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In California, in the Sacramento area, so-called M.C. Escher woodblock prints/proofs are being offered for sale. These prints are also being offered for sale at eBay by various individuals/dealers. The prints are NOT printed from the original blocks. It concerns the following prints (numbers relate to the prints as depicted in the book: M.C. Escher, His Life and Complete Graphic Work [ published by Abrahams, New York])163; 164; 172; 175; 178; 179; 183; 184; 187; 195; 196; 293; 361; 364; 368; 370; 393; 398 and 430.
Auction in Switzerland ? These prints were first offered at eBay in May 1999 by a company called Every Era, Sacramento. The story behind them was that "in about 1958 an auction was held in Switzerland. The purpose was to liquidate the business of a printer who specialized in private press editions. During the course of that auction a single lot consisting of hundreds of reams of blank paper was sold. It was later discovered that buried deep within the masses of blank paper these were these prints we are now offering on Ebay" (end quote). They were selling 325 sets of 19 prints each. We received a set and checked them with the original woodcuts in our possession and found them to be fakes. Their measurements do not match the originals (you can look these up in the book M.C. Escher His Life and Complete Graphic Work and compare them yourself) and they had all been tampered with. They were withdrawn from eBay. |
Earl M. Washington Then the story changed. They are now being offered for sale by a Mr. Earl M. Washington, http://www.earlmwashington.com who says he is the great-grandson of another Earl M. Washington, who apparently died in 1952. He was either an artist/printmaker/block maker/collector (the story varies). These prints have nothing to do with the original prints made by M.C. Escher during his lifetime. The dimensions are wrong, some prints come from the Emblemata series, three from Scholastica and the rest are odd prints. Some of the Emblemata ones have their top and bottom text missing. Why would M.C. Escher grant permission for anyone to make a private press printing of prints that already appeared in two printings? Why would he leave out essential texts which were cut into the same block as the picture? Why include an invitation to an exhibition in it when this invitation only has text? We have access to Mr. Escher's private administration and his diaries. Nowhere can be found that an additional printing was scheduled, not in Switzerland and not in the USA. Mr. Escher was very meticulous and wrote everything down. Mr. Washington's name appears nowhere and neither do these fake prints. Most importantly, the dimensions are wrong! |