What are copper plates used for?

Copper plates are often preferred by chefs as the cookware of choice because copper is an excellent heat conductor. For dinnerware, the aesthetics are a bonus, with the copper of the plate giving off a rustic, earthy appeal. You can shop a selection of copper dinnerware from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.

Are plate signed prints worth anything?

Whether plate-signed prints are worth anything depends on the artist, the rarity of the piece, its condition and other factors. While artists’ editions tend to be more affordable and available than his or her unique works, and so new collectors are often directed toward prints as a starting point, accessibility, however, does not mean prints appreciate at a different pace from other mediums. The market for paintings increases parallel to the prints market (and a signed work may be more valuable to collectors than an unsigned print). A certified appraiser or art industry professional can evaluate specific prints and determine their value. On 1stDibs, shop a range of prints from some of the world’s top galleries.

Copper Printing Plate

John Lennon Poster

Don Wallance

20th Century Etchings

Antique Pistols

Printing Blocks Furniture

Astronomy Art

Antique Terrestrial Globes

J Ross

Original Old Antique Print Showing the True Euphorbium, 1737

$215Sale Price|50% Off

H 16.15 in W 10.24 in D 0.01 in

Original Old Antique Print Showing the True Euphorbium, 1737

Located in Langweer, NL

She collaborated with her botanist husband while he was in debtor's prison and with the curator of the Chelsea Physick Garden where the plants were under cultivation. She engraved th...

Category

Antique 1730s British Prints

Materials

Paper

Buffon Ruminant Anatomy Engravings Set of 4, Natural History Plates, 1775

$269 / set

H 11.82 in W 9.57 in D 0.01 in

Buffon Ruminant Anatomy Engravings Set of 4, Natural History Plates, 1775

Located in Langweer, NL

These Latin abbreviations indicate the engraver responsible for transferring the artist’s drawing onto a copper printing plate. Fritzsch’s involvement is characteristic of the Amster...

Category

Antique Late 18th Century Dutch Prints

Materials

Paper

Copeland Spode Ceramic Bread and Butter Plates in "Buttercup" Pattern, Set of 11

$450 / set

H 0.75 in Dm 5.5 in

Copeland Spode Ceramic Bread and Butter Plates in "Buttercup" Pattern, Set of 11

By Copeland Spode

Located in Oklahoma City, OK

Following the engraving of a copper plate for printing, Buttercup appeared in its popular form on earthenware and on the Chelsea Wicker shape.

Category

Antique Late 19th Century English Victorian Ceramics

Materials

Ceramic

Japanese Edo Period Porcelain Vessel with Tiger Design, 18th–19th Century

$880

H 7.68 in Dm 7.29 in

Japanese Edo Period Porcelain Vessel with Tiger Design, 18th–19th Century

Located in Fukuoka, JP

A refined and substantial Japanese porcelain vessel of cylindrical tubular form, decorated with a bold tiger design applied through copper plate transfer printing — a technique that ...

Category

Antique Early 19th Century Japanese Edo Ceramics

Materials

Ceramic

Edward S. Curtis, Cochiti and Sia Pueblo Pottery New Mexico, Photogravure 1925

$5,500

H 17.5 in W 22 in D 0.013 in

Edward S. Curtis, Cochiti and Sia Pueblo Pottery New Mexico, Photogravure 1925

Located in San Francisco, CA

This significant work is rendered on heavy Van Gelder Dutch paper, featuring a distinctive recessed plate mark where the image was physically pressed into the fibers during the coppe...

Category

Early 20th Century American Native American Native American Objects

Materials

Paper

Buffon Axis Deer Prints Set of 3 – Male Female & Skeleton, 1775

$559 / set

H 11.82 in W 9.57 in D 0.01 in

Buffon Axis Deer Prints Set of 3 – Male Female & Skeleton, 1775

Located in Langweer, NL

These Latin abbreviations indicate that he transferred the artist’s drawing to a copper plate for printing. Fritzsch’s involvement is characteristic of the Amsterdam edition of Buffo...

Category

Antique Late 18th Century Dutch Prints

Materials

Paper

English Pottery Pearlware Blue Chinoiserie Bowl

$750

H 4.5 in Dm 11 in

English Pottery Pearlware Blue Chinoiserie Bowl

Located in Downingtown, PA

This process involved engraving the design onto a copper plate, printing it onto tissue paper, and transferring the pattern onto the unfired body.

Category

Antique Late 18th Century English Georgian Serving Bowls

Materials

Pearlware, Pottery

Don Swann Original Etching Blackheads at Evening 53/300, Framed

$325

H 7.5 in W 9 in D 1.15 in

Don Swann Original Etching Blackheads at Evening 53/300, Framed

Located in Clifton Springs, NY

The piece was etched onto copper plates prior to printing a series of 300; this print is 53/300.

Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Drawings

Materials

Paper, Wood

Set of Four 19th Century English Victorian Nature Printed Ferns in Black Frames

$5,700 / set

H 29.25 in W 21.5 in D 1 in

Set of Four 19th Century English Victorian Nature Printed Ferns in Black Frames

Located in Atlanta, GA

Nature-printed ferns were created in Victorian England by pressing actual specimens in lead, transferring the image by electrotype to a copper plate and printing and hand-coloring ea...

Category

Antique 19th Century English Prints

Materials

Glass, Wood, Paper

Recent Sales

Copper Waterway Map Printing Plate of Winchester, VA

Unavailable

H 18.63 in W 16 in D 0.07 in

Copper Waterway Map Printing Plate of Winchester, VA

Located in Cookeville, TN

This is a unique antique copper printing plate for Winchester, Virginia. It is a waterway plate.

Category

Antique Late 19th Century American Other Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Copper

Copper Topographical Map Printing Plate of Winchester, VA

Unavailable

H 19.5 in W 16 in D 0.07 in

Copper Topographical Map Printing Plate of Winchester, VA

Located in Cookeville, TN

This is a unique antique copper printing plate for Winchester, Virginia. It is a topographical plate.

Category

Antique Late 19th Century American Other Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Copper

Vintage Copper Printing Blocks of Bayard Shotgun Rifles

Unavailable

H 0.89 in W 7.29 in D 2.66 in

Vintage Copper Printing Blocks of Bayard Shotgun Rifles

Located in Antwerp, BE

Three copper printing plates used to print advertisements for Belgian Bayard rifles, circa 1940.

Category

Early 20th Century Belgian Paperweights

Materials

Copper

John Lennon "Imagine" Lyrics Printing Plate

Unavailable

H 36 in W 24 in D 0.125 in

John Lennon "Imagine" Lyrics Printing Plate

By LeRoy Neiman

Located in Hudson, NY

Artist Leroy Neiman's portrait of John Lennon with his lyrics for the song "Imagine".

Category

Late 20th Century American American Classical Posters

Materials

Copper

Memorial Textile, Washington & Franklin, President Presidential

Unavailable

H 52 in W 45 in D 2 in

Memorial Textile, Washington & Franklin, President Presidential

Located in Acworth, GA

By the mid-18th century copper plates had replaced wooden blocks, which permitted finer details and a larger printing area.

Category

Antique 1790s British American Classical Historical Memorabilia

Materials

Cotton

Original Copper Engraving Plate Lady Charlotte Finch, 1755

Sold

H 13 in W 8.96 in D 0.2 in

Original Copper Engraving Plate Lady Charlotte Finch, 1755

Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire

A fine original antique copper engraving printing plate with a seated portrait titled The Right Honorable The Lady Charlotte Finch.

Category

Antique 1750s English More Furniture and Collectibles

Materials

Copper

Pair of French Astronomy and Geometric Renderings by Artist Bernard Direx

Sold

H 21 in W 16 in D 0.75 in

Pair of French Astronomy and Geometric Renderings by Artist Bernard Direx

Located in Atlanta, GA

Each rendering was originally part of a larger book, and are copper plate engraved (a printing process by which a plate was etched or engraved with the image and then put through a p...

Category

Antique 18th Century French Decorative Art

Materials

Wood, Paper

Pair of 18th Century French Framed Bernard Direx Astronomy / Geometric Rendering

Sold

H 21 in W 16 in D 0.75 in

Pair of 18th Century French Framed Bernard Direx Astronomy / Geometric Rendering

By Bernard Direx

Located in Atlanta, GA

Each rendering was originally part of a larger book, and are copper plate engraved (a printing process by which a plate was etched or engraved with the image and then put through a p...

Category

Antique 18th Century French Prints

Materials

Wood, Paper

Collection of 3 Framed 18th Century Bernard Direx Geometric Renderings

Sold

H 21 in W 16 in D 1 in

Collection of 3 Framed 18th Century Bernard Direx Geometric Renderings

By Bernard Direx Renderings

Located in Atlanta, GA

Each rendering was originally part of a larger book, and are copper plate engraved (a printing process by which a plate was etched or engraved with the image and then put through a p...

Category

Antique 18th Century French Decorative Art

Materials

Glass, Paper

Pair of Mechanical and Geometrical French, 18th Century Framed Renderings

Sold

H 21 in W 16 in D 0.75 in

Pair of Mechanical and Geometrical French, 18th Century Framed Renderings

By Bernard Direx

Located in Atlanta, GA

Each rendering was originally part of a larger book, and are copper plate engraved (a printing process by which a plate was etched or engraved with the image and then put through a p...

Category

Antique 18th Century French Decorative Art

Materials

Wood, Paper

18th Century Bernard Direx Geometric Renderings in Frames

Sold

H 21 in W 16 in D 1 in

18th Century Bernard Direx Geometric Renderings in Frames

By Bernard Direx Renderings

Located in Atlanta, GA

Each rendering was originally part of a larger book, and are copper plate engraved (a printing process by which a plate was etched or engraved with the image and then put through a p...

Category

Antique 18th Century French Decorative Art

Materials

Wood, Paper

1864s Paravia Milano Antique Rare Physical and Political Terrestrial Globe

Sold

H 22.8 in Dm 11.6 in

1864s Paravia Milano Antique Rare Physical and Political Terrestrial Globe

Located in Milan, IT

Elegant base in turned and ebonized wood with equatorial circle covered with printing paper on copper plate and hand watercolored depicting the signs of the zood, a sphere in paper m...

Category

Antique 1860s Scientific Instruments

Materials

Paper

Boston Terrier Copper Printing Plate on Board

Sold

H 14 in W 9 in

Boston Terrier Copper Printing Plate on Board

Located in New York, NY

Copper Boston Terrier Printing Plate

Category

Vintage 1940s American Decorative Art

Materials

Copper

American Indians "The Storm -- Apache"

Sold

H 27.5 in W 24.5 in

American Indians "The Storm -- Apache"

By Edward S. Curtis, 1868-1952

Located in Florham Park, NJ

This included 19 complete bound sets of The North American Indian, thousands of individual paper prints, the copper printing plates, the unbound printed pages, and the original glass...

Category

Early 20th Century American Photography

1735 Johan Homann Hand Colored Scandinavian Map Extremely Rare

Sold

H 25.79 in W 28.35 in D 0.6 in

1735 Johan Homann Hand Colored Scandinavian Map Extremely Rare

By Johann Baptist Homann

Located in Drottningholm, SE

Around 1693 Homan briefly relocated to Vienna, where he lived and studied printing and copper plate engraving until 1695. Afterwards he returned to Nuremberg where, in 1702, he found...

Category

Antique 1730s German Prints

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Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Tableware Dinner Service, Denmark 1961

$5,660 / set

H 0.99 in Dm 9.85 in

Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Tableware Dinner Service, Denmark 1961

By Royal Copenhagen

Located in Delft, NL

Royal Copenhagen porcelain tableware dinner service, Denmark 1961 A Royal Copenhagen porcelain dinner service with pattern number 595, the floral golden basket Flowers in the ce...

Category

20th Century Danish Porcelain

Materials

Porcelain

Set of 12 English Raised Gilt Porcelain Dinner Service Plates

$1,749 / set

H 0.5 in Dm 10.5 in

Set of 12 English Raised Gilt Porcelain Dinner Service Plates

By Royal Worcester

Located in Lambertville, NJ

A regal set of 12 elaborately gild service plates, by Royal Worcester. The set with delicate broad gilt borders with a white porcelain background. The mark on the back from 1950.

Category

Vintage 1950s American Dinner Plates

Materials

Porcelain

Magnificent French Antique Porcelain 116-Piece Dinner Set, 19th Century

$60,000

H 12 in W 14 in D 7 in

Magnificent French Antique Porcelain 116-Piece Dinner Set, 19th Century

Located in Montreal, Quebec

116 Pieces A magnificent French Antique porcelain 116-piece dinner set, 19th century, with burgundy and gold accents. This set is exceptionnal both in its beauty, its state of con...

Category

Antique Late 19th Century French Belle Époque Tableware

Materials

Porcelain

Minton Porcelain "English Rose" Pattern Part Dinner Service, 20th Century

$950 / set

H 1 in Dm 10.75 in

Minton Porcelain "English Rose" Pattern Part Dinner Service, 20th Century

By Minton

Located in Ottawa, Ontario

A Minton porcelain 'English Rose' pattern part dinner service 20th century. Comprising nine dinner plates 10¾ in. (27.3 cm.) diameter. Nine 6 1/8 in.(15.5cm.) bread and butter...

Category

Mid-20th Century English International Style Porcelain

Materials

Porcelain

English Scenic Porcelain Dessert Service, Mid-19th Century

$800 / set

H 5.88 in Dm 9.38 in

English Scenic Porcelain Dessert Service, Mid-19th Century

Located in Ottawa, Ontario

English Scenic porcelain Dessert service, mid-19th century, polychrome hand-painted with three various romantic landscape scenes in a round cartouches on a pink border, decorated wit...

Category

Antique Mid-19th Century English Victorian Serving Pieces

Materials

Porcelain

English Minton Porcelain Tableware Dinner Service / Twelve People

$5,500 / set

H 2 in W 7.25 in D 10 in

English Minton Porcelain Tableware Dinner Service / Twelve People

By Minton

Located in Tarry Town, NY

Minton hand painted and decorated porcelain dinner service for twelve people. Made in England between 1948 -1970 "with impressed marks "Minton / china / 2-65" and pattern numbers in...

Category

Mid-20th Century English Tableware

Materials

Gold

Wonderful Service 12 Minton Ovington's Raised Gold Hand Painted Dinner Plates

$1,575 / item

W 10.5 in D 10.5 in

Wonderful Service 12 Minton Ovington's Raised Gold Hand Painted Dinner Plates

By Ovington Brother At New York, Minton

Located in Roslyn, NY

A Wonderful Service Of 12 Minton Raised Gold Hand Painted Dinner Plates Retailed By Ovington's New York, Seem To Have Never Been Used Some Retaining Original Sticker.

Category

20th Century English Belle Époque Dinner Plates

Materials

Porcelain

12 Copeland Spode England Blue Willow Plates, Gilt Trimmed Circa 1880

$760Sale Price / set|20% Off

H 1 in Dm 8.8 in

12 Copeland Spode England Blue Willow Plates, Gilt Trimmed Circa 1880

By Copeland Spode

Located in West Palm Beach, FL

A classic and elegant pattern of all over blue on Copeland Spode's crisp white porcelain. A Blue Willow scene throughout in nice detail. They also feature 24 karat gold rims which re...

Category

Antique 1880s British Chinoiserie Dinner Plates

Materials

Gold, Enamel

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Copper Printing Plate For Sale on 1stDibs

Choose from an assortment of styles, material and more with respect to the copper printing plate you’re looking for at 1stDibs. Each copper printing plate for sale was constructed with extraordinary care, often using paper, ceramic and fabric. You’ve searched high and low for the perfect copper printing plate — we have versions that date back to the 18th Century alongside those produced as recently as the 21st Century are available. A copper printing plate, designed in the Baroque, Victorian or modern style, is generally a popular piece of furniture. You’ll likely find more than one copper printing plate that is appealing in its simplicity, but Johann Baptist Homann, Villeroy & Boch and Bernard Direx Renderings produced versions that are worth a look.

How Much is a Copper Printing Plate?

Prices for a copper printing plate can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — at 1stDibs, they begin at $79 and can go as high as $67,013, while the average can fetch as much as $1,031.

Questions About Copper Printing Plate

What are copper plates used for?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
Copper plates are often preferred by chefs as the cookware of choice because copper is an excellent heat conductor. For dinnerware, the aesthetics are a bonus, with the copper of the plate giving off a rustic, earthy appeal. You can shop a selection of copper dinnerware from some of the world’s top sellers on 1stDibs.
Are plate signed prints worth anything?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertJune 30, 2023
Whether plate-signed prints are worth anything depends on the artist, the rarity of the piece, its condition and other factors. While artists’ editions tend to be more affordable and available than his or her unique works, and so new collectors are often directed toward prints as a starting point, accessibility, however, does not mean prints appreciate at a different pace from other mediums. The market for paintings increases parallel to the prints market (and a signed work may be more valuable to collectors than an unsigned print). A certified appraiser or art industry professional can evaluate specific prints and determine their value. On 1stDibs, shop a range of prints from some of the world’s top galleries.