ABOUT THE CNs (Commemorative Nagel)

The CN stands for "commemorative Nagel". Many who are new to Nagel are not clear that these prints were created after his death in 1984. And as such they are POSTHUMOUS, not hand signed (obviously) and were created in much bigger editions sizes, some as many as 10,000.

However, although posthumous, the good news is that they are actual serigraphs—not cheap lithos like much of what passes for 'nagels' these days—and were printed by the Samper Silkscreen Company (the second printer used by Mirage to print Nagels and the only other legitimate printer) in the mid 1980's. Unlike a lot of Nagel posters, these were authorized and published by Mirage Editions, Nagel's publisher. Though posthumous, they are still wonderful works of art and had he not passed, would likely have gone on to become signed and numbered limited editions.

We aren't sure how many of each CN exactly were printed, although it's reasonable to assume there were fewer of this image than the subsequent CN titles, since it was the only the second one. No one really knew, least of all the publisher, Mirage Editions, what was going to happen. Probably 3,000 were in the run. For some reason, the first five CNs are considered the most collectible.
ABOUT CN2

CN2—aside from being the second Commemorative serigraph printed after Nagel's death in 1984—has the dubious distinction of being known as the "Most Counterfeited Nagel Serigraph". When I worked for Mirage, Nagel's publisher in the early '90's, I helped to coordinate the FBI's investigation of fraudulent Nagel prints. In 1993, tens of thousands of fake CN2's were discovered in a New Mexican garage. No one knows how many reached the market but we do know of dealers as far away as Minnesota reporting them.

When this came out, it really put the magazine on the map after which it was named.

It was also in the 'pipeline' along with CN1 and scheduled to be rolled out as limited edition. the legitimate ones were printed in 1984 and iin a much smaller number than subsequent CNs and as a consequence, seems to be much more desirable.

This one, we know to be authentic, since we have it in our possession.

This one is rated " fine" Size: 34X24", offered framed or unframed (it currently has good mats and a decent, hand-laquered black frame. We will ship it either way, but it makes sense to unframe it, since it'll cost as much to reframe it as it will to ship it framed).
A WORD TO THOSE NEW TO NAGEL
You will notice there is huge difference in price on Nagel's work. This is especially true on eBay where you'll see things for as little as $20. These prints are inexpensive, off-set lithographs and in some cases, are copies of famous Nagel images. Some are knock-offs of even the CNs. The 'real' Nagel collectible art, i.e., graphics and posters released during Nagel's life, you rarely see here, but they bring prices in three and four figures. If you'd like to see what a $3,000 Nagel looks like, click here.....
Although many of the Nagels you see on eBay are correct, there is also an awful lot of misrepresentation (some of it is admittedly inadvertant) and fraudulent listings. Be careful if you're thinking of spending any serious money. For more on that subject, follow THIS LINK to our Nagel site.