A Beginner's Guide to Collecting Antique Maps and Prints

Few antiques give you so much for so little outlay as a good map or print. They carry real history, they suit almost any room, and you can begin a collection without spending a fortune. A single sheet can show you how a city looked three centuries ago, or how a botanist saw a flower long before colour photography existed.

Works on paper do ask for a slightly different eye, though. Once you understand how they were made and what condition really means, browsing antique maps and prints becomes a genuine pleasure rather than a guessing game. Here is what to look for.

Start by learning how the image was made

The method used to print an image is the first thing to identify, because it tells you a great deal about age, quality and how the piece should be cared for.

Engravings and etchings are both intaglio prints, which means the design was cut or bitten into a metal plate, usually copper. Ink was worked into those recessed lines, and damp paper was pressed hard against the plate to lift it out. That pressure leaves a telltale sign: a shallow indented rectangle around the image, known as the plate mark, where the edge of the plate pressed into the paper. If you can see and feel a plate mark, you are almost certainly looking at an intaglio print rather than a modern reproduction. You will find a wide selection among our antique prints and engravings.

The difference between the two comes down to the hand. An engraving was cut directly with a sharp tool, giving crisp lines that swell and taper. An etching was drawn through a waxy coating and bitten by acid, so the lines feel freer and more like a sketch. A magnifying glass quickly reveals which is which.

Lithographs work in a completely different way. Instead of cut lines, the image sits flat on the surface and relies on grease and water refusing to mix. Lithographs tend to have a softer, chalkier and more tonal look, and they carry no plate mark at all. Coloured examples, often called chromolithographs, became hugely popular during the nineteenth century. Our lithographs section is a good place to see the style for yourself.

The question of colour

Colour is where many beginners come unstuck, because it has a direct effect on value. Many engravings and etchings, along with a great many maps, left the workshop in plain black and white. Some were coloured by hand at the time they were made, using watercolour applied with a fine brush, while others were coloured much later, sometimes only recently, to make them more saleable.

Neither is wrong, but the two are not worth the same. Early colour applied by hand usually sits slightly unevenly, pooling along the printed lines, and under a magnifying glass you see brushstrokes rather than any regular pattern. Printed colour, by contrast, often reveals a fine mesh of dots when magnified. If colour matters to you, simply ask the seller whether it is original to the period or added later.

Maps carry their own clues

Maps reward a little extra attention. A great many old maps were never sold as single sheets at all. They came from atlases and books, which is why a vertical centre fold is completely normal and not a defect. Turn the sheet over, too, because printed text on the reverse is a strong sign that the map once lived inside a bound volume.

English county maps are one of the friendliest places to begin, partly because so many people love owning an early view of their own home county. Names such as John Speed and Christopher Saxton come up often, and topographical views of towns and landmarks have a steady following as well. Buying the county where you grew up is as good a reason as any to make your first purchase.

Judge condition before you fall in love

Condition can make two seemingly identical prints worth very different sums, so it pays to look closely before your heart runs away with you.

Foxing, the scattering of small brown spots you sometimes see, is caused by damp and ageing and is very common on old paper. A little is normal and can often be improved by a paper conservator. Heavy staining, tears and patches where damp has bloomed are more serious.

Margins matter more than newcomers expect. A sheet that has been trimmed down, especially one cut into the plate mark or through the title, has lost something that cannot be put back, and the price should reflect that. Generous, untrimmed margins are always preferable. Watch out, as well, for prints that have been stuck down onto board or held with old tape, since aged adhesives stain the paper and are difficult to reverse.

Light is the quiet enemy of works on paper. Coloured lithographs and delicate watercolour washes fade if they hang in direct sun for years, so a piece with strong, fresh colour has usually been looked after. The same careful habits that run through our guide to common mistakes when buying paintings online apply just as well here: study the photographs, ask about condition, and buy from sellers who describe their pieces honestly.

Framing and keeping them well

Once you have bought something you love, a few simple habits will keep it that way. Use mounts and backing board that are free of acid, because ordinary card slowly browns the paper it touches. Glass that filters ultraviolet light helps guard against fading, and hanging your pieces away from direct sunlight, radiators and damp walls does more than any product ever could. Avoid taping a print straight to its mount or dry mounting it, as both can cause lasting harm.

Where to begin

The lovely thing about maps and prints is that you can start small. Many charming prints change hands for only a few pounds, while rare early maps in fine condition can reach into the thousands, so there is room for every budget and every level of experience. If you are still finding your feet, our guides on how to start an antique collection and spotting a bargain are worth a read before you buy.

When you feel ready, browse our antique maps and antique prints and engravings and see which corner of history speaks to you. The first one you fall for is usually the start of something.