Guidelines for cataloguing prints, posters and illustrated books
Introduction | Artist (Creator)  | Birth, Death dates | Roles | Title  | Books, Periodicals, Portfolios, Sets etc | Date of Work | Place made | Catalogue raisonnė | Media category | Print type | Technique | Support | Manufacturers mark | State | Impression | Edition information | Matrix status | Production notes  | Dimentions and measurement type | Inscriptions | Provenance | Notes about the work  | Subject  | In progress
 
Show as single page

(draft 14 June 2005)

The cataloging of prints, posters and illustrated books is a challenging task, the works having more variables than most art forms. The introduction of works of art databases and web delivery of information enables these often hidden collections a new presence.These guidelines provide a sophisticated framework for cataloging prints in a way which will be selfexplanatory to a web-based (or art professional) audience while facilitating precise, detailed searches.

The fields described are those developed for the Australian Prints Database a joint project between Roger Butler, Senior Curator of Australian Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Australia and John O’Brien, Soul Solutions Integrated Multimedia.

These conventions can be applied to many collection management systems, most which have similar fields. For users of EMu a detailed concordence can be supplied.

The most important issue is information consistency. Consistent data within a field enables easy global changes and will facilitate accurate transfer of data in the future.

On principle the information provided is to be devoid of curatorial or artist's jargon and abbreviations. In the days of 5x3 inch filing cards this might have been appropriate. Now when data storage is inexpensive, and the audience is mainly outside the profession, it is unacceptable.

Roger Butler
Senior Curator Australian Prints and Drawings.

Reading:

  • Singer, Hans W. Handbuch fur kapferstichsammlungen. Leipzig: Karl W. Hiersemann, 1916.
  • Varveries, Therese. Cataloguer’s manual for the visual arts. Sydney: AGDC, 1980. (See particularly the notes on Working Names and Titles by Daniel Thomas 1979 which I have used as my guide for that section).
  • American prints 1960-1980 in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. New York: MOMA, 1986. (See notes on the catalogue. This was the first print collection to be catalogued for a computer data base).
  • McSherry Fowble, F. Two centuries of prints in American 1680 – 1860. A selective catalogue of the Winterther Museum Collection. Charlotteville, USA: University of Virginia, 1987. (Excellent example for the cataloguing of topographical prints. The support description includes measurements of chain intervals and laid lines. Date fields differentiate between date depicted, date engraved, and date published).
  • AITF, “Categories for the description of works of art”, Visual Resources, vol.xi, pp.371-421.
  • Cataloguing at the National Galleryof Australia, Canberra.
  • Persak, Erica. Procedural manual for the accessions worksheet. Canberra: ANG, 1982. (Amended by Maxine Esau, 1983). Typescript, 80 pp.
  • Thomas, Daniel. Guide for drafting labels. Canberra: ANG, 12 February 1982. Typescript, 36 pp.
  • Thomas, Daniel. Artist’s working names authority list. Canberra: NGA, 1983. 6th draft 1989, typescript 489 pp.
    See also:
  • Exhibit. Works of art user manual. AWA Computers, December 1987
  • Titan/Gallery. Version 1.0. Melbourne: Knowledge Engineering, February 1994
Introduction | Page 1 of 25 | Artist (Creator)


Prints and Printmaking is an access initiative of the Gordon Darling Print Fund.
The National Gallery of Australia is an Australian Government Agency