Collecting
Reading a Print: What the Catalogue Number Tells You
A catalogue number is the shortest sentence a print can say about itself. “S. 240” or “Schröder 500” looks like inventory shorthand, but it points to a scholar's entry that fixes what the work is supposed to be: its medium, size, paper, edition and publisher. When the print in front of you matches that entry, you have a reason to trust it. When it does not, or when no number is offered, you have a question to ask before you spend anything.
This guide explains what the number is, how to read the line of details around it, and how to check a print against it before you buy.
What the number is
A catalogue raisonné is a scholarly listing of an artist's work. In a print catalogue each work, usually meaning each edition, gets its own entry and its own number. The number identifies the work, not your sheet. Your impression is identified separately, by the marks in its margin.
Every artist's prints have their own reference, so the first question is which catalogue a listing is citing. Alex Katz's prints are cited from the Schröder catalogue, written either “Schröder 500” or “S. 240.” The catalogue was edited by Gunhild Bauer and Klaus Albrecht Schröder and published by Hatje Cantz in 2023, and it covers work through spring 2023. An online supplement records later prints: Yellow Flags 3 (2020) is no. 707 there. For anything recent, check both.
One limit matters more than any other. A catalogue number does not authenticate a physical print. It tells you what to compare the object against.
Reading the line
A typical listing runs the number together with a short string of facts. Take Katz's Blue Hat (2003) as a dealer described it: an aquatint in eleven colors, image size 33 3/8 by 66 7/8 inches, hand-signed, from an edition of 75 plus 11 artist's proofs. The listing said the work was documented in catalogue raisonnés but gave no number, and it did not state the paper, printer or publisher. Those gaps are the useful part. Each missing item is something the catalogue entry should supply and a seller should be able to confirm.
| Detail | What it tells you | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Catalogue number | Which documented work this is | Which catalogue, and whether the entry exists in print or in a supplement |
| Medium | How the image was made | That it matches the entry (aquatint, etching, screenprint) |
| Dimensions | Sheet and image size | Measure both and compare to the entry |
| Edition | Total authorized impressions | That the size matches the entry, including any proofs |
| State | Where the work sits in its production history | The entry's description of each state, if more than one exists |
| Paper | The sheet the edition was printed on | Weight, texture and any watermark against the entry |
| Printer and publisher | Who made and issued the edition | That the chop mark or credit matches the entry |
| Signature | Hand-signed, plate-signed or unsigned | Placement and form against the entry |
The word state needs a note. A state is a stage in the life of the printing surface. Impressions pulled from the same unaltered plate, block or stone share a state, and when the matrix is changed a new state begins. Catalogues number states in order, such as 1st of 3, and the entry explains what separates them. Many modern editions have only one.
Editions and proofs
In a margin number such as 24/100, the first figure is the impression's position in the run and the second is the total edition size. It is usually written in pencil below the image. The position does not rank the print and does not reliably show the order of printing, so 1/100 is not better than 87/100. Edition size matters mainly as a measure of scarcity. Artist, image, condition and provenance weigh more on value.
Letters instead of a fraction mark proofs, which sit outside the numbered run. A letter is not a defect.
| Mark | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AP or EA | Artist's proof, kept by the artist and otherwise identical to the edition |
| PP | Printer's proof, the equivalent kept by the printer or publisher |
| HC | Hors commerce, not intended for sale, often used for exhibition or reference |
| BAT | Bon à tirer, the single proof the artist approves as the standard the edition must match |
Because proofs are added to the numbered count, a print's total impressions can run higher than its fraction suggests. Blue Hat, numbered from 75 with 11 artist's proofs, exists in 86 impressions. Working proofs, made while the artist and printer refine the image, are a separate category from all of these.
Checking a print before you buy
- Ask for the number and the catalogue. “Documented in the catalogue raisonné” is not an answer. You need the reference, such as S. 707, and the catalogue it belongs to.
- Read the entry. Use a library copy or the artist's official site, and check the online supplement for recent prints.
- Compare the facts. Medium, size, edition, paper, printer, publisher and signature should all agree with the entry.
- Read the margin. Look at the edition fraction or proof letter, the signature and any chop mark, and see whether they fit the entry.
- Ask for condition and provenance. A matching number says nothing about fading, foxing, trimmed margins or where the sheet has been.
- Check recent sales. Compare price against impressions of the same edition and condition.
Red flags, and when to ask for help
- No number, or a vague one. A seller who cannot give the reference may not have looked.
- Facts that do not match. A different size, medium or edition from the entry means the listing or the object is wrong.
- A certificate in place of a citation. A certificate of authenticity from a seller is only as good as the seller.
- An edition larger than documented. Extra impressions should be traceable to proofs the entry records.
Some of this needs a trained eye on the sheet itself, and some needs access to catalogues and sales records. That is the vetting step of an advisory engagement: each work checked against its catalogue raisonné, condition report and recent sales before any offer is made.
Sources
- Alex Katz Catalogue Raisonné, Schröder print references, 1947–2023 and online supplement, Masterworks
- How to read an edition number on a print, Paper Matters
- Edition, Tate glossary
- State, Wellcome Collection cataloguing guide
- Alex Katz, Blue Hat, 2003, Masterworks listing