentation, designed to be displayed as decoration in a gathering place, a home or a work place. These prints were often well made and quite beautiful, but they were not originally intended to be particularly valuable nor collectible.

Of course some of these prints have subsequently become quite valuable and collectible (Currier & Ives prints are a good example), but the majority of antique prints have remained to this day what they originally were intended to be, viz. affordable, decorative art. The mere fact that a print is old, or that it may be quite scarce (see earlier blog on this subject), does not mean that the print will be particularly valuable.

We get queries almost every day asking about the value of this or that antique print, through email, in our shop, on the phone, and when we are doing appraisals for the Antiques Roadshow. Probably 90% of the prints we are asked about have only what we call “decorative value.” By this we mean that the value of the print is whatever someone would pay to hang something that looks like that on his or her wall.

“Decorative value” has, of course, a very wide range, from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars. The decorative value of a print depends on the subject matter, what the item looks like in terms of decorative appeal and color, as well as its physical nature, such as its the size, condition, and whether it is framed or not. The decorative value of a particular print can also vary by region and by the venue in which it is being sold. “Decorative value” is thus a rather vague notion, but it does encompass the value of the vast majority of antique prints that one is apt to come across.

When we tell people that their prints have “only” decorative value (which is by far our most common reply to the queries we receive), the reaction of the owner is usually disappointment. News stories about very valuable antiques and the high appraised values for many antiques on the Antiques Roadshow have raised the public’s expectations, or at least hopes, for the value of object they own, so some disappointment is inevitable. However, there is nothing wrong at all with owning a print with only decorative value. Prints are wonderful for what they are, not just for how much they are worth.

When we tell someone that their print has decorative value, we also try to tell them why their print is still special. As discussed above, most antique prints were not intended to be valuable items, but to be decorative items, and most antique prints do that job extremely well. The range of quality and subjects is huge, but each antique print still has its own, unique decorative charm. If it is appreciated for that, then it should be treasured item. Also, antique prints are more than simply pretty pictures, for they are historic artifacts that are part of our past and that gives them extra intrinsic (as opposed to monetary) value.

So I hope that everyone who finds out that their antique prints have “only” decorative value, will learn to treasure them for what they are, decorative images from our past.

Library of Congress: Prints & Photographs Division

This is the first of a series of blogs in which I will look at the major American historical print repositories. In any consideration of such institutions, the Prints & Photographs Division (P&PD) of the Library of Congress (LOC) is one which holds a pride of place in terms of both size and quality. The P&PD has about 14 million images, including photographs, fine art and popular prints, posters, as well as art, architectural and engineering drawings. The collection is vast and also international in scope, but it is primarily focused on American subjects. The largest component of the PP&D collection is by far made up of photographs, but the P&PD also has American prints from every period and of every sort, including many prints that are unique examples.

This collection was primarily built by a simple but effective process, for from 1846 to 1859, and then again from 1865 until the present, the LOC has been a national copyright deposit center. During this period, any print copyrighted in this country was supposed to have an example sent in to a copyright deposit center. Prior to 1870, the LOC was one of several copyright deposit centers so many, but not all, prints in this period were sent to the LOC. But then with the copyright law of 1870, the LOC became the only official national copyright deposit center. This law radically changed the nature of the LOC, making it the nation’s greatest repository of the output of American authors, artists, and publishers of all sorts. With that law, the LOC soon became the most comprehensive collection of American prints. It has been estimated that 90 percent of the items in the LOC graphic arts collection were acquired through copyright deposits.

Besides its copyright deposit acquisitions, the P&PD has many other strong collections, for instance it has one of the best collections of British political cartoons, second only to that found in the British Museum. This is because in 1921, the LOC purchased the superb collection of the Royal Library at Windsor Castle, a collection built by George III and George IV. As a complement to the British historical prints, the LOC has probably the finest collection of contemporary prints of the American Revolution, a collection that is comprehensively documented in my partner, Donald H. Cresswell’s book The American Revolution in Drawings and Prints .

The best way to access the collections at the LOC is to go in person, though help is available for those who cannot visit, as explained on the P&PD web site Luckily, the LOC has entered the internet age with enthusiasm and the P&PD has an online catalogue which provides access to about one half of the division’s holdings. Though there are many items not available on-line, this still provides internet access to an impressive number of prints. The on-line entries for the prints contain much useful information, and many of the prints are also illustrated. This P&PD catalogue is definitely one of the best internet resources for antique prints.

Besides the P&PD catalogue, the LOC has developed the “American Memory” web site. I cannot do better than to quote from the LOC as to the mission of this site:

American Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.

As stated, the American Memory website exhibits many items besides prints, including a fair bit of photographic and cartographic material, but prints are well represented. Almost every theme on the site contains some exhibits with some prints, but of particular note are the exhibits on Panoramic Maps (bird’s eye views), African-American sheet music, and Broadsides and other printed ephemera.

Black & White

Another blog by Kelli, this one looking at the attraction of uncolored prints...


When it comes right down to it, there’s nothing more classic than an image in black and white. There’s a good reason that women return to the “little black dress” every season, and that black-and-white photography survives as a fine art form. Color is great, but it’s hard to beat the elegant simplicity that you get without it.

When decorating with prints, many people move automatically toward brightly-hued botanical prints or vibrant genre lithographs. Black-and-white prints often escape notice, so today, we’re pulling them to the front of the line.

For anyone interested in design, the black-and-white image offers a chance to appreciate the subject matter in a pure and distilled form. Architectural engravings, for example, showcase the essence of buildings: their elevations appear crisply laid out on clean paper, and details sing. On Domenico de Rossi’s eighteenth century engravings of buildings in Rome, for example, Baroque structures stand boldly and timelessly against a plain background. For lovers of good typography, Rossi’s prints are a bonanza: bold black Roman letters mix with beautifully flourished italics to form clear, lovely titles.


Black and white was also a prime combination for clear communication of information. In Asa Smith’s astronomy textbook pages, maps of the heavens are presented as white stars on a black background. Stars pop and constellations sing on a solid black sky, labeled in white block capitals. Hung in a group of four, the details on these prints form a bold, nearly abstract pattern against the wall.

In one set of prints that we have here at the shop, the graphics and typography are clear as day, even if the subject matter is a little foggy. We’re not sure exactly how these prints may have been used , but we’ve wondered if, perhaps, they were some sort of presentation graphic, a sort of proto-PowerPoint. They illustrate changing statistics, mostly domestically based, such as the increased use of electrical household appliances. Their charm comes from the unusual use of pictures at different scales to communicate different numerical figures. The small number from one year is represented by a small, aproned housewife holding an electric iron; the increased number from a later year appears as a larger version of the same aproned housewife (at any size, the pattern on her apron is marvelous!). Each figure and number stand out boldly in black ink against a plain white background, accentuating their quirk and whimsy.


Whether you’re aiming for a touch of elegance, a pop of pattern, or a note of whimsy, black-and-white prints offer a surprising range of decorating accents.

Mississippi Bubble cartouche

Sometime around the middle of the eighteenth century, Georg Matthew Seutter published a map of North America that is at least as fascinating for its elaborate title cartouche as for it cartographic depiction of the continent. Seutter based his rendering on an important French map by Guillaume Delisle first issued in 1718, the best map of North America in the early eighteenth century. Delisle, and Seutter after him, gave a fairly accurate picture of interior of the continent, demonstrating the vastness of the region and the immense river system draining into the Mississippi River.

Seutter presents the geographic information with careful engraving, enhanced with bold period color, but it is the wonderful drawings around the title in the lower right corner that draws one’s attention. This title cartouche is not only aesthetically delightful, but an understanding of its symbolism makes it as fascinating to the mind as it is appealing to the eye. This cartouche tells the story of the Mississippi Bubble.

The story of the Mississippi Bubble began with the financial crisis in France at the time of Louis XIV’s death in 1715. The Duke of Orleans, regent for five year old Louis XV, turned to his friend, the Scotsman John Law. Law had been forced to leave the British Isles after he killed a man in a duel, and he made a name for himself in Europe as a financial expert and successful gambler, attracting the Duke’s attention when he arrived in Paris the year of the old King’s death. The following year, Law established the Banque Generale, which helped to stabilize the situation in France, further enhancing Law’s reputation.

In 1718, Law established a speculative company called the Companie des Indes (or more commonly, the Mississippi Company), which was given a monopoly on trading rights with the French colonies, including the territory of Louisiana in North America (essentially, the Mississippi River drainage basin). Discoveries of lead ore—which was thought to indicate the nearby presence of gold—along the upper Mississippi, along with Law’s reputation, made stock in the Mississippi Company soar, rising from about 500 livres in May 1719 to almost 10,000 livres in early 1720. The speculative fever for this stock soon ran into the reality of the difficulty of extracting the supposed riches from the vast interior of North America—which was graphically represented on Seutter’s map—so in May 1720 the Mississippi Bubble burst.. The value of the stock plummeted, becoming essentially worthless by November, and Law was forced to flee the country.

Law’s scheme and its consequences are graphically illustrated in the fine title cartouche. At the top, Fame is shown blowing a trumpet calling forth those who seek gold. Just below is a statue of Plenty shown pouring jewels and coins in a stream from a cornucopia. This is a symbol for the riches that were expected to flow down the Mississippi River in a flood. A banner above states that “Fortune favors the bold.”



Luckily for the bold followers of gold, there was opportunity to acquire stock in the Mississippi Company. At the base of the pedestal upon which Plenty stands are two Italianate putti producing certificates using a wax seal printer. The stock is then being handed out by other putti and the goddess Commerce to delighted speculators. All seems wonderful until one notices that two of the cherubs along the bottom are blowing bubbles!

The purse, however, proved to be empty and the bubble did burst! Though the positive proclamations and promised riches of the cartouche initially draw the eye, when one looks closely, the consequences of the empty purse are present in all their surprise and horror.

[NB: If you click on the pictures above, you can see larger versions of these images.]

Forthcoming Print Events

Through April 26, 2009: Grand Scale: Monumental Prints in the Age of Durer and Titian.

An impressive exhibit of impressive prints at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Go to Philadelphia Museum of Art web site for more information.

Through May 3, 2009: Pride of Place: Dutch Cityscapes of the Golden Age

An exhibit of paintings, maps, atlases and books illustrating Dutch cities of the 17th century at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.. The Netherlands was one of the richest nations anywhere at that time and the fine engravings illustrating the wealth of Dutch cities are remarkable. For more information visit the National Gallery web site.

May 14 to 16, 2009: AHPCS annual meeting

The 34th annual meeting of the American Historical Print Collectors Society will take place this year in Portland, Oregon. A fine series of lectures is planned, as are visits to Lewis & Clark College, the Portland Art Museum, the Maryhill Museum of Art and the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. A print fair (and dinner) will be held on Thursday night and on Saturday night will be the annual banquet and benefit auction. This should be a great meeting. For more information, visit the AHPCS web site.

May 15 to 17, 2009: St. Louis Fine Print, Rare Book and Paper Arts Fair

This is the third annual fair which includes an impressive line-up of antiquarian print and book dealers (including the Print Shop). The event will be held in St. Louis, MO, at the J.C. Penney Conference Center, which is adjacent to the St. Louis Mercantile Library. This is the oldest library west of the Mississippi River and the fair is held to support the library. More information on the Mercantile Library web site

Through June 14, 2009: The Indian Portrait Gallery of Thomas L. McKenney

Having done a lot of research on the topic, I was delighted to hear that the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, NB, was putting up a display of the prints from the McKenney & Hall History of the Indian Tribes of North America (often called the McKenney & Hall Indian Portrait Gallery). You can read the Joslyn’s press release on-line.