[greendmj]

We have a 19 x 23 print of Paul Emile Lecomte's Matin Grumeux which was purchased 30 years ago at a local yard sale in Mt. Carroll, Illinois. The letters SZL appear inside a triangle down in the lower left corner just before the handwritten (pencil) Matin Grumeux. The artists signature appears in pencil in the lower right corner. We had this piece reframed years ago and cannot see the upper right hand corner where the Paris Etching Society mark might be. Can you tell us what the triangle means. We realize that SZL stands for the initials of the printer who was a member of the once popular Etching Society. Any other information would also be greatly appreciated. Value?

[Clough]

What is below is from the following link on this site. It was originally posted by Curlyben, one of our fine Administrators of this site.
https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/art/paris-etching-society-szl-read-155531.html


Paris Etching Society SZL - Please Read

One of the best resources that I have found concerning Paris Etching Society is from Google answers, located HERE.
The response from scriptor-ga is very insightful.

Originally Posted by Scriptor-ga
Dear wayno,

Here is what I was able to find out concerning your print:

1. The SZ and L in the circle are the trademark of Sidney Z. Lucas,
who owned a printshop in New York in the years 1940 to 1960. He
produced a large number of prints after old etchings. Generally,
prints by Mr. Lucas seem not to reach very high prices, as several
examples indicate:

At Ruby Lane, two Lucas prints are for sale for $ 20.00:
http://www.rubylane.com/en/shop/item...s&itemid=01139

The Gallery Kathryn offers a set of two Lucas prints after works by
Jean-Louis Prevost for $ 50.00:
Missing Link
They also have two Ballerina prints after André Chevalier for $ 24.95
each:
Granny's Cupboard & Collectibles

These Old Things has several Sidney Z. Lucas prints in stock, for $
45.00 and $ 30.00 respectively:
Art & Photos

It might well be that certain Lucas prints are more rare and therefore
more valuable than others; but the general image is that they are
commonly not expensive.

2. The company name in the upper right corner is actually 'Paris
Etching Society'. As it seems, this New York enterprise was very
active in distributing prints and etchings mainly after works of
French and Flemish (Belgian and Dutch) artists. Many Paris Etching
Society prints are circulating, but nevertheless, hardly anything is
known about them. It is possible that this was an association of
professional etchers, of the kind mentioned here:

The Prairie Printmakers, by Stephen Goddard
http://www.ukans.edu/~sma/ppm/ppmintro.htm

The identitiy of the 'Paris Etching Society' remains a mystery; even
art collectors have no answers, as the New York Art World Message
Board dealing especially with this topic reveals:

http://newyorkartworld.com/bbs2/index.sht

The only thing for sure is that the Society was active at least from
the early 1930s to the mid-1960s and that prints bearing their
copyright are neither rare nor extremely valuable. Sidney Z. Lucas has
obviously been a member of the Society. This is, I'm afraid, all
information available on the 'Paris Etching Society'.

3. The correct name of the picture is "Sur la Dyle" ('On the Dyle
River', a river in Belgium), and the artist's name was Lucien
Dasselborne from the Province of Hainaut / Belgium, living from 1873
to 1952. His specialy were rural and village scenes. In accordance
with the testamentary wish of Lucien Dasselborne, a triennial contest
is organized by the care of the provincial Commission of the
Foundations of Grants of Hainaut, with the support of the Province of
Hainaut and the collaboration of the City of Turned. Alas, there is no
list of his works available, so the exact date when he drew 'Sur la
Dyle' remains unknown.

This is, I'm afraid, all I could find out. It is not very much, but I
hope it provides you. some useful information concerning the
approximate value of your print, its origin and the artist

Main sources:

Fred Robson, "Re: Paris Etching society Prints". Online posting in the
New York Art World message board for the Paris Etching Society, May
20, 2002.
http://newyorkartworld.com/bbs2/messages/232.html

New York Art World Message Board
WWWBoard Version 2.0!

New York Art World Message Board for The Paris Etching Society
http://newyorkartworld.com/bbs2/index.sht

La guide de la province Hainaut, service des relation publiques, 2002:
http://www.hainaut.be/leguide/loisir...s+institutions

Search terms used:
"La Dyle" etching: ://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22La+Dyle%22+etching&meta=
"lucien dasselborne" (via alltheweb.com):
AlltheWeb.com: Web results for ""lucien dasselborne""
"Paris Etching Society":
://www.google.com/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22paris+etching+society%22&lr=
"Sidney Z Lucas": ://www.google.de/search?q=%22sidney+z+lucas%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=de&meta=

Hope this was what you were looking for!
Regards,
Scriptor

Basically PES was set up by Sidney Z. Lucas, hence the SZL mark. He owned a printshop in New York in the years 1940 to 1960 where He
Produced a large number of prints after old etchings.
Generally, prints by Mr. Lucas seem not to reach very high prices.
At the end of the day they look nice, but that's about it.
Most of what is talked about them is from people "boiler rooming" the price on the supposed French history.

I hope this helps.