Karl Blossfeldt: silver gelatin workprint, Milkweed, 1930

Karl Blossfeldt Vintage Printing Plate 82 Common Milkweed 1930

Product Description

A vintage silver gelatin printing plate from the  1930 American portfolio edition First Forms of Art: Examples from the Living Plant World, published by H. C. Perleberg. Highly celebrated by the Surrealists and early modernists, Karl Blossfeldt 1865–1932 used a custom-built camera capable of magnifying organic specimens up to thirty times. This technique exposed hidden microscopic patterns and structures that transformed everyday flora into severe avant-garde architectural sculptures.

This large-format double-sided portfolio plate preserves the precise layout for Plate 82 of the collection, capturing a detailed structural view of Asclepias syriaca, commonly known as Common Milkweed.

Key Specifications and Identifiers

• Artist: Karl Blossfeldt German 1865–1932
• Title: Plate 82 from First Forms of Art: Examples from the Living Plant World (H. C. Perleberg, Philadelphia, 1930)
• Price: \$400
• Subject: Asclepias syriaca Common Milkweed
• Medium: Vintage Silver Gelatin Printing Plate / Double-Sided Portfolio Sheet
• Paper Size: Large format measuring 10.5 by 13.5 inches approx 26.7 cm by 34.3 cm
• Condition: Good vintage condition with strong contrast tones. The surface exhibits a light amount of silver oxidation and visible metallic flare along the margins, characteristic of vintage photographic paper processing.

About the Artist

Karl Blossfeldt 1865–1932 was a German sculptor, draftsman, and professor who spent his career teaching at the Royal School of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin. He created thousands of close-up botanical photographs over three decades to serve as literal objective models for his design students. His work became a cornerstone of the New Objectivity movement, celebrated for revealing the structural engineering inherent in natural forms.

$ 400.00