Four French peasant children are celebrating the feast of the vintage.  One of them, in her little chair, under an old umbrella which shades her from the sun, presides before a little table on which are put bunches of grapes and two or three cups.  Her little brother, making a winepress of his hands, squeezes the juice out of a bunch of grapes into an ordinary tumbler.  Her sister awaits the result patiently, and another girl of about the same age pours wine from a jug into an earthen bowl.  The Queen of the Vineyard, decorated with a wreath of vine-leaves after the manner of laurel, fully appreciates the dignity of her position.  From the open door the light streams in with generous reminiscences of the vineyard beyond.

            M. Seignac, the painter of the picture, belongs to the class of artists of which M. Frere is at the head in France, and to which Mr. J. G. Brown belongs in England.  Seignac’s work, from a literary point of view, is usually as interesting as Frere’s; but his scheme of color, while resembling Frere’s in many particulars, is slightly inferior in vitality and homogeneity of tone.  His works are well known in England, and have long been imported by the principal dealers.  We do not know a more pleasing example of them than “The Queen of the Vineyard,” which was exhibited in London in 1877.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

Antique prints, etchings, engravings, and lithographs are printing processes which use steel, copper, stone or wood blocks or plates to produce a picture on paper.

Most antique prints and engravings, which are seen on the internet today, are bookplates.  Because they are pages from a book, there are multiple copies in existence.  This does not, however, mean that they are "reproductions" that have been printed recently.  Because they were, at some point, part of books, some have been preserved in excellent condition, while others show signs of age, as yellow spots or darkness on the edge of the page from being handled.

Engravings, lithographs, ect. are high quality pieces of art, as it took a highly trained artist many hours of work to produce one.  Although there may be multiple copies still in existence, the date of the item should be stated in the auction, thus giving the buyer an idea of it's age.