Karl Blossfeldt (vintage gelatin silver workprint) Thistle and Seed Head, 1932

Karl Blossfeldt Vintage Silver Gelatin Workprint Plate 16 Thistle and Seed Head 1932

Product Description

This vintage silver gelatin photo workprint is by German photographer, sculptor, and teacher Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932). Blossfeldt utilized a custom built camera capable of magnifying organic specimens up to 30 times to document plant structures for academic reference.

This studio workprint layout corresponds to Plate 16 of his final portfolio titled Wundergarten der Natur, published in 1932. The layout features two separate botanical studies on a single sheet of paper. The image on the left shows a detailed profile view of a budding thistle stem (Cirsium). The image on the right captures a complex, magnified view of an organic seed head or floral cluster.

This item is a working studio proof or production layout sheet rather than a standalone bookplate photogravure from the mass public printings. It documents the editorial layout and scale matching process used before final publication. This item is suitable for inventory at Book Beat.

Collector’s Note and Valuation

While standard, single-image photogravures removed from mass-market portfolios routinely circulate among print sellers, this item is a scarcer archival artifact. Presenting a dual-image composition on a single, continuous sheet of large-format photographic paper (10.5 by 13.5 inches), this item served a functional production purpose in the studio layout phase. Its scarcity as an un-cut working proof, combined with the market demand for Blossfeldt’s iconic botanical geometries, establishes a firm, justified retail valuation of $550 for collectors of historical photography documents.

Key Specifications and Identifiers

• Artist: Karl Blossfeldt (German, 1865–1932)
• Title: Plate 16 from Wundergarten der Natur (Neue Bilddokumente schöner Pflanzen, Berlin, 1932)
• Left Image Subject: Thistle Buds (Cirsium)
• Right Image Subject: Magnified Seed Head / Flower Cluster
• Medium: Vintage Silver Gelatin Print / Studio Workprint
• Paper Size: 10.5 by 13.5 inches (approximately 26.7 cm by 34.3 cm)
• Markings: Identification numbers are present in the negative layout frames with an “I.” on the top left border and a “16.” on the top right border
• Condition: Vintage silver gelatin print on safe matte paper stock. Tonal values are stable across both plant frames. There is minor edge toning visible on the white margins consistent with the age of the paper. Please note that there may be evidence of silver oxidation and light fading present on the print surfaces due to natural aging.

Artist Biography

Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932) was a German sculptor, photographer, and professor who pioneered the New Objectivity movement in photography. Originally trained in sculpture and iron casting, he began photographing plants in the 1890s to create visual teaching aids for his design students at the Royal School of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin. By building custom cameras that could magnify natural subjects up to thirty times, Blossfeldt revealed intricate, sculptural structures hidden within everyday flora. Published late in his life, his landmark portfolios—most notably Urformen der Kunst (1928)—gained immediate international acclaim, bridging the worlds of scientific documentation, surrealism, and modernist industrial design.

$ 550.00