I buy and sell art, this is a mystery so far

https://youtu.be/6FpzXzsrAlM ^ | b.b.e.b.

[golux]

Ceci nest pas une loupe.

[M. Thatcher]

A loupe (proper spelling)

That was my point.

[GingisK]

That hit me the same way.

[Neverlift]

That looks like a lithographers stone. It would be coated with water that soaks into the stone and rolls of the artwork. Then with ink that will not stick to the wet parts (only sticks to the art likely some sort of grease based). Next paper is pressed onto the stone and the ink prints to the paper. This works just like a litho plate on a more modern litho printing press (already becoming obsolete). Lithography, from the Greek for “stone printing. Definition: the process of printing from a flat surface treated so as to repel the ink except where it is required for printing.

[verum ago]

I think the stone is soap stone, weighs 42 pounds, 12 by 16, the original etching which is easy to find was done in 1948 by Gerome Kaplin titled "the Arabs" on what I think is a 42 pound piece of soap stone.

Never seen anything like it, Sotheby's is checking it out. Figured a Freeper might know.

What you have appears to be a lithography stone. Unless Kaplan hand made multiples, what you possess is the original 1948 etching that all the lithographs were printed from.

Very neat.

[buffyt]

WOW this is very interesting. I paint and do other art.

[JonPreston]

carved on soap stone.... hidden under the floor boards... New England... this is basically the beginning of an HP Lovecraft story.

LMAO!!