Flying Copper

Flying Copper is a notably larger sheet than most of the Pictures on Walls output of the period, and scale is not a neutral fact for a work on paper.

Large sheets are harder to frame well, harder to store flat, and considerably more expensive to ship by specialist carrier. They also take handling damage more readily, because there is more sheet to flex. Owners who have moved house with one rolled, or had one reframed cheaply, frequently have a condition problem they are unaware of.

The signed edition is reported at 150 and the unsigned at 600 — the familiar shape, and the familiar division between two markets.

On a large image the difference in presentation between a well-framed signed impression and a tired unsigned one is stark, and buyers respond to it. Value the edition you have rather than the image, and be aware that a good unsigned example can outperform a poor signed one.

Variants exist outside the standard run and are recorded separately. Those are scarcer than the main edition and are priced accordingly.

Colourway and proof designation are read from the sheet rather than from the image, which is why photographs of the margin matter more than a good photograph of the picture. Anything marked as a proof sits outside the numbered run and should be identified before a figure is discussed.