Edition number and artist's proof
An edition number is the fraction pencilled in the margin of a print: 25/100 means the twenty-fifth impression of an edition of one hundred. An artist's proof, marked AP or A/P, is an impression identical to the edition but kept outside its count, reserved for the artist.
Definition
An edition is a copy or replica of a work of art made from a master: most often a series of identical prints from the same printing surface, though sculpture, photography and video are editioned too. Since the late nineteenth century the number of prints from one plate has usually been restricted and declared as a limited edition. Modern artists' prints are usually limited to a stated number, anything from 2 to 1,000 or more, and editioned prints are usually signed, numbered and often dated by the artist.
Alongside the edition sit proofs. Those produced for the artist are marked AP, artist's proof; those for the printer or publisher are marked PP, printer's proof. A bon à tirer, or good-to-print, proof sets the standard the printer works to.
Origin
Until the nineteenth century, prints were often run off as demand allowed, and worn plates were reworked to produce a new state. The aquatints of Goya were among the first important prints published initially in limited editions, though not signed or numbered. The term proof was applied consistently from the late eighteenth century onwards, beginning with the English mezzotinters, who issued small editions of proofs for collectors. Numbered, pencil-signed editions became the norm for modern artists, and today the plate or screen of a limited edition is often cancelled or destroyed when the run is finished.
Key facts
| Form | Impression number / edition size, such as 25/100 |
|---|---|
| AP | Artist's proof; outside the edition count; by convention usually not more than about 10% of the edition |
| PP | Printer's proof, kept by the printer or publisher |
| Bon à tirer | The approved proof that sets the standard for the edition |
| Signature | Usually in pencil, with the number, below the image |
How to identify it
- Read both numbers. The first is the impression, the second the edition size. A low first number does not by itself mean an earlier or better impression in modern printing.
- Read the proofs as part of the edition. Artist's proofs are not counted in the edition, and their number can be twenty or more. Some artists have reissued sold-out editions as proofs, marked for example Artist's Proof no. 8 of 50.
- Check the medium. A numbered and signed photographic reproduction is still a reproduction. Telling original prints, made in the medium the artist worked in, from reproductions takes some knowledge.
- Check the publisher. In our handling, Japanese editions by living artists usually carry a publisher's or studio's stamp, or come with the publisher's paperwork.
Where it appears in the collection
An In the Cloud lithograph by Yoshitomo Nara, 2003, marked AP 12/21, shows a numbered proof run; a Takashi Murakami Puuuu silkscreen in an edition of 100 and a Rockin'Jelly Bean Escape from Women Prison silkscreen, second edition, 129/200, signed show the standard fraction. Edition practice for Japan's best-known artists is read in our guide to Murakami, Kusama and Nara prints and why edition context is the product. More Murakami sits on our Murakami and Kaikai Kiki shelf.
Related entries
- Silkscreen print: the technique behind many numbered editions.
- After-work: a copy after a work, not by the artist.
- Certificate of authenticity: what the paperwork does and does not prove.
- The Rockin' Jelly Bean and Erostika collection: numbered silkscreen editions.
Sources
- Tate, "Edition", art term. tate.org.uk
- Artist's proof, encyclopaedia entry. wikipedia.org
- Edition (printmaking), encyclopaedia entry. wikipedia.org
Last reviewed 14 November 2026. The Japonista Curation and Concierge Team, Tokyo, Japan.