Fine Art Trade Guild, code list

Sir William Russell Flint

P.R.A., P.R.W.S., R.S.W., R.O.I., R.E.


The Fine Art Trade Guild is an independant companyestablished as a base for fine art publishing.
One of their many tasks would be to monitor the quality and authenticity of a published edition.
Similar in many ways to hallmarking of precious metals, The Fine Art Trade Guild would place anembossed stamp on each print in the edition.
Each stamp on each print had a different set of three letters, which was a code for that particular print number in the edition eg. Number 5 out of the edition of 500.
To carry a Fine Art Trade Guild stamp, certain criteria needed to be met.
The inks must be of a certain quality and light fast.
The paper used, also must be of a certain quality and acid free.
Undoubtedly The Fine Art Trade Guild charged for this service, but it brought ann extra reassurance to purchasers, that their signed limited edution was of good standard and the genuine article.
When a print was signed, the guild stamp was placed bottom left just of the image.
When an unsligned limited edition was published , the Fine Art Trade Guild stamp was placed in the centre at the bottom, just off the image.

"Numbering" of Guild Limited Editions 1973-2003
The electric machine which was used to stamp Guild approved Limited Editions had three wheels;
on each of which were ten letters: "A" "B" "C" "D" "E"" "F" "H" "J" "K" "L"
(No 'G' in order to avoid confusion with C and no 'I' to avoid confusion with 'J').
Below is the translation of the coding system into numerical equivalents:

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Sir William Russell Flint paintings and signed prints for sale.