STEEL ENGRAVING – “THE GAMESTERS” from the painting by A. Paoletti, engraved by F. Holl, printed in 1885.  This engraving is in very good condition.  The engraving measures 7 3/8” x 9 ¼”, and is matted to 12” x 16” for easy framing.

            Two bright Italian lads are playing cards, their faces sunny like the light around them, their clothes ragged, their hats Tyrolese, and their bowl, once full of macaroni, near the top has been consumed.  The expression of the lad facing forward is strikes the mark exactly.  They can not be said to convey a sense of being particularly expert at the game, nor do the cards which they hold seem to have been used much, but that is neither here nor there; the boys have taken a hand at the game, and it matters little to either of them, which one wins, though Italian youths, even at a tender age, have been found to possess gambling proclivities.  Signor Paoletti, the artist, has no clientele in America as yet, but this genre painting speaks for his simplicity of conception and manual dexterity.  He belongs to the modern Italian school whose works were made known to Americans for the first time at the Centennial Exhibition, in 1876, at Philadelphia, and who, it must be confessed, gained at that time rather more notoriety than fame.  But it is more interesting to note that the promise of Italian art has brightened within the last few years, particularly in the superb expression given to the world by the dramatic genius of Salvini, so that although Italy has not produced the greatest designs of art, it has undoubtedly produced very great works in histrionic art.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

Antique prints, 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, and lithographs 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, thus giving the buyer an idea of its age.

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