Posted 11 years ago
bassebus
(3 items)
Here's a printing plate I picked up at a garage sale and apart from that I think it's beautiful, I have no idea of origin. It has tiny initials on the bottom that says EJM or perhaps EJ.M. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! the plate is round - 11.5" across.
It is really beautiful. Awesome finding.
Would you upload a picture showing the signature?
mcheconi - thanks! I uploaded a pic of the signature. It is REALLY small and (as you can see), i'm having problems with getting a good clear shot of it. Obviously, it's mirrored, since it's a print plate.
You are right about the quality of the shot :)...almost can't see it. I really would like to see a better picture. Maybe if you used a single light source placed at one side of the plate to enhance the relief it would be possible to make it more contrasty.
Added a high res. scan of the signature. :-)
Maybe it is an underlined F?
F. for frères or fratelli.
French or Italian.
Fratelli J. M.
Frères J. M.
Now we have somewhere to start from.
I love it , it doesn't matter what it is meant to be you could use it as a art piece.
Zowie - you are absolutely correct. these make awesome wall hanging pieces. I love mixed media in general, and to me this probably looks cooler than the actual print that came from it. But it's still exciting to try to find out its history.
Of course it would that's the best part in finding all about different items
No luck yet, but I downloaded the pictures and worked on them, inverting colors and mirroring them to compare with other prints. It came to mind that the building looks a lot with a mormon temple. What do you think? Rings any bell?
The stars in the sky may give it away!
My first thoughts were Moscow.
But the arcaded roofs to the left and the right had me thinking Italy: EUR.
You are right about the stars Vetraio. It would require some cleaning and an excellent picture to help us see if there's any identifiable constellation going on.
I like the way this is going. To look closer at the stars is a good idea. And it feels like this building is out there somewhere - or something that resembles it. Of course, it could just be an abstract art deco structure of the creator's imagination, but my gut tells me otherwise. It's been a busy work week, but I hope to get more time this weekend to take this on. Will try my best to get a better picture up as well.
And thank you all for the effort and interest!
i've drawn a blank on this today. I focused a great deal on trying to find any building that could have been the inspiration for this. The closest I've come is more abstract posters/prints for the Chicago World's fair 1933/34. But of course, such posters come with typography, which this one does not have...