"The Fine Art Trade Guild Stamping.

David Shepherd

CBE OBE FRSA FGRA

The old stamping machine, shown beneath, was used from 1847 until 1973 to place the embossed stamp
on Limited Editions which had been approved by the Stamping Committee, later known as the Approval Committee.
It was ensured that all unstamped copies of the edition were destroyed as well as the means of reproduction
so that no further copies could be made. There was a maximum edition size of 850 prints, though some editions
were smaller.

The electric machine that was used until recently to stamp Guild approved Limited Editions had three wheels.
On each there were ten letters "A" "E" "C" "D" "E" "F" "H" "J" "K" "L"
(no "G" in order to avoid confusion with "J")
Before the electric machine, the prints were stamped manually, and the letters on the wheels changed
Sadly, the Fine Art Trade Guild have lost the records of which letters were used and during which period.
Below is the translation of the coding system into numerical equivalents.
An early Guild stamp 1847-1973

A more recent Guild stamp 1973-2003


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