the vintage photographs of heide smith

 
 

 
 

about my vintage photographs. For the first 50 years of my life as a photographer, I shot everything with my analogue cameras, and printed everything in my analogue darkroom. But in 2000, at the start of a new century, I decided that the time had come to move into the new digital photography age. So now I had a new digital camera, several digital printers, and a couple of scanners to convert my old negatives into digital files. But I also had lots of old analogue prints, most of which are now called Vintage Prints or Vintage Photograph. Because Collectors typically place a higher value on a vintage print than a later print, it is important that the "pedigree" of the print is clearly stated. The following information is provided to assist you in making an informed decision, should you wish to purchase one of my vintage photographs
what is a vintage photograph? There are many different answers given to this question, but the one most commonly used today is "photograph printed within a very few years of the date when the negative was made". We have interpreted "a very few years" as meaning two years, but many professionals in this field (including Ansel Adams) say five years.
are they limited edition? Not necessarily, but as few original prints of a image photographed years ago are likely to exist, and because limited edition photographs are quite a recent innovation, vintage prints are generally scarcer than limited edition prints.

what size are the prints? They can be any size, but the size is always listed as part of a vintage print description. All other things being equal, larger prints are usually more valuable than smaller prints.
how are they printed? If black and white as silver gelatin on fibre base or resin coated, sometimes toned, or if printed in colour, as CIBA chrome or C type prints.
are they mounted or unmounted? They can be either mounted or unmounted. Larger prints were usually mounted both to protect and to improve the presentation of the print. Much depends upon how skillfully the photograph was mounted. Unmounted vintage prints are sometimes considered to be more valuable than mounted prints.
what condition are they in? the condition will vary from print to print, but it will be explained in the print description. The better the condition, the higher the value.
what provenance is provided? each print is signed and numbered, and includes the date the photograph was taken and printed, a description and a certificate of authenticity.
what is the cost? each print or set is individually priced. For an indication of prices see Heide's vintage images in The Josef Lebovic Gallery Catalogue