Collection of 17 prints after drawings by A. Van de Velde, de Braij, Jan van Esselinx, G. Schalken, G. Van de Eeckhout, C. du Sart, Jan Steen, Karel Dujardin, Adriaan Brouwer, Lucas Van Leyden, Nic. Berchem, P. Blommen and others, 1769-1787. Many signed and dedicated verso and with the artist's ink stamp (Lugt 2725 v°). Various sizes
Ploos van Amstel was a lumber merchant, art collector and amateur artist who developed a method of producing reproductive prints by transferring drawings to an etching plate and printing facsimiles. His process started with a drawing (often from his own extensive collection) or a copy of a drawing from which an offset was made and subsequently transferred to a prepared etching plate. Once the initial print was made, the plates were often reworked to achieve the optimal result. The present collection includes many progressive states of the same subject, which illustrate the development of the facsimile from the original drawing. This process was not only an early experiment in offset printmaking, but since Ploos van Amstel was also knowledgeable about contemporary methods of printing in color, he produced many color prints. Ploos van Amstel dedicated himself to not only developing this innovative process, but he took pains to promote and legitimize his work. In 1773, he made a presentation in The Hague to William V, Prince of Orange, where the prince himself produced an etching plate after a drawing now attributed to Nicolas Maes.
