At the end of the 19th century Amand Durand and other artisans developed the use of photogravure to reproduce etchings with remarkable clarity.
Charles Meryon (1821-1868) was an etcher who, as medieval Paris was being dismantled to modernize in the 1850's, decided to memorialize the old ways and the old days. His magnificent etchings of this period have a dark and slightly foreboding appearance. In 1921 photogravure were made of his etchings by The Studio, printed by the firm of Alexander and Sons, London. Photogravure is an expensive method of reproduction seldom used any more. A photograph of a print is applied to the grounded etching plate, etched in an acid bath (just like an original etching) and then printed on a press one at a time by hand. The result has a platemark and looks deceptively like the original. The Meryon prints I'm offering are somewhat smaller in dimension than the originals so that there can be no doubt that they are reproductions of the highest quality but reproductions none the less. This is Saint Etienne du Mont. The church in sun is surrounded claustrophobically by old buildings perhaps about to be removed. Plate size 7 1/2 x 4 inches. Excellent condition.