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Friday, April 25, 2008

Friday Show and Tell – Vintage Stencil Print

Show and Tell
Show and tell Friday is hosted by Kelli at There is No Place Like Home.

Back in 1971 as I was in California doing graduate studies, I had college friends, a couple and their toddler, who were renting a partly furnished house. In the basement we found all sorts of neat items. At the end of the school year the owner donated the house and its contents to the couple. He had sold the land and the owner did not want any of the house’s contents. So I got a trestle table and a number of framed items.
I would like to share one of the pictures as my show and tell. It is a print which hangs in my study.

The print shows pansies in a basket.

The original frame was not in good shape, so I had it re-framed to coordinate with some other wall art. I had the frame shop use double mats, with the inner one matching the line around the print.

At this point I noticed the message on the back of the print:

No. 4225
GENUINE HAND STENCILED
FLORALS
These beautiful flower prints are reproduced
from the origianls by skilled craftsmen from
carefully prepared hand made stencils. All
the appeal of the original block prints is retained
by this painstaking process. Only in this unique
way is it possible to retain a freedom of style
uncommon to machine-made prints. All
subjects are available in pairs thoughtfully
selected by colors for that purpose.
RELIANCE PICTURE FRAME CO.
CHICAGO DOVER N.J.

A bit of research led to the fact that this stenciling process was called pochoir. Here is an explanation of the process:
"Pochoir Technique: The pochoir process is the hand-coloring of an individual black outline prints. The was done with the help of a thin zinc or copper cut-out stencil guide. Each color is applied separately brushed by hand on each print, one stencil for each color. The paint used was watercolor and gouache. The only difference being watercolor paints (aquarelles) are transparent and gouache paints are opaque.
The perfecting by illustrators of the pochoir printing techniquewas an important boost for the art of fashion illustration, and Poiret was one of the first to realize its possibilities."
http://www.art-deco-prints-and-posters.com/pochoir.asp

So I learned something about print-making techniques in the mid part of the 20th century. This made the print even more special to me. Now I need to seek the author and title of the work.
I hope you enjoyed my show and tell and learned something new in the world of art. To visit other Show and Tell posts, please go to Kelli’s.

Thank you for coming by. Please leave a comment and do come again soon.

10 comments:

Muum said...

nice picture, I have never heard of this process for producing prints! interesting.

Charlotte said...

Nice picture, and how special the way you obtained it.

Kathy said...

Really pretty picture and interesting research. Thanks for sharing!
Kathy@ Mimi's Garden

Anita said...

So pretty! I love the information - I'd never heard of that!

on the ROCKS said...

Your research paid off what a great find. And where am I when someone is giving away a house and contents. Very pretty print and you had it reframed so perfect for the picture.

The Apron Queen said...

What a lovely print & a neat story to go with it! :D

Ever wonder why people collect roosters? It's becasue they're good luck! Stop by to read the Legend of the Rooster.

For your daily dose of vintage goodness & a bit of silliness, stop by Confessions of an Apron Queen, the home of Vintage Thingies Thursdays.

JEWELGIRL said...

I like investigating vintage treasures, it is a lot of fun
to find out more about things
you enjoy! Lovely print!

Kelli said...

I love pansies and think your picture is beautiful! The frame is perfect!
~Kelli

Unknown said...

That was really interesting. I love the print, and what a fun way to have obtained it! I had a lot of catching up to do on your blog. Love the blue dishes below.

i said...

Hi, thanks for visiting my blog too. It's lovely! I've not heard of this process before but it's really interesting. Thanks for sharing.