How To Display Vintage Prints Without Frames
Last summer I bought this Verkade album (dating back to the 1930s) with these beautiful watercolour illustrations of different parts of the Netherlands from IJ-Hallen.
I wanted to display the illustrations rather than keep them in the book (I’d never look at them otherwise), but they’re an odd size and I couldn’t find any frames that fit, plus custom ones would’ve been too expensive.
Tips
-The illustrations were lightly glued into the album, but still tricky to remove. I used a hairdryer (with paper in between) to heat and loosen the glue. This made it much easier to remove the illustrations without tearing them.
-Mounting the illustrations on self-adhesive foamboard was trickier than expected. In the end, it was easiest to cut the foamboard to size first and then stick the print on.
-Foamboard can be deceptively awkward to cut. Use a sharp knife with a long blade. Hold it close to the foamboard at an angle of less than 45 degrees. Using medium pressure first make a shallow slice, and then make progressively deeper cuts to eventually go all the way through. Also be mindful to cut straight, as it’s really easy to tilt the blade creating a sort of bevelled edge.
Materials
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Self-adhesive foam board (€3.52 per A3 5mm sheet, purchased at Van Beek Art Supplies, Weteringschans 201, 1017XG Amsterdam)
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Sawtooth hooks (€0.24 each, purchased at the same place)
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Glue gun
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Sharp knife with a long blade (I used an X-Acto, Gripster knife)
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Metal ruler
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Cutting mat
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Frame bumpers