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ISO: Robert Thom printing plate

From the Contact page:

I am wondering if you could offer any information about an item we found in the Detroit area. We have a Robert Thom printing plate “The temples and cult of Asclepius”. We can provide photos and measurements if you would like. We haven’t been able to locate anything even remotely similar and are wondering if it has some historical significance and value. Thank you so much!

Kind Regards,

Carla Abraham

Comments

  1. Amelia Hugill-Fontanel 24 February, 2022 at 3:17 pm

    Robert Thom was an artist who worked for the auto industry in painting photo-realistic illustrations, for example to advertise the interiors of cars. But we in the RIT Cary Graphic Arts Collection also hold several paintings that he made as part of a series commissioned by Kimberly Clark Corporation. These were called the “Graphic Communications Through the Ages.” https://www.rit.edu/carycollection/graphic-communications-through-ages

    Thom’s wikipedia entry, gives a general portrait: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Thom_(illustrator)

    I have a suspicion that your printing plate is derived from another commission that Thom undertook, perhaps relating to the Parke-Davis history of medicine series. Asclepius figures in Greek mythology as god of medicine, empowered by the secrets that snakes whispered to him as they curled around his staff. Perhaps tracking down that painting series will help put the plate in context.

    Reply

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