Never to be repeated : cancellation proofs in the Kenneth Tyler Collection

A cancellation proof is a print created from a defaced printing matrix. Their purpose is to provide assurance that a 'limited edition' is truly limited, by demonstrating that no further identical prints can be made.1 According to most definitions, the creation of a cancellation proof is an act of destruction that permanently voids the artist's intended image. Although cancelling matrices and creating cancellation proofs has been a common practice since the advent of creating artist prints in limited editions, very little is written about this subject other than descriptions of how cancellation proofs are made, definitions of them, with regard to their record-keeping function, or explanations of the role of cancellation with regard to rarity and authenticity. While the process of cancelling matrices and the primary purposes of creating cancellation proofs are well acknowledged, the cancelled images themselves are seldom examined. Although some examples are held in museum collections they are almost never displayed in exhibitions or reproduced in publications. By considering cancellation prints only within the narrow scope of their practical function - overlooking the visual qualities of the objects themselves - a number of interesting ways of considering this type of prints remain unexamined.