Mission Street Wharf (plate B, small)

John William Winkler

Mission Street Wharf (Plate A, large) is illustrated on pages 72-73 in Master of Line: John W. Winkler—American Etcher. Mary Millman and Dave Bohn discuss this work and Winkler’s shift from Chinatown subjects to the waterfront: ‘In 1917, however Winks was content with the rigorous application of his newly acquired judgment. Thus, in the new waterfront subject matter developed in 1917, he can be observed unconsciously taking from his technical storehouse “whatever the subject required.” Building on the wharfside perspective he experimented with in the plate Irmgard, from the edge of San Francisco’s China Basin he needled one of his most famous images, erroneously titled from the day of its creation Mission Street Wharf. Interestingly, this plate was perfectly executed in its plein air version and resisted his later efforts to improve it. He made it larger, smaller, and even took a “detail” from its center. Yet the most he could ever bring himself to alter was the number of gulls in the air.’

Upon close inspection of this impression of "Mission Street Wharf" (plate b, small) versus the larger plate illustrated over pages 72 and 73, one can discern many differences—so many, in fact, that it appears that Winks etched an entirely new plate for this smaller version. It is described in the 1992 Winkler Studios list as "a few rare only"