About Maritime Prints & Originals

The background. You are unlikely to have seen most of these pictures before as, with few exceptions, they are all from private collections. Most of the artists are very well known and respected in marine artists’ circles and many of them have been commissioned and collected over the decades by important institutions and other august bodies, European Royal Houses, gentlemen of means. They are artists who knew their stuff and their subject, and their pictures are to be found in the Royal Collection and other private collections, the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, the Imperial War Museum in London and other national and international galleries; aboard the Royal Yacht BRITANNIA, in the Royal Navy’s collection, the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth and in other galleries and places of distinction such as the boardrooms and libraries of some of the great establishments in Great Britain and overseas. Their pictures have an avid international following and never fail to fetch impressive, and in some cases hugely impressive, sums should they appear at auction. Mostly, however, the pictures belong in private hands and their owners have no intention of selling.

Generally not for sale therefore, or commanding high prices if, unusually, they are allowed to appear at auction, they are for these reasons beyond many peoples’ reach: hence the purpose of Maritime Prints & Originals which tracks down these shy, retiring originals and negotiates to bring limited edition copies of them to a wider audience. Even with limited edition copies though, a measure of exclusivity remains highly desirable and although one or two editions are in the hundreds, many are limited to only 25 copies worldwide or even less. Because the quality of these is unrivalled and they can be found nowhere else, serious collectors are increasingly buying them.

The pictures. But they must be more than just fine art prints – they have to be impeccable in every way if they are to act as any kind of an acceptable substitute for the original itself. The majority of reproductions are made using the follow-on improvements from the giclee process. The remainder have been made using offset litho. Giclee has become the generic term, it seems, for any print made using a digital process, be it a top notch fine art printer or a cheap desk top one at home. Our printing, done in London’s West End, benefits from being undertaken by specialists in reproduction work of a high order and they are continually updating and refining their equipment and techniques. Because they have long since moved on from giclee printing they are able to use beautiful uncoated papers. These are made of more natural material, allow the inks to travel more perfectly down the length of the paper fibres and into the sheet; and have virtually unfadable characteristics as no artificial coating – the traditional enemy of colour fast dyes and inks – is used on the paper’s surface. The result is a perfect, long lasting reproduction. All the prints are available at precisely the same size as the original picture and huge care has been taken during every stage of the reproduction process to ensure that they are indistinguishable from the originals. Because some of the larger paintings are a bit of a challenge - even for the biggest of drawing room walls, the largest of club dining rooms - they can be reduced to a more manageable size; but in keeping with the spirit of Maritime Prints, permission to do this has been sought from the owners and copyright holders of the pictures in question.

There are now some 160 paintings and etchings in Maritime Prints & Originals’ collection and it is added to on a regular basis. The list of artists will remain broadly as at present and the pictures offered will also be similar in range: essentially a swathe of some 75 years (1890’s to late 1960’s), when the Royal Navy and British Merchant Fleet were at their most spectacular, most far flung, most impressive; the big racing yachts, such as the J Class, ruled the grand sailing regattas, and international maritime events were at their zenith of lavish flamboyance. Pictures will progressively include a broadening range of international maritime scenes and events, but only top flight artists - who not only painted superbly but knew their subject to perfection - will continue to be chosen as there is nothing worse than a ship with a funnel that’s marginally too tall, a double clewed jib that that isn’t shaped properly, a stem that is too raked, a wave that isn’t breaking convincingly!

The embossed proof mark and limited edition number of each print is positioned well below the image itself so that it is masked by the front cover of the mount (matt). The print is not therefore obvious for what it is. A duplicate numbered proof mark is provided on the heavy weight Provenance Card which accompanies most prints and which describes in detail the subject of the picture, the artist and the provenance of the picture. This card – some with admiral’s flag or ship’s crest embossed at the top - is of sufficient quality to be framed also and hung underneath the main picture. For those wanting the limited edition number to be permanently visible on the main picture, however, a simple remount will be required.

Prints on paper. All watercolour originals are printed onto heavy weight paper (varying between 150 - 250 gsm); oil painting originals can also be printed on paper but are generally preferred by most to be reproduced onto fine weave canvas (see Prints on canvas below). All prints on paper are mounted in heavy, conservation, acid free hinged mounts: some of these are double mounts, some are border wash lined mounts: the choice of what is available is huge and the picture can be mounted however you wish. When the picture reaches you it is in all respects ready for framing. For those who wish to add something of a formality to their pictures, ships’ names can be added in suitably sized and styled calligraphy either on the mount itself (for the watercolours) or on the frame (for the canvases); and an embossed ship’s crests can be set into the mount above or beneath the painting if required. These crests – and admirals’ flags where appropriate – are specially prepared from steel engraved dies: London Clubs, Service Wardrooms, Training Establishments often ask for these as an optional and complimentary extra. Private collectors generally prefer to have a plainer and more conventional mount but Maritime Prints will go to great lengths to have the picture mounted as you would like: you only have to ask.

Prints on canvas. All the oil painting reproductions are available on fine weave canvas and for those who prefer, most of these are available on paper too. As with the prints on paper all canvas sizes can be varied as required: each canvas is hand varnished and finished, and stretched onto a wooden stretcher though varnished canvases can also be supplied unstretched.

Prices. These pictures are very definitely not, therefore, mass produced prints: they are of privately owned originals and they are produced to an impeccable standard on beautiful heavy, acid free papers and fine weave canvases and to a size and with a mount style that exactly suits the client. They are priced at a fraction of the figure that the original would probably fetch at auction - if indeed it could be found: Culls and de Martinos, for example, are rare these days and their sale room and auction price reflects this. The prints, too, have a certain rarity which is enhanced by the few limited edition copies produced and, in the case of the oil paintings reproduced on canvas, because each is hand varnished and finished. Some are more expensive than others: more celebrated artists attract more expensive prices as do the smaller limited editions; size for size, larger is generally more expensive.

It is these variations of picture size and mount style that account for the fact that the pictures are not given a standard price but are priced within bands: once your precise requirements are known an exact price from within the appropriate band can be quoted. All prices shown are for the size of image given beneath and include the mount (matt) (for those on paper) and the stretcher (for those on canvas), but do not include VAT at 17.5% which should be added to the figures shown (if you are liable to pay VAT).. The price of your particular picture will depend on how you wish it to be sized and finished. The overall Limited Edition size refers to the maximum number of prints allowed to be produced of the original.

Ordering. Unlike many others who sell by the web’s automated shopping trolley, these reproductions are designed to be tailor made for each client: and so size, finish and, most important of all – price – are all up for discussion and negotiation. Please let Maritime Prints know (Contact/Order) as soon as you are interested in any of these pictures so that a price can be agreed and a copy reserved for you (with your limited edition number of choice if still available) before the limited edition dictates that no more can be produced. You are asked to pay either by credit card or by cheque when ordering and it goes without saying that a full refund is offered if the picture does not come up to expectation in every way. Prices quoted do not include packing and delivery or transit insurance: these will depend on delivery address.

Finding originals. Maritime Prints & Originals can often find originals: some it owns, others, very occasionally, can be bought from private owners, some may be appearing at auction around the country. Those originals that are for sale – and there always about half a dozen at any time – are clearly shown on the website under the image in question. Please therefore contact me if you would like one of these or if you are hunting for another one – tracking them down is a challenge that is always enjoyed and is not infrequently successful! And even if the original is not for sale it may be possible to negotiate with the owner for a copy or two to be made although I have to work very carefully within the copyright rules which have been amended recently to harmonise UK copyright with the EU. If in any doubt about the copyright position for whatever reason, I must err on the side of caution and cannot reproduce the picture.

Viewing the entire collection. The website has become the favoured way to view such collections although for those who find accessing it difficult or who prefer not to go near it, paper copies of particular images can always be sent for viewing! Please write to me or telephone: contact details are at Contacting Maritime Prints & Originals

Reproductions of family portraits etc. Its not just maritime subjects that I can reproduce so accurately: the capability is also there, of course, to work on any paintings – watercolour or oil and to alter their size to suit hanging space available. So if you have a family portrait or other painting from which you wish to make copies do please contact me: I have given many families the chance to allow children to have a copy each of a favourite picture – grandfather, lucky racehorse or smelly old family dog!

Thomas Rowlandson watercolours. Maritime Prints has been licensed to reproduce 17 of Lord Bath’s recently unearthed collection of these priceless originals: all details on www.thomasrowlandson.com

Richard Cosby
Director, Maritime Prints & Originals

Contacting Maritime Prints & Originals

email: r.cosby@btinternet.com;
phone/fax/ansaphone: 01460 249277;

For those who are serving/have served in the Royal or Commonwealth Navies. Ten pictures of the collection belong to the Royal Navy and 50 copies of each of these are available at the concesionary price of £50 to RN/RM/RNR/RNVR serving and retired, and Commonwealth maritime forces equivalents. A substantial proportion of this sum then goes to the RN Trophy Fund and to King George's Fund for Sailors.

 

Richard Cosby - Director