What’s It Worth?: Identity of artist might affect value of etching

What’s It Worth? readers ask about items on paper today. One is a work of art. The other, a series of children’s books published by a most out-of-the-ordinary woman.

Q. I am curious about this etching I inherited last year. It’s titled Strasbourg Place du Marche aux Cochons de lait. I am unable to read the signature, which appears to be in pencil. The image is 9 inches wide and 12 inches high. It is discolored, more so than the matting around it. I believe the spire in the background is the city’s cathedral. Any information would be helpful. — Lori in Pasco

A. We know a lot about this nice etching, but there is one important thing that we don’t know.

This is a view of a famous cathedral in the eastern French city of Strasbourg. The title of the piece translates as the “pigs marketplace.”

That area near the cathedral takes its modern name from the ancient market where suckling pigs (a culinary specialty in the region) were once bought and sold.

It is a print, specifically an etching. This is more than likely a copperplate etching. An old technique, it involves using a copper plate covered with acid-resistant wax.

The artist scratches off the wax with a pointed etching needle, creating the design. Dipping the plate in an acid “bath” reveals the lines on the metal. The plate is then inked and run through a press, producing the etching on a sheet of paper.

The technique — which was developed in France — has been used by many great artists, including Rembrandt and Whistler.

A nice looking etching and of good size, the key thing we don’t know about this print is the name of the artist.

Like Lori, we have been unable to identify the obscure pencil signature, and an artist’s name is key to the establishing age and value. Perhaps you, a What’s It Worth? reader, can make out the signature? Contact us with your thoughts.

Lacking this vital piece of information, our valuation is based on informed speculation.

Most similar etchings we see date from the 1850s to the 1950s. If signed by an artist unknown in the world of galleries and auctions, the value is stated for “decorative purposes.” That is, how much you like it determines what you are willing to pay for the art.

Generally, a typical European etching by an unidentified artist will range from $50 to $200. However, if the signature can be identified, the value could go up.

Q. I have some interesting old books — all 12 volumes of My Book House, edited by Olive Beaupré Miller. They were published by The Book House for Children, of Chicago, and are copyright 1937. What can you tell me? — Cheryl in West Richland

A. The remarkable woman responsible for these books is as much the story here as the books themselves.

Olive Beaupré Miller (American, 1883–1968) was a writer, editor of children’s literature and forward-thinking publisher.

An Illinois native, she graduated from Smith College in 1904. Smith is known today as a feminist college, and numbers among its alumnae Gloria Steinem and Julia Child. Miller fits into that independent mold.

In 1919, she established her Chicago publishing company, The Book House for Children. It was the first to design collections of children’s literature that were edited in subject matter and vocabulary to meet the developing needs and abilities of children at different ages.

Book House for Children was a unique business operation for its time. The large staff was primarily female, in an era when most women did not work outside the home.

Miller primarily published children’s books in series, and this 12-volume set was first issued in 1932. Cheryl has the 1937 edition, which starts with nursery rhymes in the first book and ends with young adult classics in book 12.

All these books are lavishly illustrated in color and have been considered classics for decades. A complete set of the 1937 issue, in excellent condition, will sell for between $250 and $400.

If one of the books is signed by Miller, the value would increase by several hundred dollars.

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 12:26 PM with the headline "What’s It Worth?: Identity of artist might affect value of etching."