CurtisCamp

Conservation in the time that Curtis was creating The North American Indian meant that a steel-faced plate was covered in a protective asphalt material and then wrapped in a proof print plate cover for storage in a wooden box. That was how the plates were rediscovered in the 1960s in the Boston warehouse of Lauriat and Company.

Plates had to be steel-faced to protect them from wear during the original printing process. Steel-facing is done by annealing the steel to the plate by electrolysis. When they were purchased by The Curtis Collection (the Camp Keeper is a partner) 44 years ago, the plates were steel-faced.

The first time the Camp Keeper saw a plate, that plate was in its original copper form, and he was impressed by the beauty of the plate. When the purchase was done, the process for returning a plate to copper format was discussed with Deli Sacilotto, a noted plate printing expert who was Robert Rauschenberg's printer, and Ron Pokrasso, who was the printer for Classic Gravure.

The process entails removing the steel-facing in an acid bath, cleaning with solvent, inking the plate, wiping the plate (just as it had to be done to print), but then wiping again after the application of polish (usually Putz) until the plate shows its etch as well as it can, through numerous polish/wipe cycles. All the plates originally acquired by The Curtis Collection in 1982 (which included all of the North American Indian plates) are in copper format after years of cleaning. For your information, a plate is the reverse image from the printed object. After polishing, plates are stored in vacuum bags to prevent tarnish.

Before a plate is shipped, it will be inspected by the Camp Keeper, re-inked if necessary, and polished, so that it is in its best condition.

Shipping & Inspection

Shipping is by UPS Two-Day, insured. Shipping is included in the price of a purchased plate.

Payment will be required before shipment, but the Camp Keeper will be available for a Zoom call for inspection before shipping. Only returns for shipping damage will be allowed.

Framing is up to the purchaser at their own expense.

Sale and Rights

The sale of a plate transfers any print rights to the buyer with no restrictions, though to our knowledge no one has actually printed.

A plate has never been returned for a refund.