Karl Blossfeldt: silver gelatin workprint, Milkweed, 1930
Karl Blossfeldt Vintage Printing Plate 82 Common Milkweed 1930
Product Description
Enhance your collection with this exceptional vintage silver gelatin printing plate from the rare 1930 American portfolio edition titled 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. Issued in limited numbers for American design institutions and academies, these original 1930 Perleberg plates are significantly scarcer than standard European bookplate photogravures. This item represents an authentic piece of photographic history, sourced from Book Beat’s celebrated backroom gallery collection.
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
