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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133512
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| Posted: 22 January 2008 at 7:45pm | IP Logged | 1
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In Ye Olden Days, before mass marketing got to the point that anything
produced was pretty much identical to all it's brothers, a numbered edition
had significance because there would be a subtle degrading of each iteration
-- especially in things like prints. So it was desirable to get as low a
number as possible, as this would be closest to the original "pull" and
therefore less degraded than something with a higher number.
It's pretty much meaningless now, unless the artist is deliberately using
antique methods. For instance, my Warhol is an artist's proof, 3 of 6, so that
has some meaning in the artistic community.
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Ron Sluyter
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 07 January 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 1867
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| Posted: 22 January 2008 at 8:01pm | IP Logged | 2
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Interesting, thanks for the answer
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Pat Ditton
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 19 June 2007
Posts: 925
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| Posted: 22 January 2008 at 8:45pm | IP Logged | 3
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mmm -- I was under the impression that was still the case with sculpts -- lower the number, the better the casting (though fractional at best)... I guess I heard it once and have never been told that was no longer the case.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133512
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| Posted: 23 January 2008 at 10:21am | IP Logged | 4
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Numbered editions are especially meaningless for hand-painted statues. It's not as if they're all painted by the same guy, who might be expected to be tired around number 1243. In fact, because pieces are painted by different artists, at different times, it is entirely possible for a higher number to be "better" than a lower one!This is something Terry Austin sometimes grumbles about. He has a Fine Arts background, and it offends him in a minor but undeniable way that this notion of "numbered editions" has been co-opted by manufactured collectibles. He tells of being approached, some years ago, by a printer who wanted to do a signed and numbered portfolio of Terry's work. He informed Terry that every pain would be taken to ensure that the last print would be of the same quality as the first. Which, as Terry told the guy, completely defeated the purpose of numbering them.
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Pat Ditton
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 19 June 2007
Posts: 925
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| Posted: 23 January 2008 at 10:57am | IP Logged | 5
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Not having anything to do with numbered editions, but the print-order quality reminds me of older printing methods on comics and specifically Superman (vol 2) #4 (with Bloodsport on the cover). The reds on covers were noticable faded and weaker through the stack of new books and I recall a funny incident where a fellow collector was thumbing through the stack of several hundred Superman #4s to find that perfect cover with the most perfect centering and most perfect staple placement AND the darkest reds. I had not noticed until then that the red was infact darker on certain covers in the stack.
Going back to the statue numbering. I guess not all the Bowens are struck from the same mold, either, now that I think of it. So getting a lower number hoping to see less mold degredation is probably a fruitless exercise, too.
Still --- 013 of 800 --- is possible the lowest number I have on my extensive collection of busts and statues. I still hold out hope that there is some significance to the number (aside from the superstitious).
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Gerry Turnbull
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: Scotland
Posts: 8766
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| Posted: 23 January 2008 at 11:12am | IP Logged | 6
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IIRC the numbering on the Bowens is random, ie #1 is not the first off the press,and likewise #300 may have been the first one made . .
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133512
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| Posted: 23 January 2008 at 12:07pm | IP Logged | 7
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As I mentioned at the time, I received my "numbered edition" of the
MasterReplicas Enterprise, having joined their Modeler's Club (for
$50!) to ensure I would get the model as soon as possible. A while later,
my friend Paul got his (having received notification that it had shipped at
the same time I received my notification). Paul had not joined up, being
content to get his model in its own due time. He got his a few days after
I got mine -- and it had a lower number.
This is the kind of foolishness that blows the whole concept of
"numbered editions" to hell.
(Recently, now months after the shipping dates of the models, I ordered a
"backup", in case age or disaster had deleterious effect on the one I
already had. Not only did the new arrival turn out to be one of the
signed and numbered editions, it was a low number. So
months after the first-come-first-served promise of MasterReplicas
should have insured that everyone who ordered early got the lowest
numbers, I got a low one just on random chance.)
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Pat Ditton
Byrne Robotics Member
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| Posted: 23 January 2008 at 12:10pm | IP Logged | 8
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So a friend of mine received 0573 of 1500 (of a certain statue) that arrived completely smashed -- he returned it and received 0573 of 1500. The same thing happened to me when I returned the chrome Iron Man set --- so is the current numbering nothing more than an accoutning system that shows only "X" number were put in circulation (since clearly more are made than "X" to allow for damages?
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Gerry Turnbull
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: Scotland
Posts: 8766
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| Posted: 23 January 2008 at 12:17pm | IP Logged | 9
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personally, i dont care what number is on my Bowens.long as the paint job is good, im happy
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Pat Ditton
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| Posted: 23 January 2008 at 12:50pm | IP Logged | 10
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it's ALL about the numbers, damit, the numbers, the numbers, the numbers....!!!!!
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Peillon Lionel
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 November 2007
Location: France
Posts: 165
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| Posted: 23 January 2008 at 11:59pm | IP Logged | 11
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Yes Pat !!! You'r right !! I select.....1543....I love this number !!!!
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Michael Terry
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 18 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 318
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| Posted: 24 January 2008 at 12:12am | IP Logged | 12
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I don’t collect as many figures as the rest of you; most items are sealed with the # inside; right?
With many warehouses (including the one I work in) the computer system will allocate the oldest stock first for picking. If not reverse palletized you could find the lowest number of limited editions on the bottom, therefore the last picked.
First come, first serve after all.
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