Original Work, Modest Prices

There is a stubborn notion that collecting British bird art is a pastime for people with deep pockets and a country house. It isn't. The lower end of the market is busy, friendly and full of genuine pleasure, and some of the most satisfying pieces you will ever own cost less than a decent pair of binoculars.

Falconry imagery turns up with particular regularity, because hawks, falcons and the paraphernalia of the mews have been a staple of British sporting art for three centuries. Field sketches, pencil studies, small watercolours, hand-pulled etchings and limited-edition prints all circulate at prices that would surprise you. A good pencil-signed edition print can be yours for £30 to £80. A small unframed watercolour study of a kestrel or a merlin might be £60 to £200. At £200 to £400 you are into original works: an etching with a strong plate mark, a gouache head study, or a disbound nineteenth-century natural history plate in sound condition.

The trick is not to chase bargains but to learn what you are looking at. Once you can tell a hand-pulled print from an inkjet reproduction, the whole market opens up.

Where to Look

• Provincial auction houses. General sales, not specialist sporting art sales, are where the quiet bargains sit. Mixed lots of framed pictures are often sold cheaply, and a single good bird study can be hiding among four indifferent landscapes. Always attend the viewing, or ask for a condition report.
• Local art society exhibitions and open studios. Wildlife and natural history groups hold annual shows where original work sells at studio prices, with no gallery markup and often a chance to talk to the artist.
• Print fairs and second-hand book fairs. Dealers with boxes of unframed plates will often do a fair price for two or three. Look for folders rather than the framed wall stock.
• House clearances, charity shops and car boot sales. Unfashionable frames hide good work. Check the back of the frame, where signatures, exhibition labels and edition numbers are frequently found.
• Artist's own sales. Printmakers often sell artist's proofs and early states directly, and many will happily explain the plate, the paper and the edition.

Know What You Are Buying

Vocabulary matters, and some of it is slippery. A reproduction, however handsome, is a copy — usually a giclée or photolithograph printed from a scan. A hand-pulled print (etching, engraving, lithograph, linocut, screenprint) is made by the artist, or under their direct supervision, from a plate or block. Both can be signed and numbered; only one is an original print.

Look for three things on a print. The plate mark, the pressed indentation left by an etching plate, is a good sign of a genuine impression. The edition number, written as a fraction such as 42/150, tells you how many were pulled. The pencil signature in the lower margin carries far more weight than a signature printed as part of the image.

On original work, check the paper itself: a deckle edge, watermark or subtle cockling where watercolour has been applied are all reassuring. Uniform flatness in a supposed watercolour deserves a second look.

The Falconry Thread

British falconry heritage offers a rich seam for the collector. Look for a hooded peregrine on a block, a goshawk on the fist, birds at the lure, a mews interior, or a flight of merlins over moorland. The details tell you whether the artist knew their birds or worked from a pattern book: jesses, swivels, bells, the hood's plume, the wear on a well-used glove.

Species accuracy matters, both aesthetically and commercially. A seller who labels a goshawk as a "falcon" has probably not examined the piece closely, which is worth noting when you discuss price. A seller who can tell you the bird is a tiercel peregrine in its first plumage is someone worth listening to.

Traditional sporting art, Victorian natural history illustration and modern field sketching are all represented in this market, and they reward the patient buyer.

Questions to Ask Before You Buy

• Is this an original work, a hand-pulled print, or a reproduction?
• What is the edition size, and which number is this impression?
• Is the signature printed or handwritten?
• Is the framing to conservation standard, and is the mount acid-free?
• Has the work been exposed to direct sunlight, damp, cigarette smoke or a hot radiator?
• Can you tell me anything about its history — who owned it, where it came from?
• What is your returns policy if the condition report turns out to be optimistic?

Take a small torch to any viewing and examine the sheet at a raking angle. Foxing, mount burn, tidemarks, tears, trimmed edges and fading all show up instantly in oblique light. None of these are necessarily deal-breakers, but each should be reflected in the price.

Looking After Your Finds

Care is straightforward and mostly about avoiding harm. Hang work away from direct sun, radiators and damp external walls. Aim for a stable 18–21°C and 40–60% relative humidity, which in a British house usually means avoiding the kitchen and bathroom walls and keeping a little air moving.

Frame to conservation standard: acid-free mount board, Japanese paper hinges rather than tape, and UV-filtering glass. If you buy unframed prints or sketches, store them flat in acid-free folders or a portfolio box, interleaved with acid-free tissue, and resist the urge to roll them.

Handle with clean, dry hands or cotton gloves, and lift by the edges of the sheet. Rotate your display every few months so nothing sits in the light for years on end. Looked after properly, an inexpensive print bought on a rainy Saturday will outlast most of the furniture in the room — and give considerably more pleasure.