We provide answers to many commonly asked questions below. Please feel free to contact us at info@antiquaprintgallery.com if your question is not answered here.

Click for questions about shipping/posting
Click for questions about pricing
Click for questions about authenticity
Click for questions about the characteristics of a print or map
Click for questions about returns & refunds
 
Shipping

Shipping

How long will my order take to reach me?

We promise to mail items within two business days of receiving cleared payment (holidays/vacations excepted). Items sent within the Uk by First Class Mail usually arrive within 1-2 days. Items sent by standard Airmail usually reach Western Europe within four days, Eastern Europe within six days, and the rest of the world within eight days.

I need my item sent quickly. How quickly can you get it to me?

We promise to mail items within 2 business days of receiving cleared payment (holidays/vacations excepted). Upon checkout we offer a priority/recorded mail service option (Special Delivery next day within the UK, Royal Mail Airsure or International Signed For, depending on destination, outside the UK). Airsure is a priority mail service which usually takes a day less than standard Airmail but is not time-definite. International Signed For is not a prioritised service.

We can also send your order to an international address by time definite express courier service. This service can be expensive and disproportionate to the cost of purchases of many single items, typically a minimum of £30 ($50) to the US. Please contact us for a quotation.

Please note that we are based in central London, UK and therefore close to major international cargo hubs; this means that items sent by Airmail tend to leave the UK quickly. Based on customer feedback many items sent to international destinations arrive more quickly than expected delivery times stated by the Royal Mail - but we do not guarantee this. A significant proportion of US customers state that items sent to the US are received more quickly than those sent within the US; it is not uncommon for orders sent to major US cities to arrive within 3 days - however again we cannot guarantee this and you should assume the longer delivery timetable

Can you let me know when my order has been dispatched?

All customers will receive a shipping notification by email upon dispatch of their order.

Can you send me tracking information for my order?

Tracking information may be available depending on your selected posting method. Tracking information is not available for items sent by First Class mail within the UK or by standard Airmail for items sent outside the UK. Items sent by Special Delivery within the UK are fully trackable. Items sent by Royal Mail Airsure to international destinations are trackable. Items sent by Royal Mail International signed for outside the UK require confirmation of delivery.

Do you mail to my country?

We can post items to any address worldwide.

 

Pricing

Can you offer a discount?

We never offer discounts off the listed price on orders of single items. From time to time we may offer discounts on purchase price or free shipping for orders of multiple items when purchased and shipped together - please see our promotional column on the left hand side of the page for details of current offers. We may offer discounts above this for trade customers - see below.

Can I set up a trade account?

At our discretion we may offer discounted terms to trade customers. Please contact us for details.

Authenticity

Authenticity

Is the print or map an original?

All items offered for sale are original prints on paper, published at the date stated in the listing, and are not modern copies. The term "Original" when applied to printmaking means that the print or map was published at the first or original date of publication and is not a later copy. "Original" does not imply that the item is unique.

How do I verify that my print/map is authentic?

Most items that we offer for sale can be authenticated by reference to their physical characteristics. Different printing methods produce prints with differing physical characteristics. It is not possible to replicate all these physical characteristics using modern planographic printing methods. 

Engraving was the most common printing method in 19^th century books and newspapers. Engravings are very labour-intensive to produce, and this printing method was largely replaced as the main method of commercial printing by offset lithography within a decade or so of the invention of the latter around 1890. Engraved prints bear characteristic features of engraving which cannot be replicated with modern planographic printing or copying methods.  A wood engraved print is created from a wooden block which is carved or engraved before being inked and applied to a page under pressure. The pressure produces small ridges on the page, and the act of the pressure causes the ink to try to escape from the raised parts of the block. This results in characteristic ink patterns around the main printed part of the page. Both the ridges and the small ink patterns can be seen under a strong magnifying glass or linen tester at 10x magnification or above; sometimes the ridges caused by the pressure can be seen with the naked eye. The pressure also sometimes forces small spots of ink through the page, appearing as dots on the reverse side of the page. The ridges caused by pressure exerted by printing the text on the reverse side of the page are often particularly noticeable upon close inspection.

The use of a plate or block applied under pressure to the page often result in a rectangular impression left by the plate (the plate mark) around the outside of the print, although this will not be the case where the plate is larger than the page itself.
 
Will I receive a certificate of authenticity?

Certificates of authenticity can be produced upon request. Certificates will sent in pdf format by email.

Is the date of publication printed on the item?

The date of publication is sometime printed on a map or print, but we do not guarantee this. Items extracted from periodicals often have the exact day of publication printed at the top or bottom of each page; they can often otherwise be closely dated by reference to information on births, marriages, deaths or other news events printed in text elsewhere on the page. Steel engravings sometimes have the year of publication printed below the image. The date of publication of prints or maps is usually derived from the date of publication of the book, atlas or periodical from which the item has been extracted. The date of publication of nearly all titles is stated on the title page.

Where did you get the print/map from?

The provenance of each item is stated in the product listing.

Can you send me a scan of the whole print/map including the margins?

Our prints and maps are offered for sale on the basis of the images included in their respective listings. Each map listing includes an image of the entire map and a second close up image of part of the map, normally from the centre of the image, to show the level of printed detail. All our items have adequate margins unless stated otherwise in the description of condition. We do not normally send full resolution scans upon request, but we may do so or may offer to sell such a scan upon request. If you would like to know whether a particular town, place name or other feature is shown on a map, please contact us at info@antiquaprintgallery.com

About your map or print

About your map or print

What are the dimensions of the print/map?

The dimensions of all items are stated in their respective product listings in both metric (centimetre) and imperial (inch) measurements. The dimensions stated are that of the printed image area as shown in the listing. They exclude any margins around the print, any caption printed below the print/map and any title above the print/map not shown in the image. Margins are adequate unless otherwise stated in the description of condition.

All items are sold on the basis of the images which are included in their listings. We cannot supply additional images. Margins of all items are adequate and clean unless otherwise stated. Any significant marks, spotting or blemishes in the margin are identified and described within the statement of condition in the product listing. Where the margin between any of the edges of the printed image (or below the caption) and the edge of the page is tight, this is stated in the product listing.

Is this item a paper or wooden object?

Virtually all items that we offer for sale are prints on paper. "Wood engraved print", "wood engraving" and "woodcut" refer to methods of printmaking; methods which generate prints on paper. Engraved prints are made by engraving a flat metal (steel or copper) plate or wooden block which is then inked and applied to the page under pressure to produce the printed image. "Steel engraving", "Copperplate", "Wood engraving" and "Wood cut" refer to the type of block or plate and engraving method use to make the print.

What is the weight of the paper on which the print/map is printed?

The weight/thickness of paper on which prints and maps has been published varies considerable. If a print or map has been printed on particularly thin paper this is stated within the product listing.

Does the print/map come in a different size?

Items offered for sale as original items are only available in the size at which they were originally printed. The limitations of traditional engraving methods did not offer flexibility to print the same image in different sizes. If you find a similar engraved image offered for sale elsewhere in a different size, then it is either not an original print, or it is not the same print.

Returns

Returns and refunds

If my item is not as expected, can I return it for a refund?

We have a no-questions-asked return policy and we accept returns for any reason if sent back to us suitably packed and insured within 14 days of receipt of your item. Please contact us for the return mailing address. We will provide a full refund once we have received the returned item in original condition. You are responsible for the cost of returning the item to us. We try to describe all our inventory as fully and accurately as possible. Many of the items which we sell are in very good condition. However, the condition of antique and vintage prints and maps can vary due to age, the situation in which they have been stored, and the degree to which they have been handled since they were printed. All of our listings include a statement of the condition of the item which will identify any obvious flaws, blemishes, imperfections or other significant features such as folds. We recommend that you read the description of each item carefully prior to your purchase so that you are aware of the size, age and condition of the item. If your item is not as described, we would appreciate any feedback which could help us to improve the way which we describe our products and the range of products which we offer.