Prices for Antiques

Drypoint

In drypoint, a copper or zinc plate serves as a canvas to which an artist directly applies a sharp pointed steel needle. There is no acid or ground. The gouge made by the artist's needle forms a rough edge called a burr where it cuts into the plate. When prints are "pulled" from the plate, the burr produces a very soft line in the print, a primary characteristic of drypoints. As more prints are pulled, the burr wears down and the print loses its crispness. With some modifications, a drypoint plate produces a maximum of 50 to 75 copies. From amongst a given edition of a drypoint etching the lower numbers will be the most prized as they will have been pulled before the burr began to wear down.
p4A.com editorial staff, updated November 2014.

Further Recommended Reading

How to Identify Prints by Bamber Gascoigne