Custom Puzzle Craft's ~ K. Chin ~ Gallery Puzzles
Mass Produced Lithographs
Prints from which Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles may be ordered
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Mass Produced
Lithos

K. Chin Mass Produced Lithographs
The most comprehensive collection of K. Chin mass produced images anywhere!

In the early 1970's, K. Chin was prolific, producing quite a few sets of prints which were mass produced by several companies:

Donald Art Co. Inc.
Bernard Picture Co., Inc.

Arthur A. Kaplan, Co., Inc
Art Show

Gateway Home Decorations
C.H. Stuart, Inc.
A.C. Inc.

If you have any information about the publishing history, name changes, ultimate disposition or any other information about these companies, please contact me.

The mass produced prints were usually 12" x 9" or 8" x 10" and published in sets of four or five. Most of these mass produced prints were first produced on borderless paper and were not hand signed. Some of these prints were later available from K. Chin's Carmel by the Sea gallery in a premium edition - they had white borders, were frequently hand signed, and less frequently were stamped with a red Chinese lettering chop mark and sometimes had the words "Carmel by the Sea" hand written along the bottom. All of these premium prints retained the original publishing date and were copyrighted by the original publisher. There is no indication that the premium prints were limited editions.

The earliest mass produced prints I know about are dated 1972 and the last set 1978. The vast majority were done in 1972, 1973 and 1974. 1980 was a transition year when K. Chin started publishing under his own copyright and by 1981 exclusively under his own copyright as far as I can tell. 1981 was the first year that his red Chinese lettering chop mark and "Carmel by the Sea" appeared on prints copyrighted by K. Chin. I suspect the premium editions of the mass produced prints were signed and marked by K. Chin sometime after 1980 although they may have been printed well before then. As far as I know, no K. Chin prints printed after 1978 were mass produced, and many of them were expressly published as limited editions ranging from 250 to 5000 copies.

I have permission to make puzzles from all of the prints copyrighted by K. Chin. As for the mass produced prints, I have made just a very few puzzles. All attempts to locate the original publishers have failed, they apparently have all gone out of business or changed their names before the Internet became a widespread phenomenon. I have morphed into a K. Chin collector, so any K. Chin puzzle I make, must be made either from a duplicate image I have in my possession or a copy provided by you.

With the exception of Imperial Silver Dragon I do not sell K. Chin prints. I am a buyer for some prints.

Note: Almost all of the images on this page were created by me from prints in my possession. A few images were derived by me from images obtained from correspondence or elsewhere on the web ; some - particularly those on eBay - were of very poor quality or resolution and required considerable Photoshop work to make presentable here. For those prints with borders, only the interior portions are shown. Finally, there several series I know about that are not shown here due to lack of imagery.

Pricing information for puzzles 12"x9":

They are available as 200 piece (approx) puzzles in Long Round or Swirl Curl style for $200
They are available as 300 piece (approx) puzzles in Long Round or Swirl Curl style for $300
They are available as 216 piece Grid Line style puzzles for $180

An online mechanism for ordering these puzzles is not set up at this time
If you wish to order one of these puzzles, contact me at john@custompuzzlecraft.com

Pricing for puzzles from mass produced prints in other sizes, by request.

Note to eBay sellers:
If you use a copy of an image here in your auction (I know some of you do),
I would appreciate an acknowledgement to this website! John

K. Chin images published by Donald Art Co., Inc.
Images presented chronologically by copyright year

The Enchanted Forest series
Copyright 1972 Donald Art Co., Inc. Distributed by American Consumer, Inc.
The set of five prints was available for just $1.00 plus 25 cents for postage and handling!
The brochure advertising these prints mentions just one title, Snowy the Bunny (far right)
Mass produced without borders. I have seen the raccoon print with a white border.
The borderless series were also produced with "First Edition Limited Run" printed in a bottom corner,
also with 1972 date; I have no information regarding number of First Edition prints printed.
All images 12x9

Granny / Grandpa Vendor Cart series
Copyright 1972 Donald Art Co., Inc.
I'm guessing this two prints belongs to a series of four or five as everything I have by Donald Art is published in a series
The first image is from print I have with a decorated 1" border (like the shop borders, shown, below) and is signed and stamped
The second image was derived from a low resolution eBay image
First image is 12x9 plus 1" border, second unknown

Little Shop series
Copyright 1972 Donald Art Co., Inc.
The first image is from eBay, the rest from collection
There may be a fifth print
These prints have a decorated 1" border
Image is 8x6 plus 1" decorated border all sides, shown here
At least the first image was available as a 9x12 with border, on cardboard (shown here)

The K. Chin Wise Owls series
Copyright 1973 Donald Art Co., Inc. Distributed by American Consumer, Inc.
The set of five prints was available for just $1.00 plus 25 cents for postage and handling!
The brochure advertising these prints mentions just one title, "Love Birds" (first image)
Some of these images appeared in cheaply made cardboard Warren Built Rite Puzzles by Warren Paper Products Co.
I have seen the 3rd, 4th and 5th images with a one inch border (all signed, two of these with K. Chin mark and "Carmel by the Sea")
I've seen much smaller prints (the first two) hand mounted on plaques on eBay.
All images 9x12

Cute Children with Hats and Bonnets
Copyright 1973 Donald Art Co. Inc.
The images are 8x10" with 1/2" white border and 9x12" without border
The larger images, with their taller aspect, have some of the side imagery cropped.
The first two images are 8x10"(one has a K. Chin Chinese letters chop mark within the image)
The last three 9x12"
These are the only prints that I know of which are marked K.C. instead of K. Chin
All images 8x10 or 9x12

The Enchanted Jungles series
Copyright 1973 Donald Art Co., Inc.
I have seen all but the lion print with a border
All images 12x9

Morning Sun Series
Copyright 1973 Donald Art Co., Inc.
This series featured much bigger prints and the only square ones I know of
The images are 12x12" with 2" borders (16x16 total)
All are signed and stamped
Cardboard jigsaw puzzles were made from this series
All images 12x12

Lovable Friendly Pets
Copyright 1974 Donald Art Co., Inc.
Also published by Art Portfolio in the early 1980's
I have a set of four prints as shown in this row of images.
I have not see any of the prints with borders
All images 8x10

Friendly Jungle Pets
Copyright 1974 Donald Art Co., Inc.
Also published by Art Portfolio in the early 1980's
I have a set of four prints as shown in this row of images.
I have not see any of the prints with borders
All images 8x10

Tramp Clowns
Copyright 1974 Donald Art Co., Inc.
The images were produced in two sizes: 6x8 and 8x10
In the small size I have the complete set; in the larger size the second and third images.
I have not seen these images with borders
All images 6x8

Poker Playing Dogs
Copyright 1974 Donald Art Co., Inc.
K. Chin painted his own set of cool Poker Playing Dogs!
The first image contains a picture of a Victorian house in the background - K. Chin did a Victorian house series
The second image contains a picture of a Steamboat in the background - K. Chin did a Steamboat series
The there image contains a picture of an Owl in the background - K. Chin did an Owl series
The fourth image contains a picture of an Old Car in the background - I have never seen an Old Car print by K. Chin - is there a series out there?
All images 12x9

Kittens for C.H. Stuart Inc.
Copyright 1974 C.H. Stuart Inc. / Litho D.A.C.
These two images were mounted on heavy wood backing
I do not know of there are others
All images 8x6

Butterflies
Copyright 1975 Donald Art Co., Inc.
The first image is an Artist's Proof (see the K. Chin Paintings section for a picture of the Artist's Proof mark).
The second and third images are ©1975 Gateway Home Decorations
These two images are incredibly similar in style to the first one and I am taking the liberty to consider them as members of the same set
Internet search engines have nothing for Gateway Home Decorations
The fourth image was found on the internet (link lost) and reduced, the © info is illegible

The first three images are 10x8, fourth unknown, probably 10x8

Delightful Playful Pets (Sports Playing Animals)
Copyright 1975 Donald Art Co., Inc.
Also published by Art Portfolio in the early 1980's
All images without borders
All images 8x10

Magical, Mystical Unicorns
After a gap of a few years, the Unicorn series was printed
Copyright 1978 Donald Art Co., Inc.
1 - In the Beginning There were Unicorns
2 - The Captive Unicorn (Not Really)
3 - There's a Unicorn in My Garden
4 - Animals Can See a Unicorn
Also published by Art Portfolio in the early 1980's
All of these prints were also printed with 1/2" white borders and were signed
All images 8x10


K. Chin images published by Bernard Picture Co. Inc.
None of the Bernard Picture Co. K. Chin prints have copyright dates on them
No evidence any were ever filed with the U.S. Copyright office

The K. Chin Kitten series
Copyright Bernard Picture Co., Inc.
I have seen all but the black cat image with a border
Also available as 3.75 x 4.75 images mounted on plaques with beveled edges
All images 9x12, but images with borders smaller 8x10, 9x11 including border

The K. Chin Puppy Dog series
Copyright Bernard Picture Co., Inc.
I have not seen any with borders
All images 9x12

Baby Bear series
Copyright Bernard Picture Co., Inc.
This prints were also printed with 1" white borders
I saw a 3.75 x 4.75 image (the 3rd one) mounted on top of a small jewelry box on eBay
One auction has some "2 1/2 by 3" prints on plaques
The fifth bear image (a koala bear) Copyright A. C. Inc
Included here as it apparently was a "bonus" print if the set of the other four was purchased
The koala bear print occasionally appears with the other four on eBay
I know of no other K. Chin prints published by A. C. Inc.
All images 9x12

Butterflies
Copyright Bernard Picture Co., Inc.
The first two from my collection with 1/2" white borders and are signed and stamped within the image area
Second two from 3.75 x 4.75 images mounted on plaques with beveled edges
First two images 8x10, second two 3.75x4.75

Clowns With Small Pets
Copyright Bernard Picture Co., Inc.
A very popular series.
The first two from my collection - these have a 1" white border and are hand signed and stamped with K. Chin's red mark
The second two derived from eBay images - no border, not hand signed
Images 8x10; also published in 4x5 size
This series was also done in engraved plastic with some hand painting
Plastic Clown Images 7 7/8x9 3/4
At least some of these were sold, by Robert Sills Gallery, Inc., N. Hollywood CA.
Some other frames indicate "DC-NY 0703/C9"
The items are made of whitish very hard resin with black filled etching and then hand painted in spots. Copies may have different coloring.
I have the first three; the last was derived from eBay or correspondence imagery
The last image is titled "Mr. Chips & Puffin"
It is not clear that K. Chin did the coloration on the plastic, the ear coloration on the first cat is not in the K. Chin style.
K. Chin signatures were etched from the original images
I do not know of any other plastic series

Steamboat Paddle Ship series
Copyright Bernard Picture Co., Inc.
My prints have 1" white borders and are signed, don't know if they were published without borders
The prints were also done in a much smaller size, around 5" x 4"; (6" x 4.75" including border)
At least one of the prints (Natchez) was done is 18" x 14" size according to an eBay auction.
All images 10 x 8: Natchez, Belle, Mark Twain and New Orleans

Small Panoramic Owl prints with giant borders
Copyright Bernard Picture Co., Inc.
First of at least three sets of small prints with big borders making the prints 14"x11"
All of the images in these series appear to be derived from watercolors with much less brush strokes than usual
The ones I have are signed and stamped, not dated
Probably another image exists in this series
All images 7.75-7.94x4

Small Panoramic Seashell prints with giant borders
Copyright Bernard Picture Co., Inc.
Second of at least three sets of small prints with big borders making the prints 14"x11"
The second print is derived from correspondence and has a "1970" date in the lower left corner
No other Bernard Picture K. Chin prints have dates on them that I know about
It could be an identifier as they are normally in the lower left corner
Probably other images in this series
All images 8x4

Small Panoramic Mushroom prints with giant borders
Copyright Bernard Picture Co., Inc.
Third of at least three sets of small prints with big borders making the prints 14"x11"
The first print is in my collection, the second from a low rez eBay image
Probably other images in this series
All images 8x4


K. Chin images published by Arthur A. Kaplan Co., Inc.
None of the Arthur A. Kaplan Co. K. Chin prints have copyright dates on them
No evidence any were ever filed with the U.S. Copyright office

Adorable Outdoor Kittens and Puppies
Copyright Arthur A. Kaplan Co., Inc.
Also published by Art Portfolio in the early 1980's
All images 8x10

Victorian Houses
Copyright Arthur A. Kaplan Co., Inc.
I've been told that these images are of real houses in the Carmel by the Sea area
These images were popular and produced in several sizes.
I've seen a cropped instance of a 6x5" image, my set has 8x6" dimensions, I have one in 14x11, there may be a larger version
All images 8x6
Details hard to see here, from left to right: Running boy, Girl on swing, Boy with ball, Girl on porch

Oriental Flower Arrangements
Copyright Arthur A. Kaplan Co., Inc.
The prints were published in three sizes: 6x8", 11x14" and a giant 18x24" size
All three sizes were printed with 1" borders
From left to right: Camellias Orientale, Chrysanthemums Orientale, Peonies Orientale, Tulips Orientale
I have the complete set in the giant size - the prints are impressive, just a couple in other sizes

Jungle Animals
Copyright Arthur A. Kaplan Co., Inc.
I do not if there are more to this series, certain a good guess is that there are
Image 10x8

Big Eyed Animals
Copyright Arthur A. Kaplan Co., Inc. - published for Art Tree Treasures Inc.
This prints were published on cardboard and were unusually sized: 7x14" ("Published for Art Treatures, Inc.")
At least the Big Eyed Tiger and Fawn prints were also printed in 8x10" on cardboard and cropped ("Published for Art Treatures, Inc.")"
At least the Big Eyed Tiger print was also printed in a giant 16x20" size, also on cardboard, with the top and bottom cropped,
Finally, I've heard that these prints were published as plaques 6x12"

The first two images are from cardboard prints I have, the other two from low rez eBay images
The first three images have small owls in the background, the fourth, a being a picture of an owl, doesn't.
All images 7x14

France Series
Copyright Arthur A. Kaplan Co., Inc.
At least two cardboard prints were published based on early K. Chin painting
See K. Chin Paintings for details

K. Chin images published by Art Show
These prints are obscure - not necessarily rare - rather they are hard to locate
None of the Art Show K. Chin prints have copyright dates on them
No evidence any were ever filed with the U.S. Copyright office

I have three images © Art Show
AS-1003 - "Three Wise Owls" - 12x9, with 1" white border, hand signed and marked
AS-1005 - "The Inquisitive Owl" 8.7x11.5 with about a 1.5" border, not hand signed nor marked
This image also printed on higher quality paper, not cropped, slightly larger in a Limited Edition
AS-1006 - "Kitten with Puff Pull" 11.5x8.7 with about a 1.5" border, not hand signed nor marked
I have also included the Three Wise Owls within the K. Chin Mostly
Limited Editions section as the image is similar to others there
AS-1001 ?, AS-1002 ?, AS-1004 ?


Deeper into the Unknown
 The Koala Bear is nearly identical to the Koala Bear shown under Greeting Card Mini Puzzles, although the background is different
I do not have this one, I obtained the picture via correspondence.
The print is 9x12 and the heading "Koala Bear" is similar to the font used by Art Show.
Image 9x12 not clear if there is a border

Series or images I know about but have no or very poor quality pictures

Patriotic Picture Series
Flowers with White Wood Lattice with Green Background Border Series
Rooster 17x14" ?
Frankfurters Vendor 16.5x19" ?

John S. Stokes III
Custom Puzzle Craft
2350 Sixth Ave. #7H
San Diego, CA 92101

john@custompuzzlecraft.com

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