Alvin Langdon Coburn
British (Boston, Massachusetts, 1882 - 1966, Wales (United Kingdom)) Primary

The Metropolitan Tower

ca. 1911

Sheet
8 1/4 in. x 3 5/8 in. (20.96 cm x 9.21 cm)

This object has the following keywords:

• architecture - Structures or parts of structures that are the result of conscious construction, are of practical use, are relatively stable and permanent, and are of a size and scale appropriate for--but not limited to--habitable buildings. Works of architecture are manifestations of the built environment that is typically classified as fine art, meaning it is generally considered to have aesthetic value, was designed by an architect (whether or not his or her name is known), and constructed with skilled labor. For the art or science of designing and building structures, use "architecture (discipline)."
• photogravure - An intaglio photomechanical process of reproducing an image or design, a combination of photography and etching. A metal printing plate is prepared using a bichromate process, leaving a gelatin resist of varying thickness. The plate is etched to form cells of varying depth able to hold different amounts of ink. Crucially, the gelatine in the photographic negative of the image acts as the acid resist when the image comes to be etched. Hand photogravure was very popular in the later 19th century, involves the photographic transfer of the image to a copper plate, prepared with aquatint to give it tone, into which the design is etched. The plate is hand-inked and printed as an ordinary intaglio plate. Machine photogravure, very much more common and commercial, uses a cross-line screen instead of aquatint to provide the tone, and a cylinder is employed rather than a plate. Very fast printing in large editions, for example of magazines, is possible with this technique. If done with an aquatint grain, prefer "photoaquatint."
• photogravures - Photomechanical prints produced by the process called photogravure, in which the metal printing plate is prepared using a bichromate process, leaving a gelatin resist of varying thickness. The plate is etched to form cells of varying depth able to hold different amounts of ink. If done with an aquatint grain, use "photoaquatints.".

• Sheet Dimensions: 8 1/4 x 3 5/8 in. (20.955 x 9.208 cm)