Vintage print, a market term, current since the 1970s, denoting a photographic print made by or under the supervision of the photographer within about five years of the negative's creation. It is much more valuable than later or modern prints done later in the photographer's life, or estate prints executed posthumously. The vintage print's special aura among dealers and collectors derives partly from its greater rarity (except, usually, in the case of contemporary work); partly from the sense that it encapsulates the photographer's original vision, and results from technical choices available when the picture was taken. Moreover, in the case of the ‘old masters’ of 19th- and 20th-century photography, silver-rich older papers produced greater tonal depth than modern materials can achieve.
However, although the term is useful for demarcating a finite number of items within a photographer's oeuvre, it masks various complexities. Not all photographers have been dedicated darkroom workers. Early advertising photographers and photojournalists— before their work became collectable—often left printing to others; and their prints were frequently defaced, cropped, and ultimately discarded by magazines and agencies. In other cases too—for example Bellocq's Storyville portraits—only negatives may have survived. By contrast, some photographers have honed their skills and changed their approach to printing over a long career; Bill Brandt and Ansel Adams are classic examples.
In the late 20th century it became increasingly common for photographers, like printmakers, to produce limited editions of their prints. At the beginning of the 21st, the art trade faces the need to devise criteria of value suited to the conditions created by digital imaging.
— Robin Lenman
Bibliography
- Badger, G., Collecting Photography (2003)
