The plate was not part of the collections of De Jonghe, De Haan or Humber and is probably not in existence.

In the early ‘30’s Rembrandt made several drawings and etchings of old men, often with long beards. It is generally assumed that he made these portraits as an exercise for the larger paintings in which many individuals are included. This particular man for instance is supposed to be recognized in two paintings. The problem is that these paintings were made a year before the etching, that one is lost and one no longer attributed to Rembrandt. Maybe this man was a model for Rembrandt’s pupils a well.

There is some similarity to the old man in a painting A bust length study of an old man, attributed to Rembrandt and Lievens, which was formerly in the Staatliches Museum Schwerin and is now lost. The same model appears in a painting A Hermit reading in the Louvre, which is no longer attributed to Rembrandt (Corpus C16, Bredius 605).
Both paintings are dated around 1630.
In 1660 Moses ter Borch made a drawing after this etching, now in the Rijksmuseum.

NH lists three copies of which one (copy B) in the same direction, by James Bretherton (two states, 136 x 95 mm, WB 1).
There are two copies in reverse. Copy A is attributed to Michael Willmann and included in the Recueil de H.L. Basan (165 x 142 mm, WB 2,). It is erroneously listed in NH as ‘same direction’. A good impression is included in the collection ‘Rembrandt in Black & White’, number 309. Copy C is anonymous (two states, 78 x 63 mm, WB 3).

The etching is considered as special by De Claussin and Wilson.
Münz thinks the etching to be made by Johannes van Vliet and finished by Rembrandt as a (reversed) copy of a drawing in Weimar, now attributed to Ferdinand Bol, which in itself is made after A Hermit reading (see above).
The plate was made by a pupil according to Rovinsky and Singer.

NH, as all other authors, lists three states. All states are contemporary.
In the 1st state an area of the bust and the left shoulder is drawn in single lines.
In the 2nd state (NH, WB, R666, NU) the area is lightly burnished, leaving lines from the burnisher.
In the 3rd state (NH, WB, R665, NU) the face is reworked and the plate is cut at the right-hand side\, removing the last two figures of the date. Daulby mentions an impression that may have been, according to Van Regteren Altena, an even earlier state. It was ‘taken before the plate was cleaned. It is spotty in several places as high as the neck of the old man.’

Of the 1st state only one impression is known, in the Rijksmuseum. It shows corrections in pen and brown ink. These corrections were, however, not incorporated in the 2nd state. Based on the watermarks Hinterding concludes that there were several editions of the 2nd state, executed between 1631 and 1634.
The 3rd state was probably printed between 1636 and 1639.

In the 2nd state: Strasbourg bend with cm NA (c. 1629-31); Posthorn (c. 1632); Basilisk (c. 1634), for a total of three editions.
In the 3rd state: Foolscap with five-pointed collar (c. 1939-40); Arms of Württemberg; Strasbourg lily with LB, also for a total of three editions.

H 47, BB 31-E, G 240, M 62, Mz 41, RA 665-666, Cl 257, W 261, Bl 281, Du 276, CD 49
Hinterding 2006, p. 77-79; Schapelhouman 2006, p. 10-11; Hinterding 2008, p. 454-456;

NH/WB: 2nd state of III.
Very fine impression with delicate tone.
Sheet 119/118 x 117/116 mm, no margins, trimmed at or slightly within the platemark (= 0%).
Watermark: Basilisk (variant B.c. Hinterding 2006 II p. 69 and 310, III p. 115) to be dated around 1634, vertical chain lines.

In the collection of Adam Gottlieb Thiermann, a German art-dealer (d. 1861, Berlin, Lugt 2434), his mark in black ink, verso;
In the Kupferstichkabinett der Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Lugt 2482) their doublet mark in black ink, verso;
Their sale with Amsler & Ruthardt, Berlin, Sale 101, 1921, lot 1513;
In the collection of George Biörklund, (1887-1968, Stockholm, Lugt 1138c) his mark in blue ink verso;
Probably in his sale with Klipstein & Kornfeld in Bern in June 1957.

Rembrandt in Zwart-Wit, Westfries Museum – Hoorn, Het Markiezenhof – Bergen op Zoom, Stedelijk Museum Zutphen, Het Hannemahuis – Harlingen, Museum Gouda, Jan ten Horne Museum – Weert, Stadsmuseum Harderwijk, (March 2013-August 2015);
Rembrandt in Black & White: Schloβ Britz (Berlin), Bozar Expo (Brussels), Chateau de Penthes (Geneva), November 2015-October 2016;
Rembrandt, fotograaf avant-la-lettre, Museum De Reede (Antwerp), January – May 2023;
Rembrandt, 17th century photographer, Daegu Art Museum (Korea), November 2023 – March 2024;
Rembrandt, de fotograaf, Westfries Museum (Hoorn), June 2024 – January 2025;