How Prints Look an Illustrated Guide

by William Ivins Jr., Marjorie B. Cohn

"The most famous introduction to prints. Through a series of enlarged details of prints in various media, Ivins makes clear the stylistic qualities peculiar to each technique." — Choice

Genres: Art

Paperback

First published December 1, 1958

About the author

William Mills Ivins Jr. (1881 – 1961) was curator of the department of prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from its founding in 1916 until 1946, when he was succeeded by A. Hyatt Mayor.

The son of William Mills Ivins Sr. (1851 – 1915), a public utility lawyer who had been the 1905 Republican candidate for Mayor of New York City, Ivins studied at Harvard College and the University of Munich before graduating in law from Columbia University in 1907.

After nine years' legal practice, he was asked to take on the conservation and interpretation of the Met's print collection. He built up the remarkable collections that can be seen there today, and he wrote many prefaces to exhibition catalogues, as well as other, occasional pieces which were later collected and published. His best-known book is Prints and Visual Communication (MIT Press, 1969, ISBN 0-262-59002-6 (first published 1953 by Harvard University Press)), and his How Prints Look (1943, revised edition 1987) remains in print.

Reviews

[📚Linda Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

How Prints Look provides numerous illustrations of of how prints from various printmaking techniques look. It’s not so much about the technicalities of printing but how to identify the printing process when looking at prints. Unfortunately for me, I was wanted to see examples of prints post 19th century. I wanted to identify my meager collection. Four stars for the book being the classic guide to identifying early prints.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an excellent introduction to different print techniques and how they look, especially in close-up. While it makes great background reading and provides some useful tips on what to look for in different types of prints, it is not of great use as an identification guide for unknown prints.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, for producing about as many questions as answers. I was either totally engrossed or unequivocally stumped, such that this book had the peculiar quality of addressing amateur and prior-knowledgeable readers by turns. I learned a terrific amount, and I suppose it could be said in favor of Ivins’ laconic captions that I’m eager for more, but some of his remarks left me in the dark completely without further, deeper explanation. Hmm...perhaps if this were simply shorter, more treatise-length, I wouldn’t have regretted the gaps so much, because learning by looking is a brilliant approach to this subject area, and this book certainly leans into visual material. In short: quite accessible; confidently recommended.

[Ang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: This unique book is the classic introduction to the appearances of various types of prints and the techniques involved in producing them. Combining a rich selection of illustrations with explanatory commentary, the revised edition also includes a new introduction, additional illustrations, and a bibliography.

[Chris Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good sampling of techniques and example prints, but dated, and VERY Eurocentric (completely ignores Asian printing).

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a fantastic introduction into the methods of printing. The author explains the most important terms and methods in a concise but understandable way. The many illustrations help to understand the text and their captions provide additional information. Very nice little book.