C and J Goodfriend Drawings and Prints
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Introduction
How do I know it's authentic?
How do I know that the price is right?
Can I Try To negotiate a better price?
Is it a good investment?
Am I getting a bargain?
Shouldn't I buy only famous prints?
Suppose I've never heard of an artist?
What about stolen goods?
What if I don't know about prints or drawings?
How many of them were made?
How good is the quality?
What should I collect?

Shouldn't I buy only famous prints?

In theory you'll have a better investment potential if you do, but you're going to miss a lot of fun (of discovery, for example) and you probably also will miss the best investments - which come from the revaluation upward of a print or artist not much noticed before. The difficulty is that one generation's famous prints are not necessarily another generation's famous prints. Rembrandts and Dürers go on and on (though the comparative valuation of particular prints may change), but the mezzotint portraits that brought fabulous prices in 1900 are largely ignored today, and some prints and drawings selling today at high prices - though obviously by minor figures - are well calculated to be forgotten as the fad wears off. The test is to be able to distinguish importance from fashion, not always as easy to do as it sounds. Besides, if it's your collection, shouldn't it contain prints that mean something to you rather than to someone else?