Print is charming but would not fetch much

Q. This hand-colored print is titled "Rural Italian Ball," with the notation, "Published and sold by Francois Vivares, According to Act of Parliament, November 21st, 1775." Directly under the image is "Fran: Zuccarelli pinxit" and, on the other side, "F. Vivares and Bartolozzi sculpt London." I would like to know its value.A. This delightful picture features a couple dancing in a forest clearing or glade while a small audience watches on either side. A bucolic image, it has a great deal of pastoral charm.Francois Vivares and Francesco Bartolozzi engraved this particular piece, based on the work of the rococo artist Francesco Zuccarelli (1702-1788). The word "pinxit" next to his name on the engraving simply means that Zuccarelli painted the original image. His work was more lyrical than realistic, and his Arcadian scenes featuring picturesque peasants earned him an international reputation during his day.Contemporaries highly praised Zuccarelli's work, and he developed a strong English market, owing to high-profile English patrons. He was so successful in that country that he became a founding member of the Royal Academy, and his work greatly influenced English landscape painting of the day.The printmakers - Vivares and Bartolozzi - were both expatriates living in London. Vivares (1708-1780) was French, and Bartolozzi (1727-1815) was Italian. Vivares helped introduce the rococo style to England and was a publisher of books as well as an engraver.An engraving is a print produced by carving an image into a metal or wooden plate. This is meticulous work, and these designs tend to wear down with use. Engraving was the most popular way of reproducing art until the mid- to late-19th century when lithography and, a little later, photographic reproductions began to find an audience for mass consumption. In other words, for a long time, engraving became the method of choice for reproducing original art. But later, technology did provide a way to produce less expensive prints in greater quantities.The question today is whether R.A.'s hand-colored engraving is an original or a later reproduction. It is hard to tell for sure from the single photograph provided, but more often than not, engravings with the line "Published According to Act of Parliament" are originals because this was a form of copyright protection. (In the United States, the phrase was "Entered According to the Act of Congress" along with a place and a date.)Despite their beauty and age, most engravings of Zuccarelli's paintings bring a relatively modest amount on today's market, and this suggests there is little profit in making modern reproductions.Unfortunately, this print seems to have a great deal of discoloration on half of the image. The hand coloring does add value, but we think the insurance replacement for this engraving is $150 to $300.bull; Contact Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson at Treasures in Your Attic, P.O. Box 27540, Knoxville, TN 37927 or via e-mail at treasures@knology.net.