In order to keep an overview of every single copy of an edition, ARTBUTLER uses inventory numbers to save all edition copies as individual works. This means editions are easily accessed, edited and grouped. This article will explain how inventory numbers are used with editions and how to export and edit an edition run in ARTBUTLER.
Inventory Numbers for Editions
You can read Creating Inventory Numbers to learn more about the basics.
Editions, series, or other multiples, are identified by an additional copy number at the end of their inventory number, so each edition within the run can be identified with this number.
For Example:
- FB/E 01/100 Could stand for an edition [E] by Francis Bacon [FB] with the serial number 01 and the copy [edition] number 100, meaning it's the first edition from Francis Bacon in the system and it is number 100 within the edition [this doesn't refer to the entire edition run, only the number of that particular piece.]
This is done so that each individual edition within a run can have its own record: it can be consigned; exhibited; offered; invoiced; and shipped etc. independently and all this can be tracked and traced back to each piece within any given edition, just like any other unique artwork. Furthermore, particularly when dealing with large edition runs, the process of exporting editions, greatly reduces workload and time, as the edition is added to the system once and simply exported [copied].
Creating an Edition Run
To create multiple work records for the copies of an edition:
- Create the first record. You can view Adding a Work for more detail on this.
- Go to Works in your left hand side navigation. Select the New
button at the top of your right hand side list view. - A pop-up window will appear for you to create the inventory number for the work. Select the artist and work type. Click Suggest for the next sequential inventory number and add a 1 in the second empty field before selecting Create.
- Go to Works in your left hand side navigation. Select the New
Important
The inventory number cannot be changed once it has been created. The copy number has to be 1 if you want to automatically create a complete edition run from this record.