Pre serv at ion fac si mi l e

pri n t ed on alkal i ne/bu ffered paper

an db ou n d b y
A c me B ookbi ndi ng
C ha rle st own , Massac hu sett s
2004
C O LO U R PRI N T I N G

C O L O U R P R I N T E RS
BY R . M . BU RC H

W I T H A C H A PT E R O N MO D E R N

P R O C E S S E S B Y W . G A M B L E

N E W Y O R K : T H E B A KE R TAYL O R C O .

1 9 1 0
 P R E FA C E
COLOU R pri n t in g is of thr ee orders r el i ef i ntagli o an d pi a no , , ,

g r a ph i c. Th e fi rst i nc l ud es such p r oce ss e

s as p r i nt i ng fr o m
wood bl ocks photo engr aved sur fa ces an d stereotype an d
,
-
,

el ectr otype pl a tes an d is in i t s incepti on the ol dest of al l

, , ,

the methods of produci ng printed pi ctures Engra vi ng i n .

i nt a gl i o comes ne xt i n po i nt of age da ti ng fr om as ea rl y ,

as 1470 80 i f not befo re an d the a r ts of engra vi ng in li ne or

-
, ,

st i ppl e on c c pper or steel pl a tes etchi ng mezzoti nti ng

, , .

a qua ti nti ng an d photogra vu r e come un de r thi s hea d

, There .

is of cou rse no a bsol ute p a nogra ph c printing the c l ass

, ,
l i —
—
to whi ch li thogra phy bel ongs as even the i n k on the surfa ce
of the stone or zi nc or al umi ni um pl a te sta nds out i n sli ght
,

r eli ef . Ea ch of these thr ee styl es of pri ntin g requires a

di ffer en t ki n d of pres s or ma chi ne .

As col our prin ti ng c a nnot be done wi th out col ou red i nks ,

a few w or ds on tha t bra nch of the subj ect will be of i nteres t .

Mox on the earli est English wri ter on printing (Lo ndon
, ,

di d not r efer to an y other i n k tha n bl a ck b u t the u se of ,

vermili on i n maki ng red i s touch ed u pon by M D Ferzol . .

.

i n hi s S c i en c e P ra ti qua dc l I mpri men e (S t O mer this

’ '

.
,

bei n g possi bl y t he first techn i cal r efer ence to col ou red pri nt in g
in k . In the ni th vol u me of the E”c yc lopédi c M éthodi qu e
( 175 1 ) a ppe a r ed an ar ti cl e on p ri nt i ng by M B r eton w h o .
,

then hel d the ofli c e of pri nter to the Ki ng of Fra nce He .

sta ted tha t al though red an d bl a ck i nks w ere the onl y

so rts i n common u se others cou l d be p r epa red by substi tu t
,

i n g verdi gri s for l amp bl a ck or vermili on wher e a gr een ,

in k was r equi red ; P russia n bl ue for bl ue i n k ; o rpiment

for yell ow i n k or fin e l ak e for vi ol et i n k
, These pigments .

wer e to be cal cined mi xed wi th whi te l ea d an d then incor

, ,

p o ra t e d w i t h v ar ni sh i n the us u a l w a y P a p ill o n i n h is . ,

trea ti se on wood engra vi ng suppl emented thi s by sayin g ,

 P REFA CE

tha t a wood col oured i n k coul d be ma de from umber an d a ,

bi stre one from wood soot H e al so r ecommended the use

.

of i ndi go an d Indi a n i n k The first Engl ish pa tent conn ected

.

wi th the ma nufa cture of col oured i n k for pri nting purposes

is tha t of J a mes Rowl ey i n 177 2 Thi s was for u se in printi ng
.

pl ayi ng c a r ds from copper pl a tes i n oil col ours

-
wi th a ,

peculi ar ki nd of i n k whi ch will bea r the l easi ng or po li sh

necessary to be gi ven to pl a yi ng cards whi ch no other i n k ,

known to the pri nters or ca r d makers is ca pa bl e of -

The
i n k was compou nded of the o rd i na ry i ngr edi ents used for
ma ki ng u p col ours for pai nti ng the car ds by ha nd but i nstea d
-
,

of mix i ng th em wi th wa ter Rowl ey used li nseed oil an d al um

, ,

boil ed an d cal ci ned Sa vage i n his book on the subj ect

.
, ,

says th a t pri o r to the publi ca ti on of hi s w or k on D ec ora ti ve

P ri n t i n g nea rl y al l typogra phe rs who essa yed to pri nt with
col our ed i nks ha d been b amed O nl y a very few i n k ma kers
.
-

were a bl e to suppl y such sor t s an d i t was generall y found,

tha t wha t was suppli ed was not r eal l y sui ta bl e for the purpose .

N o English wri ter on pri nti ng ma tters a ppea rs to ha ve men

'
t i on ed col ou red i nks prior to the pu bli ca t i on of N i chol so n s
Di c t i ona ry of Ckemi stry in 1795 an d he merel y r eferr ed to ,

red i n k sta t i ng tha t i n o r der to pr epar e i t vermili on shoul d

, , ,

be substi tuted for l amp bl a ck Dr Rees wri ti ng on Pri nt. .

,

i n g Inks i n his Cyol ofiazdc a a bout the same t ime ma de a

’

si mil a r r em ar k , an d a lso po i nted out th a t the a ddi ti on of

a pi ec e of fish gl ue the si ze of a nut a l i ttl e b ra ndy or the , ,

whi te of an egg ha d been hel d by some to improve the l ustr e

,

of red i n k Sa vage s D ec or a ti ve P ri n t i n g conta i ns deta il ed

.
’

r ec i pes for ma ki ng i nks of the col ours of the ei ght een sa mpl es

he gives .

The pres ent vol ume is not offer ed to t he r ea de r as a compl ete

history of Col our Pri nti ng but merel y consti tutes an a ttempt
,

to i ndi ca te some of the li nes on whi ch the compil a ti on of

su ch a book mi ght pr oceed It is mai nl y concerned wi th
.

Engl i sh col our work al though of cou rse r eferences to wha t

,

was don e i n other cou ntr i es cou l d not very well be ex cl uded ,

vi
PREFACE
parti cu l a rl y in the ea rli er cha pters a n d i t s sta rt ing po int i s ,

the mi ddl e of the fift een t h century from whi ch peri od ,

pri nti ng beca me gener al i n Eur ope There i s ha r dl y an y room .

for doubt th a t movabl e types wer e in u se in the Fa r E ast i n —

,
—
Korea for i nsta nce for some considerabl e ti me befor e but ,

this was i n all probabili ty qui te unknown to Gutenberg an d

hi s successors a n d so coul d h a ve ha d no possibl e i n flu en c e
,

upon thei r work In an y c ase there i s li ttl e or nothin g of

.
,

the ki nd exta nt th a t woul d l ea d to t he assumption tha t col ou r

pri ntin g was pra cti sed i n Fa r Eastern countri es pri or to
1450 as the earli est J a pa n es e col our pri nts seem to ha ve been
,

produced a bout the commencement of the eighteenth centu ry .

In Europe pri nti ng or sta mping in col our for one purpose
, ,

or a nother may h a ve b een i n use l ong befor e Gutenberg s ti me

'
.
,

It has even been su ggested tha t some art of the ki nd was pra e
t ised by the Rom a ns Ci cero in one of his l etters to his fri end
.
,

Atti cus r efers to a book whi ch he call s P eplo gr a phi a Va r

,

r oms desc ri pti ve of a method i nvented by Va rr o

'

, whereby ,

a nu mber of copi es of a col l ection of say por t ra i ts coul d be , ,

ma de for general di stri buti on Some seventy yea rs si nce .

,

seve ral wri ters wer e of opi n i on an d the R evu e (163 D ow:
—
—
Mon des a dopted the i dea tha t the pi ctur es were copi ed by
engra vi n g on i vor y an d tha t tin ted reprod ucti ons of them
,

were ma de on canvas by mea ns of seve ral pl a tes But t hi s

,
.

noti on i s now generall y a bandoned al though the preci se ,

n a tu re of the ben i gmssi mu m Va rr om s i n vmt u m i s still unkn own

' '

To des c end from the r egi on of specu l a ti on to tha t of fact ,

an all usi on may be permi tted to the so call ed Gosp el s of -

Ulphil a s a wor k of the fift h or si xth century preserved

f
, ,

in the Uni versi ty Li bra ry a t Upsal a Sweden the tex t of , ,

whi ch is i n gol d a n d sil ver on vel l um stai ned a pu rpl e ti nt

, .

The l etters a r e consi dered not to h a ve been wri tten i n t he

or di na ry wa y but stamped fr om typ es hea ted an d i mpres sed
, ,

on the vell um Papill on r el a tes a l ong tal e about two Itali ans
.
,

t he broth ers Cuni o who are sa i d to ha ve engra ved on wood

,

a seri es of pi ctur es ill u stra tin g the a cti ons of Al exa nde r t he

VI "
 P REFA CE

Gr ea t ,
pri nted i mpr essi ons from them in 1285 This
an d .

i s however now l ooked upon as a mere fa bl e whethe r i nvented

, , ,

by Pa pill on or not al though there i s no doubt of the a nti quity

,

of engra vi ng on wood an a rt whi ch was the first in u se for

,

pr oducing col our pri nts In the South Kensin gton M u seum .

a re some fr a gments of textil e fa br i cs bea ri ng p a tter ns whi ch ,

are consi der ed to ha ve been imp r essed fr om wood b l ocks

as ear l y as the el eventh or twel fth centu ry perha ps in the ,

neighbou rhood of Col ogne There is a woodcut of the Vi rgi n .

an d Chil d i n the B i bli o t heque N a ti on al e a t P a ris whi ch ,

Del a b ord e a ttributed to 1406 a n d a nother a t B r ussel s d a ted ,

14 18 but the a uthent i city of the da te i s doubted

, In the .

—
Spencer Ryl ands L ibr a r y at M a nchester is a woodcut of S t .

Ch ristopher da ted 1423 which is generall y l ooked upon as

, ,

the earli est known specimen of the a rt A D ecree of the .

Government of V eni ce in 144 1 was d i r ected to ,protecti ng ,

the l ocal i ndustry of produci ng col oured pl a yin g ca rds an d -

pictu res of sai nts aga inst the i mport a ti on of foreign goods
of th a t ki nd Ther e a re ni ne woodcuts of mi d fift een t h centur y
.
,
-

da te or ea rl ier preserved in the Bri tish Museum an d four

, ,

of thes e ar e printed in b rown i n k the col our co mmonl y used ,

for the Bl ock Books a n d one ther efo re whi ch a ppea rs to

, , ,

ha ve been popul a r a t the ti me of the i nventi on of printing .

The wri ter s a ttention was first dir ected to t he subj ect
’

of this book severa l yea rs ago the outcome be i ng a seri es ,

"
of a rti cl es on the History of P ri nting in Col ours compil ed ,

for a tra de pa pe r the B ri ti sh a n d Col on i a l P ri n t er a n d

,

S ta ti on ” whi ch appea r ed a t i nterval s i n tha t peri odi ca l

,

du rin g 1903 6 The ori ginal ma tter has however been

-
.
, ,

re w -
ri tten an d undergone compl ete revisi on consi de ra bl e ,

a ddi tions bei ng m a de whil st a t the same ti me those porti o n s

,

whi ch woul d ha ve but l i ttl e genera l interes t wer e del eted .

This l atter point the r ea der is des i red to bear i n mi nd ma ny ,

mi nor methods of col ou r pri nti ng h a vi ng been passed over ,

so tha t the a bsence of an y mention of a p roc ess ma y be rea son

a bl y a ttri buted not to wan t of knowl edge but to l a ck of

, ,

v i ii
 P REFACE

ma de to foll ow i t s fortunes i n deta il a fter the i nven tor s dea th ’

a ga p whi ch the wr i te r has t ri ed to fill The pr odu ct i on of .

”
the eighteenth century col our pri nt a subj ect upon whi ch ,

ma ny pens ha ve been empl oyed is p assed over r a ther cu rsori l y

, ,

as to deal a dequa tel y w i th i t woul d r equi r e a good pa r t of

thi s vol ume ; whil st trea ti ng i t i n b ri ef detail woul d l ea d
to the in cl usi on of a mer e ca tal ogu e of engra vers n ames ’

an d wo rks . It i s p resu med t ha t most of those i nto whose

h ands thi s book will fall ha ve some i nter est i n or a cquai nt ,

an ce wi th i t s subj ect
, ei ther as col our pri nters students or
, ,

a dmi r ers of col ou r pri n t i ng or coll ectors of col ou r ed pri nts

,

t he u se of techn i cal terms has however been a voi ded as , ,

much as possibl e . Thi s bei ng pra cti call y the first work
devoted excl usi vel y to a history of pri nti ng in col ours i t is ,

not possibl e to r efe r to previ ous a uthori ti es on the sa me su b

j e c,t as the w r i te r ha s mo stl y comp i l ed hi s m a tte r first h a nd -
,

as the r e s u l t of a person a l i nspecti on of the books or pri nts

r eferr ed to . Some usefu l notes ha ve however been ga thered , ,

from an i nteresti ng seri es of ar ti cl es on engr a vi ng i n col our

by Baron Roger P ortali s whi ch a ppeared i n the Gazett e dos
,

B ea u x A rt s i n 1888 90 -
N ot i ces rel a ti ng to col ou r p ri nti ng
.

ar e sca tte red th rough a numbe r of w orks deal i ng wi th vari ous

branches of ar t an d i ndustry an d these ha ve been consu l ted
,

or ma de use of as fa r as the w ri ter cou l d gai n i ntell i g en ce

of or a ccess to t hem . Much no doubt still remai ns to b e

, ,

done before a detail ed an d exha u sti ve hi story of pri nti ng

i n col ours c an b e compil ed as every cha pter of this work mi ght
,

b e exp anded i nto a vol u me but wha tever the shortcomi ngs
of t he pr es ent compil at i on ma y b e most a ttempts to b rea k -

n ew gr ou nd i n h istory possess them — they are a t l east not

due to an y wa nt of effor t on the wri te r s pa rt The stor e of ’
.

exampl es of col our p ri nti ng a t the Bri tish Museum i s not

easil y a ccessi bl e except to the experi enced wor ker there but ,

an ex cell ent an d fai rl y rep r es enta ti ve coll ecti on of speci mens

may b e seen a t a n y ti me by a nybody i n ter es ted at the Tech

, ,

n i c al Li br ary of the S t B ri de Fou nda ti on i n B ri de L ane

.
, ,
P REFA CE

Fl eet Str eet In thi s connecti on the wr i ter s tha n ks are due
.
,
’

to Mr R A P ed di e i n cha rge of tha t secti on of the L i brary

. . .
, ,

for much useful hel p an d many val ua bl e hi nts .

It will not be out of pl a ce here per ha ps to suggest to the , ,

second h a nd booksell er th a t he a dopt the ha bit of desc ri bing

-

d efin i t el y in hi s ca tal ogues the n a tur e of the col oured ill ustra
ti ons in the books whi ch p ass thr ough hi s han ds M ost of .

hi s cl ass a ppea r to thi nk th a t the term col oured print

su fi c es for every possi bl e r equi remen t r egar dl ess of whethe r ,

the col ouri ng be a ppl ied by ha nd or by the p ress an d if the ,

l a tter to wh a t cl ass the pri nts be l ong

, whether intagl io ,

r el ief or li thogr a phic

, The wr i ter has tested hundr eds of such
.

entri es i n booksell ers ca tal ogues onl y to fin d tha t the pri nts
’

menti oned i n nin e ten ths of them ha d been col our ed wholl y
-

or p ar tl y by h an d ev en in cases whe re i t w as di sti nctl y st a ted

tha t they were pri nted i n col ours A n a ccura te bibli o .

”

gra phy of books ill ustra ted by pi ctures pri nted i n col ours
woul d be of consi dera bl e servi ce to the futur e hi stori a n of
col our pri nti ng Pin gren on in hi s L i m es Gmt s
.
,
en

Cou l eu r g iv es a l ong bib li ogr a phy a t the en d of the

vol ume but so fa r as the wr i ter has tested i t i t is of li ttl e more
, , ,
'
val ue from hi s poi nt of view tha n the or di na ry booksell er s
, ,

ca tal ogue as most of the entri es r el a te to books containing

,

hand col our ed pl a tes an d no a ttempt i s ma de to separa te

-
,

thes e fr om the others .

Regar d be ing ha d to Mr W Ga mbl e s ex per t k nowl edge of . .

'

modern col our printing proces ses hi s cha pter descripti ve ,

of t hem i s a disti nct a cquisi ti on to the vol ume an d serves ,

to brin g the subj ect ma tter a b sol utel y down to da te The .

wri ter s own MS has also ha d the a dvantage of Mr Gambl e s

’
. .
’

perusa l a n d fri endl y cri ti cism .

B y wa y of a ppendi x to wh a t is sa id on p ages 67 8 a bout the -

Germa n col our printed bota nica l pl a tes i t ma y be menti oned

-
,

—
tha t a few pl a tes of simil ar cha ra cter pe r ha ps inspired by
w
the others h ch are of contemporary da te ma y b e seen in
i ,
—
Mar tyn s edi ti on of Vi rgi l London 174 1
’

, , .

X1
 P REFA CE

Si nce Cha pter IV went to press the wri ter s a ttention has ,
'

been di rected to a coupl e of ol d col ou r pri nts exhi bi t ed a t the

South Ken si ngton Mu seum whi ch are undoubted exa mpl es
,

of the mecha ni cal pai nti ng process opera ted by Boul ton
Wa tt of Soho (Bi rmi ngham) a bout 1780 t hi s was perha ps
, ,

i denti cal wi th the P ol ygra phi c meth od They were a cquir ed .

by S ir Fra nci s Peti t Smith (then cur a to r of the Pa tents Museum ,

but better known as the i nventor of the screw propell er) in

1863 on the occ asi on of a visi t to S i r M P W Boul ton
, The . . . .

'
subj ect s a re a Sl eeping Cupi d in fa csi mil e of Ryl a nd s
,

sti ppl e engra vi ng a fter A ngeli ca K a u ffm a nn an d Di an a an d ,

Endymi on Al though i t has been all eged tha t the copi es

were produced by photogra phic methods this ca nnot be the ,

case as they di fi er in var i ous sma ll details The Dia na

, .

pri nt is a ppa rentl y in the th ree prima ry c ol ours red bl ue an d , ,

yell ow an d to all a ppea ra nce has been printed fr om a pl a te

,

i nk ed d l a pou fl a the other is somewha t si mil ar The l a te .

Mr Vi ncent Brooks was of opi nion tha t a qu a t i nt was the

.

p rocess used an d an i nspecti on of the uncol our ed dupli ca tes

,

exhi bited in the sa me fra me tends to c on firm the i dea S ir .

M P W Boul ton s Remar ks on thes e pi ctur es (1865) does

. . .
'

not throw an y real light on the subj ect al though the wri ter ,

of the notice of Eglin ton i n t he D N B seems to thi n k th a t he. .

(Bo u l ton ) full y exp l a i ned i t .

Apropos of wha t has been sai d on pages 2 11 2 a bout the -

Arundel Society for P romoti ng the Knowl edge of Art (to gi ve

i t i t s full ti tl e) i t ma y be menti oned tha t r o u nd a bout 1870
they a cted as publishers for the South Kensi ngton M useum
,

a utho ri ti es of some seri es of

, Chr omo l i thogr a phs of obj ects
of Art exhi bited there i n several el epha nt foli o pa rt s on l y
, ,

a n odd on e of whi ch seems to ha ve found i t s w a y to the B riti sh

Muse um .

The two col our i n i ti al to Cha pter I is copi ed from on e

-

in the Can on of The Ma ss of 1458 mentioned on ,

page 4 .

The a cknowl edgments of both wr i ter a n d publishe rs a re

X11
P REFA CE

due to Mr E Wil fred Eva ns for pri nting an d to Messrs

. .
, ,
.

Wam e Co for permi ssi on to u se on e of Mi ss K a te Green

. ,

aw a y s pi ctu r es exampl e of wood bl ock pri nting i n

'
as a n ,
-

col ours .

The exampl es of modern col our processes furnished by ,

r epr es enta ti ve firms enga ged i n the wo rk a lso serve to il l ust ra te ,

many of the r eferences ma de to them The Rembra ndt .

Inta gli o Company s co l our print i s nota bl e as being the first

’

exa mpl e of thei r process used for book il l ustra ti on Messrs . .

Ca rl Hentschel L t d who ha ve done pi oneer work i n devel opi ng

,
.
,

the thr ee col our process show a good exa mpl e of their Col or
-
,

type method whi ch has been l argel y used for the ill ustra tion
,

of nu merous high c l ass ar t books issued duri ng the l ast few

-

years Messrs A ndré

. Sl ei gh L t d who ha ve al so done a
.
,

vast am oun t of fin e book ill ustra tion by the three col ou r -

bl ock process an d ha ve ma de a speci al i ty of reproducing the

,

pi ctures in ou r n a ti on al gall eri es contri bute a speci men of the i r ,

new screenl ess proces s whi ch ma y al most be descri bed as ,

the l ast wor i n three col our repr oducti on Messrs John
-
. .

Swai n Son s reprodu cti on of a port rai t is a nota bl e resul t

’

by a firm who h ave ha d a l arge par t in successfull y devel opi ng

the proces s of thr ee col our bl ock ma king an d printi ng -
.

The P res s Etchi ng Co s specimen of the i r .

’
Presc ol t i n t
process i s i nter esti ng as an exam pl e of skil ful ha ndwork
on a photogr a phi c basi s an d comb in ing both gr a in a n d h a l f ,

tone dot pl a tes The pl a te by Mr C G Zan der s Com

. . . .
’

p l em en t a r y Co l ou r P r oces s il l ust r a tes mo r e fo r ci b l y th a n the

pri nted descripti on the fea tu res of hi s method The cha rmi ng .

li ttl e p ri nt by the London County Cou ncil School of P hoto

engrav i n g an d L ithogra phy not onl y demonstra tes the success
of t he tea chi ng but al so shows the possibil ity of printi ng on a
,

pur e rag pa per i nstea d of the highl y sur fa ced cha l k coa ted -

pa pers commonl y used for hal f tone printin g The Ha l i Tone -

.
-

Co s fou r col our r eprodu cti on of one of the col our ed p rints i n
’
-
.

Savage s book i s a cha ra cteri sti c exampl e of the possi bil i ti es

’

of the proces s The three col our reproduction i n the

.
-

m
ar
 PREFACE

Met zograph grai n from the Process Studios of Geo N ewn es

, .
,

L t d i s a wel come contr i but i on as showi ng a di stinctl y new

.
, ,

styl e of tr ea tmen t w hi ch has gr ea t p romise Messrs Bemrose

, . .

8: Sons L t d Derby an d Messrs Ta yl or Br os Leeds ea ch

, .
, , . .
, ,

show distinct styl es of mul ti col o ur pr i nt i ng whi ch a r e most -

,

val uabl e for compa ra ti ve purposes O ther ex am pl es of th ree .

col our pri nti ng h ave been contri buted by Messrs Ma cfa rl a ne .

8c E rski ne a n d Messrs J J Wa ddi ngton L t d ; a lso one

, . . .
, .

i n four col ou rs by the Gra phi c P hoto Engra vi ng Company -

.

These a re of i nter est as being modern repr oductions of

ol d col oured pi ctur es In the c ase of the port ra it of
.

i ,
i —
Gui do Reni t was thought des rabl e the ori gi n al i tsel f
—
being i n th ree col our s to show t he pri nt in i t s successi ve
stages of r eproducti on by the moder n th r ee co l our p rocess -
,

thus furni shi ng wh a t the wri ter beli eves to be a uni que series
of pi ctures of thi s kin d they h ave been pri nted a t the publi sh
ers
’
own esta bli shment The stages are (1) first col our .
,

2
( ) second co l ou r ( )
3 second col o u,r on fi rst an d ()
4 thi r d ,

col our the pri ntin g of whi ch on (3) produces t h e fin i shed

,

pi ctur e Outdoor col ou r scr een photogra phy in connect i on

.
-
,

wi th the three col our pri nti ng method has not hi ther to been
-
,

much pra cti sed owi ng to i nher ent di ffi c u l t i es but an exampl e

, ,

by the Marshall Engra vi ng Co i s i nc l uded i n thi s vol ume . .

The Arc Engr a vi ng Co L t d who i n 1897 wer e the first to .

, , ,

a ttempt wo rk i ng t he d i r ect thr ee col ou r process wi th -

coll odi on emul si on show a good ex amfl e of thei r rec ent work
, .

A ch ara cteri sti c exaxn pl e of everyda y work i n chr omo l itho -

gra phy by the new O ffset process is provi ded by M essrs .

Geo Man n . Co an d an excell ent spec imen of col o u r wo rk

di rect fr om t he stone has been suppl ied by Messrs Mc Ca w .
,

Stevenson Orr L t d Coll otype in col ours i s a process very

, .

sel dom oper a ted in thi s cou nt ry a n d ther efo r e the ex a mpl e ,

of this cl ass of work th a t is contri buted by Messrs W T . . .

Gai nes will be of i nterest L etterpress col our pri nti ng from .
-

—
type is well exempli fied by the ol d styl e speci men sent by
Messrs Geo Fal kn e r
. . Co .

Fina ll y we h a ve to tender ou r thanks to the Lon don County

,

XI V
P REFACE

Council School of P hoto engra vi ng an d L ithography for the

-

l oa n of the bl a ck an d whi te i nit i a l bl ocks for the ch apters

- -
,

wi th the excepti on of th a t for Cha pter X which wa s designed

,

—
an d engr a ved by the P hoto P r ocess D ept . of the Municipal
School of Technol ogy Manchester
,
.
 L I ST OF I L L U ST R A T I O N S

HA L F T ON E S
GE ORGE B A XTE R
K E Y P L ATE or B A X I E R S
’
n ou v n oc xs
‘ '

0 150 c . LE IGHTO N.

B E N J AMI N FAWC E TT
—
RU D O LF KN d FL E R HE I N RI CH KN OFL E R
'

GOD E FR O I E N G E L MAN N
E —
O W E N j ON S C HAS J OSE PH HU L L MA N DE L .

—
MI C HAE L H AN H A RT W I LLI AM D AY

COL OUR P R I N TS

ma nosc u n o P RI N T B Y J S KI FFE F r on t i sfizec e

‘

c .

m a a n o u n ou o r T HE MAGI : C H1A ROS CU R O B Y u oo DA C A RPI 22

po nr mu r o r A MA N : LI N E E N G RAVI N G m c or ou n s B Y
J T
. E YL E R .

or s u mo RE N I : TH RE E CO LOUR ME ZZO TI N T B Y
'
ponr na n -

L AS I N I O
LAN D SCAPE FRO M sa v a oa s D E CORATI VE P RI N TI N G ’

B AXTE R P ROCE SS P RI N T
WO O D B L OC K P RI N T A FTE R KATE G RE E NAW AY
-

LE TTE RP RE SS P RI N TI N G I N CO LO U RS FROM TY PE
CH RO MO LITHOG RAPH -

A CO N FE RE N CE I N T HE S IXTE E N TH CE N TURY ME ZZOC H R OME .

P HOTO G RAVURE I N CO LOURS

COLLOTYPE I N CO LOURS
TH RE E CO LOUR P RI N T THE LA D Y H ILD E GAR DE
-
.

TH RE E CO LOUR P RI N T CO P Y OF A N O LD MAS TE R
-
,

P R E S C OLT I N T P RI N T
TH R E E CO LOUR P RI N T B Y CO LOURTY PE P ROCE SS
-

TH RE E CO LOUR m um o n R AG PA PE R
-

TH RE E CO LOUR P RI N T B Y o u t n oon PHOTO G RAP HY

-

r mn zs c o r o u n p n mr FRO M a u r oc n nou n p u mas

- -

TH E HOL Y F AMI LY F o u n c owu n P RI N T -

sc na a m s ss m mss c owu n p n oc s ss P RI N T
-

Z AN D E R S Fo u n c owv n P ROC E SS P R I N T
’
-

ma r zoc na p n m as E c om v n P ROCE SS PRI N T

-

c u n om —
o u m oc m p n BY O FFS E T ME TH OD
xv i i i
 C o l o u r Pr i n t i n g an d
C o l o u r Pr i n t er s
CH A PTER I
COLO U R PR I N TI N G I N TH E FI FTEE N TH
C EN TU R Y

RI N TIN G in col ours al most

cer t ainl y ha d i t s origi n in
a ttempts to imita te by
mecha ni cal mea ns though ,

to a very li mi ted extent t he ,

col our decora tion of the

MSS whi ch furn ished the
.

t ext for the e arli est pri nted books .

It i s sca rcel y nec essary to poi nt out tha t i n

the a ges be fore the i nventi on of pri n ti ng all
book s we re in ma nuscri pt ei the r on pa per or
,

—
vel l um an d tha t in ma ny cases pa rt icul a rl y
,

as r egar ds d evoti on a l wo rks — the text of the

MS was i ll ustra ted by decora ti ve i niti al s
.
,

borde rs or other pai nti ngs i n col ours whi ch ,

were frequen tl y of a high order of meri t .

When l ett erp ress pri nti ng first bega n to be

p ra c t ised say in the mi ddl e of the fift een t h
,

c en tu ry the p ri nters took the MSS

, as thei r.

m od el s an d the type cutters imi ta ted the

,
-

l etteri ng of the sc ri bes . These l a tter as a ru l e onl y executed

, ,

the tex t of a book l ea vi ng the in i ti al s borders pi ctures an d

, , ,

decora tive a ccessori es to be fil l ed in by other hands those of the ,

r ubr i ca to rs an d the m i ni a tur e p ai nte rs

-
. The ea rl i est pri nters
a ppar entl y fel t unequal to the t ask of i mi ta ting th ese by

i mpressi ons from reli ef sur fa c es an d so li ke the con t empo ra ry

, ,

sc ri bes
, contented themsel ves wi t h pri nti ng the text of a
1
l
 C OLOU R P RI N TI N G

work the i ni tia ls bo rders etc being a fterwar ds pa inted

, , ,

by ha nd as in the MSS
,
. But withi n a very short ti me a fter
the dea th of Gutenberg i n 1468 woodcut i ni t ia l s borders a n d
, ,

i l l ust ra tions m a de thei r a ppea ra nce They we re nea rl y al l

.

in outli ne an d frequentl y ra ther ha rd a n d c rude i n effect

,

when compared with the ha nd pa inted work seen in the MSS

-
.

or the e a rli est pri nted books This was a lso the case wi th
.

”
wha t are known as the Bl ock Books in whi ch both pi cture ,

a n d expl a n a tory text w as engra ved together a si ngl e wood ,

bl ock thus servi ng for ea ch page a n d fu rnishing the di sti ncti ve

,

ti tl e si nce gi ven to the books themsel ves Most of these were .

evi dentl y contempora ry wi th the ea rl y mova bl e type pri nted -

books an d yet the p roducers of the l a tter were severa l yea rs

,

i n evol vi ng the i de a of combini ng the two styl es so a s to ,

produce a type prin ted book wi th woodcut ill ustra ti ons

-
.

Al though the a rt of l etterp r ess pri nting a hn ost cert a in l y took

i t s ri se so fa r as E ur ope i s concerned i n t he first hal f of the
, ,

—
fift een t h centu ry when a n d where is still qui te u n k nown in ,

spite of t he mul ti tude of books th a t h a ve been w ri tten on the

s ubj ect — no extant da ted exampl es ha ve been c i ted ea rli er

than 1454 in the l a tte r part of whi ch yea r the first i ssue of the
,

well known L ett er of I n du l gen c e was got out presu ma bl y fr om

-
,

the press of Joha n Gutenberg the supposed i nventor of ,

pri nting a t Ma i nz
, .

It i s proba bl e tha t t he Indul genc es were p receded by a t

l east some of the Bl ock Books which a r e usua ll y l ooked upon
,

as be ing the for e r unners of books pr i nted from mova b l e type ,

but this i s a poi nt whi ch is l i kewise uncerta in Still i t will do .

,

n o ha rm to a ccept t he gene ral opi nion on the subj ect an d we ,

ma y therefore sel ect the era of their p roduction wha tever tha t ,

was as a star ti ng poi nt for ou r hi story seei ng tha t col ou r

, ,

pri nting of a ki nd was ca rri ed out i n the case of a few of these

Bl oc k Books (such as the A 7 3 Mori en di of c which a re .

pri nted in a sor t of wa tery brown or b istre ti nt The pictori a l

-
.

effect whether bl a ck or brown ink we re used was when

, , ,

compa red wi th the bea uti ful col oured designs of the
2
R U BRICATE D TY P OGRA P H Y

p ofessi ona l mi nia ture pai nters bal d a n d drea ry in the extreme
r -
, ,

an d some of the pu rch asers of the vol umes evi dentl y thought so ,

ma ny of those tha t r emai n h a vi ng the ill ust ra tions col ou red by

ha nd The pri nting was done on one side of the pa per onl y two
.
,

sheets be i ng pasted together ba ck to ba ck to fo rm a l e a f of the ,

book i tsel f It is doubtful whether a n y press was used in

.

pri nti ng them the gen eral opi nion bei ng th a t the wood bl ock
,

was i nked the pa per pl a ced upon the wet engra ved su rfa ce
, ,

an d r ubbed wi th the h a nd or a c l oth i n or de r to p roduce ,

an i mp r essi on much in the sa me wa y as col oured prints

,

a r e to th i s d a y pr oduced i n J a p a n The ha nd col our i ng of

.
-

book ill ustra ti ons was very common l y pra cti sed duri ng the
l a tter par t of the fift een t h century P rior to a bout 1480.
,

ma nuscri pts—e ven the more cost l y pa in ted an d il l umi n a ted

ones— were ma ny a n d i ll ustra ted pri nted books few so tha t
, ,

the book buying publi c of the thi rd qu arte r of the fift een t h
-

centu ry was not a ccustomed to an d di d not much a ppr ecia te

, ,

the crudi ty of the decora ti ve el ements of the l a tter The .

pri nters of tha t time coul d not fail to ha ve been a wa re of the

pa rti ali ty generall y di spla yed for tha t col ouri ng to which
book r ea ders a n d buyers ha d so l ong been used an d there is ,

ev i dence tha t a few of them a t l east endea vour ed to suppl y

, ,

wha t their pr oducti ons l a cked in thi s respect .

The comm onest form of col our pri n ti ng is tha t i n whi ch red
an d bl a ck i nks a re used for the text of a book a n d typ i cal ,

exa mpl es of i t may be seen i n for i nsta nce some edi tions of
, ,

the B ook of Common P r ayer of the Church of Engl a nd ,

where the r ubri cs or di recti ons to the ofli c i a t i n g mi nister an d

,

—
hi s congr ega ti on as disti nguished from the pra yers them
e v
s l es — a r e pr i nted i n red rubri ca ted
, (fr om the L a tin
r u ber r ed )
, ,
the r est of the text bei ng i n bl a ck The pra cti ce .

of disti ngu ish ing passages of th is kind cha pter or page hea di ngs
,

an d the l ike by wri ting or m a rk i ng them in r ed da tes fr om

, ,

very ea rl y ti mes an d a nother equa ll y a nc i ent was tha t of

, , ,

ma ki ng the i nitial l etters of the first words of cha pters an d ,

other di visi ons of a work much l a rger an d of a diffe rent

, ,

3
 COLOU R P RI N TIN G

col ou r from the body of the text Both thes e usages of the .

scri bes w ere common at t he ti me when typogra phy was i ntro

d u c ed an d the earli es t essa ys towa rds col our pri nti ng prope r
,

seem to ha ve been di r ec ted to i mi t a ti ng t hem as w a s poi nted ,

ou t in t he c ommencement of thi s cha pte r The first pri nted .

b oo k —
whi ch has wha t is consi dered an au then ti c thou gh not
a pri nted—da te i s t he 42 li ne Mazarin -
Bi bl e su pposed ,

to ha ve been produced by Gutenberg a t Mai nz not l a ter than

1456 as on e of the exi stin g c opi es contai ns the wri tten d a te of
,

August 15t h i n t ha t year bei ng t he d a y on whi ch t he ru bri ca tor

, ,

who fill ed in t he i n i ti als etc by hand fin i shed his ta sk i n

, .
, ,

on e of the vol u mes The earli er sheets of t his B i bl e ha ve

.

hea di ngs an d i n i ti als pri nted i n red but as the work progressed ,

this pra cti ce was abandoned an d the spa ces l eft bl a nk for the
,

r ubri ca to r to dea l wi th .

The nex t devel opment of col our pri nti ng was on a more
am bi ti ou s scal e an d oc c u rs i n the L i tur gi cal Psal te r pri nt e
, d
by Fust an d Sc hoefier a t Ma i nz in August 1457 t he first , , ,

printed book to bear a genu i ne pri nted da te whi ch i t may b e , ,

noted is j ust a yea r l a ter than tha t whi ch occurs in t he Bi bl e

,

a l r ea dy all uded to The tex t of this Psal ter i s i n a very l a rge

.

Gothi c type pri nted i n red an d bl a ck It also has a seri es of

, .

l a rge dec ora ti ve i n i ti al s in two col ou rs red an d bl ue There , .

ha s been much cont r ove rsy as to the ma nner in whi c h thes e

were produced one theory bei ng tha t they were stamped
,

i n by ha nd i n bl a nk spa ces l eft for them in t he pri nted pa ge ,

whil st anot her is tha t there was a separa te bl ock for ea ch

col our an d th a t they were i nked fit t ed together an d pl a ced
, , ,

i n a spa ce l eft for t hem in t he forme of type whi ch ha d pre ,

v i ousl y been i nked i n bl a ck A second edi ti on of the Psal te r

.

was published i n 1459 an d between the two (si s i n 1458) a

,

Ca non of the M ass a ppea rs to ha ve been got out some fr ag ,

ments of whi ch are pres erved i n t he Bodl ei an L i brary a t

O xford It ha s the text i n r ed a n d bl a ck an d i s deco ra ted wi th
.
,

l a rge an d smal l two col our i ni ti a l s in a si mil ar ma nner to t he

-
,

Psa l t e rs red bl ue an d pu rpl e bei ng t he col our s used Wha tever

, , .

4
EA RLY COL OU R -
PRI N TE D I N ITI AL S
may have been t he case wi th regar d to the l a rge i niti a ls ther e ,

seems n o r eason to doubt th a t the m b ri c a t ed passages i n t he

text wer e produced by a second pri nting the type for the red ,

i n k bei ng ma de up sepa ra tel y from tha t intended to be i nked

i n bl a ck In one p age of the Can on the l a rge i niti al has not been
.

prin ted a t al l a n d the wo rd pri nted i n red c l ose by is upside

,

down defects tha t a re evi dentl y the resul t of some ca rel essness
,

on the part of the m a ker u the p ess m a n The e a how

p or r r re
-
.
,

ever extant evi denc es whi ch go to prove tha t a nother meth od

,

of wor ki ng these two col ou r j obs was tri ed proba bl y a bout the
-
,

sam e ti me Th ese a re to be found in an u nda ted Mi ssa l e S pec i a l s

.

in the possessi on of a Munich booksell er whi ch some a uthori ti es ,

consi der was pr oduced before the Psal ter of 1457 or even pri or ,

to 1450 I n this case i t i s al most cert ai n tha t ther e was onl y

.

one t on ne of type for ea ch page t he p assages i ntended to be ,

pri nted i n red be i ng ma de up i n their proper pla ces al ong wi th

the text to be pri nted i n bla ck an d i nked a pa rt fr om t he ,

l a tter wh i ch was possibl y covered over duri ng the ope ra ti on

, .

N a tu ra ll y the r ed i n k occasion all y got r ubbed on pr oi ec t i n g

portions of the bl a ck l etters an d vi c e v er sa an d this not
, ,

hav in g been noti ced by the pr es sman the defects were per ,

p et u a t ed on the p rin ted p a ge an d thus s

,how the method
a dopted by the man who i nked the forme I n 1459 the .

R a ti on al e Di vi n om m Ofli c i om m of G Du ran du s was pr oduced .

by Fust 8: S c hoeffer Thi s conta i ns a seri es of i ni tials i n

.

t wo col ou rs i n the styl e of t he Psa l ters of whi ch the a ctua l ,

l etter i s nea r l y a l wa ys red the a tta ched or na ment be i ng as a

,

r ul e in one of severa l sh a des of g r eyi sh b l ue The text c om -

.

mencas wi th a very l a rge i n i ti al Q al so pr i nted i n two col ou rs , .

It seems li kel y tha t these l arge decora ti ve in i ti als in Fust dc

Sc hoeffer s ea rl i est books were pri nted or sta mped on the pag e
’

befor e t h e text an d tha t the a ctu al l etter was pri nted first an d
, ,

the sur roundi ng orna ment a dded subsequentl y Mr Wea l e . .

thi n ks the l etters were stenci ll ed but his ar gu ment is not pa rti
,

c u l arl y convi nc i ng Mo reover the out li nes of ma ny of them fo rm

.

compl ete ri ngs of col ou r an d it i s not easy to conceive tha t

,

5
 COLOU R P RIN TIN G

th ese coul d be the pr oduct of stenc ill i ng The L a ti n Bibl e .

pri nted a t Ma i nz by Fust Sc hoefl er in 1462 (the second

vol u me of whi ch is da ted A ugu st 14th ex a ctl y fiv e yea rs a fter ,

the fi rs t da ted P sal —

ter) has a col ophon or sta tement of the
da te an d pl a ce of pr inting with the na me of the prin ter of
,
—
seve ral li n es pri nted i n r ed
, foll owed by the device of those
,

typographers a doubl e sh i el d li kewi se in red The vol u mes

, , .

ha ve al so some hea din gs pri nted in red .

Col ou r pri nti ng was essa yed in Ital y Engl and an d Fra nce ,

befor e the end of the fift een t h centu ry i n t he or der in whi ch ,

those cou ntri es ar e n amed From 1469 onwards Ven i ce wa s

.
,

the Itali a n Metropol is of pr inti n g I n 1476 a press was .

st ar ted ther e by th ree Germa ns one of whom (he ha d the ,

business i n hi s own ha nds in 1478) was Ehrha rd R a t d ol t who ,

ca me from the Bava ri a n ci ty of A ugsbu rg wher e prin ting was ,

begu n as ea rl y as 1468 H e seems to ha ve been one of the

.

most skill ed a n d enterprisi ng pri nters of the ag e a n d ma ny ,

of his books ra n k in typogra phical importance wi th th ose of

, ,

the stil l mo re famous Veneti an pri nter N i col as Jenson R a t d ol t , .

i s espec i all y cel ebr a ted for the amount of decora ti ve an d ill us
t ra t i v e wo rk tha t he i nt r oduced i nto hi s books i n t he fo rm of ,

woodcuts orna mental bo rders initi als an d di a gra ms It wa s

, , .

in connecti on wi th these l a tter tha t he seems to ha ve ma de hi s

first experiment in col our pri nting the wor k sel ected bei ng ,

the thi rteenth century a str onomi cal tr ea tise of John Hol y wood
( bett e r known by the L a t i n t ra n sl a t i on of hi s n a me S a c r o ,

bosco supposed to h a ve been a n a ti ve of H a li fa x R a t dol t .

issued his first edi ti on of the work i n Jul y 1482 i t was a small ,

4to vol ume of si xty foli os an d ha d nea rl y for ty di agra ms

, ,

genera ll y a bout hal f the siz e of t he page ni ne of whi ch as , ,

b ei ng the most i mpor tan t wer e col our ed but by h and

, Sub , .

sequentl y it seems to ha ve occurr ed to R a t dol t th a t th ese

pri nci pa l di agra ms whi ch consisted mer el y of outl i nes might

, ,

be col our ed by the pr ess . A t an y ra te he got out another ,

edi ti on of the book i n 1485 in whi ch seven of the t hirt y

,

two hal f page cuts i t contai ned wer e pri nted i n col ours si x
-
,

6
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

li ne . It occurs inbook pri nt ed by John He rzog i n 1490

a ,

the c d i ti s Ti t a k of J Crispus de Mon t i b us an d co nsists

'

.
,

of a doubl e page geneal ogi cal char t of the Tree of Afi n i t y et c

-
, .
,

tinted i n red brown an d green tho u gh thi s l ast col our whi c h
, , ,

i s a ppli ed to the l ea ves of the t rees may h a ve been stencill ed ,

.

Herzog ha d several ear li er l ocal exa mpl es to g ui de hi m i n

hi s wor k but where the first Engli sh col o u r pr i nter obt ai ned
,

hi s inspi ra ti on fr om i s a m a tter of myster y see i ng t ha t nei th er ,

Cax ton or an y other pri nter i n En gl a nd i n tha t d ay di d an y

thi ng of the ki nd an d a part from the Psal te rs of a qu a r ter
,

of a centur y befor e no t hi ng i n t he w
- -
a y of c o l our wo rk seems

to h a ve been previ ousl y a ttempted on t he Cont i n ent sa ve ,

tha t produced by R a t d ol t i n 1485 whi ch was hardl y l i kel y to ,

ha ve come immedi a tel y under the noti ce of a ma n i n a smal l

Engli sh town The ea rli est exa mpl es of col our pri nting i n
.

Engl and occur i n the l ast two books issu ed by the Schoo l master
Pri nter a t S t Al ba ns i n 1483. an d 1486 r especti vel y
, This .

i s a fa ct th a t es c a ped noti ce u n t il qui te l a tel y non e of t he ,

bibli ogra phers who described the productions of t he first

S t Al ba ns pr ess ha v i ng a pp ar ent l y r eal ised the histori ca l
.

i mport a nce of the col our wo rk the l ast two of t hem cont ai n ed .

I n the ear l ier the S t A l ba n s Chr on i c le t he i ni ti al s are pri nted

, .
,

thr oughout in red contrary to t h e usua l pra cti ce of i nsert i n g

,

them by h a nd but i n the trea t i se on Coa t Armou r in the

,

so ca ll ed B ook of S t
-
Al ba ns the pri nter a ttempted much
.
,

hi gher flight s Thi s wor k is ill ustra ted by a l a rge number of

.

hera l di c shi el ds pri nted in their pr oper col ours of which some
, ,

times two or three occur together on the sa me shi el d Con .

si d eri n g the r ude na tu r e of the a ppli a nces th en i n use t he pr ess ,

work i s fai rl y well done an d the register ma i ntain ed between

,

the di ffer ent col ours i s usuall y good Red bl ue an d brown .

,

wer e used in a ddi ti on to t he c ormn on bl a ck t he yell ow tha t

, ,

a ppears on some of the shi el ds bei ng most li kel y a dded by

ha nd Th e sa me ti nts were also used in pri nti ng t he in i ti al s

.

thr oughout the book The i denti ty of t he Schoolmaste r is

.

quite unk nown he seems to ha ve been a t wo rk i n the

8
EA RLY COLOU R WOR K IN FRAN CE AN D S PA I N

Hertfordshi r e town as earl y as 1480 But whoever he was the .

,

S t Al ba ns pri nter was evidentl y a ma n of ori gi n at

. an d

enterprise a n d his col our work deserves fa r more a ttenti on

,

tha n i t has hi the rto received A fter his time Engl i sh col our
.
,

prin ting for more tha n two centuri es was pra ctica ll y c on fin ed
, ,

to the or din ary bl a ck a n d red though ther e was but li ttl e of

,

the l a tter col our seen a fter the Reforma tion had done a wa y with
—
the pi ct uresque t wo col our serv i ce books of the Roma n Church .

A very i nter es ti ng exa mpl e of col our p ri nti ng occurs i n a

Hora of the pr i nted by J ea n d u P ré a t Pa ri s in 1490 ,

a sm al l oct a vo vol ume whi ch i s un i que of i t s ki nd L i ke a ll the .

earl y Horse it i s profusel y ill ust ra ted an d the cuts borders

, , ,

an d dec ora t i ve i ni ti a ls a re pri n ted i n col ours or mo re prope rl y ,

speak i ng in some one col our other tha n bl a ck gr een br o w n , ,

an d r ed bei ng t he ti nts used A l arge cut was usuall y su r

.

r ou nded by several small er ones form i n g a sor t of bo r de r a n d , ,

gen eral l y t he c u t i s i n one col our an d the border i n a di fi eren t

on e or some of the p i ec es composi ng the bor der ma y be i n one
,

col our an d the rest i n a nother maki ng two or th ree col ours on
, ,

the page I n one or two cases the bl ocks wer e all l ocked up
.
,

together a n d i nked sepa ra tel y in the r equired ti nts the pa ge

, ,

being th en pri nted a t one impres si on but as t his l ed to col our ,

i ntended for one bl ock getti ng on the ma rgin of the one next
to i t the pra ct ice was a ba ndoned i n the l a ter pages i n fa v o ur
,

of the usu al one of wor kin g ea ch col our separa tel y A L i bc r .

Madi ta ti on u m pri nted in Pari s by Cla ude J a u mer a t t he

,

cl ose of the century has the ti tl e page a fou r piece orna men tal
,
-
,
-

bor der en c l osing a c u t of the Cru c ifixi on wi th l ettering a bove , ,

wholl y in red A Spa nish exarn pl e of col our pri n ti ng of si mil ar

.

cha ra cter i s seen i n Pal en t i a s Voc a bfda n o pri nted a t Sevill e

'
’

by P edro de Col onia in 1490 The l ast pri nted page but one
.

i s wholl y i n r ed The col ophon i n small Gothi c type is a t

.
, ,

the top an d benea th i s a very l a rge devi ce of the pri nter wi th

, ,

whi te outl i nes on a soli d gr oun d The styl e suggests tha t .

P eter went from Col ogne to Spa i n v i a Ital y .

It may be ment ioned tha t R a t d ol t the Vene t i a n printe r ,

9
 COLOU R P RIN TI N G

j ust al l uded to a l so experi mented i n the di rection of pri nti ng

,

in gol d al though i t s u se was c on fin ed to a dedi ca tory a ddr ess

,

-
l ike tha t to the Dog e John Moc en i c o i n the E u c l i d of 1482
i h a spec i al copy i ntended for p resenta ti on to the p a tr on unde r
,

whose a uspi ces a pa rt i cul a r work had been issued H e wa s .

,

in fa ct a pi onee r in ma ny bra nches of col our pri nting an d

, ,

continu ed hi s work i n th a t li ne a fter hi s return to A ugsburg

in 1486 H i s Obsequ i al e A u gu sta n u m of 1487 has as a fronti s
.

piece a woodcut portrai t of Bishop Fri edrich v on Hohenzoll ern ,

wi th the a rms of the see prin ted in bl a ck an d col our ed in r ed

an d b ist r e by two tone bl ocks In 1489 R a t d ol t brought out
.

the Campi l a ti o dc a st r or u m S c i en ti a of L eopol d son of t he Duke ,

of Austri a Thi s i s a qua rto vol ume contai ni ng numerous

.
,

woodcuts th ree of whi ch a re someti mes found printed in col ours

,
.

The Bri t ish Museum copy contai ns onl y on e on foli o b ii , ,

i n wh i ch two concentr i c ci rcl es pri nted in r ed ar e sepa ra ted

by a ri ng of whi te The Augsbu rg M issal of 149 1 has the
.

Cru c i fix i on pl a te whi ch fa ces the C a n on of the M ass pri n ted

, ,

in bl a ck a n d tinted i n red bl ue gr een an d yell ow from four

, ,

other bl ocks or per ha ps with the a i d of stencil s The Bresci a

, .

Mi ssal of 1493 the P a dua Missal of 1494 an d the Passa u

, ,

Missal s of 1494 a n d 1498 ha ve simil ar ill ustra tions col our ed

, ,

in the same styl e as well as some l a rge two col our initi a l s
,
-

an d the a rms of the see i n r ed an d bl a ck though the t r ea tment ,

may va ry i n di fferent copi es The Augsbu rg B revi a ry of 149 5.

,

l ike one R a t d ol t got out i n Ven i ce ten yea rs befor e has a ,

cut of t he a rms of the see on the ba ck of the titl e printed in ,

r ed an d bl a ck The Ra tisbon Missal of 1496 has a fu ll pa ge

.
-

woodcut of the P a tr on of the Chur ch as a fronti spi ece wi th ,

the a rms of the see bel ow p ri nted i n bl a ck a n d red some

, ,

yell ow bein g a dded in pl a ces by han d I n 1499 R at d ol t .

r epubli shed the Cal en da n u m of Regiomont a nus in which is a

'

numbe r of two col our ci rcul a r di agra ms of the phases of the

-

moon pri nted i n r ed an d bl a ck An edi tion of thi s wor k

, .
,

ill ust ra ted in a si mil ar styl e by twenty one such di a gra ms -

,

ha d been i ssued a t Veni ce i n 1482 by J L S an t ri t t er . . .

10
THE OL D COLOU R P RI N TER A N D HIS WOR K
L i mi ted col our pri nting an d tha t of the fift een t h
as his ,

cen tu ry in general was it must be remember ed th a t R a t d ol t

,

an d hi s competitors we re exer ci sing a compara t i vel y new

ar t
, carried on wi th the a id of very crude mechan i cal a ppl i
a ncas an d poo r though the col our wor k of these ol d typo
,

g pra h ers se ems when j udged by p r

, e
s ent d a y st a nd a r d s -
,

we must not forget tha t they were as men feeli ng their wa y ,

am i dst t h e a s yet impe r fectl y understood i nt ri c a c i es of a n

i ndust ry whose grea t possibil i ti es wer e pr ob a bl y un d re a mt

of i n those da ys Ther e se ems n o reason to doubt tha t a ll thi s
.

fift een t h centu ry col ou r pri n ti ng was done wi th wood bl ocks ,

al though in o r di n a ry bl a ck on whi te pri nt i ng engr a vi ngs on

- -
,

metal were in occasi onal u se .

Owi ng to t he pr efer ence then shown for the col ouri ng of t he

il l ust ra ti ons an d other decora tive pa rts of a book the r esul ts ,

of the pressmen s crude efl ort s a t col our p rinting were some

’

ti mes suppl emented by ha nd work to such an extent tha t it ,

i s often di fii c u l t to sa y whe re one p r oc ess l ea ves off an d the

other begi ns B y the c l ose of the centu ry mill i ons of pri nted
.
,

books ha d been put i nto ci r cul a tion an d the publ ic being ,

thus thor oughl y fa mil ia ri sed wi th them an d bec omi ng mor e ,

an d mor e fo rgetfu l of the i r ea rl ier MS predecesso rs ceas ed .

,

to ca ll for thei r col our orn amenta ti on to so l a rge an extent as

formerl y an d thus pri nti ng i n col ou r othe r th a n in red fr om
, ,

type pri n ters devi ces hea d an d tai l pieces etc ca me pra c t i
,
’

, , .
,

cal l y to be a bandoned As regar ds this l a tter b ranch it i s.

,

r emar ka bl e consi deri ng the pri mi tive n a tur e of the a ppli a nc es

,

then in use wh a t exa ct r egi ster was usuall y ma in tai ned between
,

the red an d bla ck passages i n the text of a book even i n ,

cases where the col our cha nges two or three t i mes in the sa me
l i ne .

Al l the exa mpl es of col our pri nti ng tha t h a ve been men
t i on ed hi ther to were p roduced in con necti on wi th printed
books an d it i s very doubtfu l whether an y separ a te pi ctu res
, ,

printed in col ours were produced at this peri od An exc ep

, .

ti on ma y perha ps be ma de i n fa vour of rel igi ous pri nts an d ,

11
 C OLOU R P RI N TI N G

one exampl e of this ki nd was i ncl u ded i n t he Schr ei ber c oll ec

ti on sol d a t Vi enn a l ast year This was a pri nt of S t Anthony
, . .

of Pa dua a bout 13 x 10 i nc h es possibl y of Spa nish ori gi n

, ,
.

The col ours used were dar k vi ol et bl u i sh gr een gr ey a n d r ed

,
-
, ,

an d i t i s consi dered tha t they wer e par tl y p ri nted an d pa rtl y ,

a ppl i ed fr om stencil s This print is a ttri buted to the cl ose of

.

t he centu ry an d Pr of Schr ei ber hel d i t to be perh a ps the

, .

ol dest col our ed woodcut in exi sten ce The sa me coll ection al so

.

i ncl uded a pri nt i n sil ver from a wood or met al surfa ce of t he

, ,

Virgi n of Loretto on a pi ece of sil k whi ch was consi der ed to ,

be of Itali an ori gi n an d to li kewise da te from the en d of t he

,

fift een t h century A st il l mo re i nter esti ng ex a mpl e of t he

.

sa me peri od but of Ge rma n origin was a pri nt on vell um

, , ,

10 x 6 } i n c hes r epr esen t i ng Chri st on the C ross wi t h Ma ry

, ,

a n d John . The outli ne was col our ed by four tone pl a tes ,

v iz r ed bl ue yell ow an d gr een
, , It was pr oba bl y inten ded
.

for use i n some l iturgi ca l vo l um e the open i ng page of

,

the Ca non of the Ma ss .

12
 CH A PTER II
I T G
C OLO U R P R N I N IN TH E SIXTEE N TH AN D SEVE N TEEN T H
C E N T U R I ES

HE previ ous chapter deal t wi th

i sol a ted an d mostl y un connected
essa ys a t prin ti ng i n col ours ,

nearl y all of whi ch were obvi ousl y

i n the n a tur e of expe riments .

Those who ca rri ed them out

pr oba bl y fel t tha t the time an d
troubl e bes towed upon them wer e
not compensa ted for by the
resul t , an d hen c e p ri n ters an d

bookse l l ers disconti nu ed t his cl ass

of wor k in fa vour of the ol d method of hand col our i ng So far
-
.
,

however as pri nted book s in genera l were concerned even t hi s

, , ,

from t he commencemen t of t he six teenth century was to all ,

in tents an d pu r poses c on fin ed to the bea uti fu l H oraaan d othe r

devot i ona l an d li tur gi ca l works issu ed so profusel y from Pari si an
pr esses The ill ustra ti ons in thos e gen era ll y ful l page wood cuts
.
,
- -

or en gra vi ngs on so ft meta l wer e often compl etel y cove r ed by

,

a bl az e of brill i a nt col our fr equen t l y hei ghtened by gol d an d

, ,

the hopel essnes s of a ttempting to ri val thes e efiec t s by press

wor k n o doubt l ed to t he vi r tu al disuse of col our pri n t i ng of
the decora t i ve order Col our pri nt ing experi ments were i t
.
,

i s tr ue still ma de fr om time to ti me an d some of them wi ll

, ,

be referr ed to presen t l y but from the col ou r prin ter s point of

,
'

vi ew the earl y par t of t he sixteenth century i s c hi efly remark

a bl e as the pe ri od when the art of prin ti ng pi ctures i n col ours

took i t s ri se an ar t whi ch i s still practi sed on much t he same

,

l i n es thou gh to a very li mi ted ex tent a t t he present da y

, ,
.

The method her e a ll uded to is tha t whi ch has a l wa ys been

kn own by i t s Itali a n name of Chi ar oscuro .This term wa s
”
 C OLOU R P RI N TI N G

t ha t used by the pri nters themsel ves as i t occu rs in Ugo da

Carpr s peti ti on an d mea ns li tera ll y , cl ea r obscur e Wha t -
.
”

was i ntended to be conveyed by i t was n o doubt the fa ct th a t

i n a pi ctu r e of this c ha ra cter the li ghts an d sha dows are di s
tri buted to gi ve effect to the composi ti on an d so i n the pri nts ,

the varyi ng effects of l ight an d sha de a re r epresen ted not by ,

l ines or cr oss h a tching as in an ordin a ry engra vi ng on wood or

-
,

metal but by tones in the sh a pe of broa d masses of col ou r

, , ,

—
produced by surfa ce printi ng fr om wood bl ocks thos e how ,

ever were not i ntended to sta nd by themsel ves but were

, ,

a ppli ed for the p u rpose of col ou ri ng an outli ne woodcut A .

chia roscuro effect c an of course be produced (as i n a qu a , ,

t inti ng) by the tones al one wi thout the a i d of an y outlin es , ,

but t his method was ha rdl y ever foll owed by the ea rl y

chi ar oscurists .

A t t he ti me when this b ra nch of art ha d i t s birth i t s expon ,

ents wer e contemporary wi th some of the grea t mas ters of

pai nti ng an d dra wi ng such as Cra n a ch B u rgma i r Ra pha el
, , , ,

P a rmegi an o Titian etc an d their compositi ons frequentl y

, , .
,

ser ved as model s pa r ticu l a rl y in It al y , But ther e was t hi s .

disti ncti on th a t whereas thos e men were not me r el y design ers

, ,

but bri ll i a nt col ouri sts as well the chi a roscur o a r ti st ma de n o ,

a ttempt to r ep resent scen es or obj ects in thei r n a tu ra l co l ou rs .

L a ter wo rkers i n the same fiel d l ike Sa vage B a xte r an d , , ,

Kni ght d i d a chi eve this but pri or to the n i neteenth century
, , ,

pra cti ca ll y all the chi a rosc u ri sts wer e content to make u se of
somb r e neut r al tints Their ra nge of col ours was thus not a
.

very wi de on e compri si ng o n l y oli ve gr een r eddish brown

,
-
,
-
,

dar k bri ck red an d pal e yell ow These with sepia an d

, .
, ,

r a r el y — a g r eyish bl ue seem to h a ve be en al l tha t w

-
, ere used .

The co l ou ri ng base was evi dentl y mixed wi th oil whi ch has ,

i n some cases penetra ted the pa pe r to such an extent th a t an

i mp res si on of the pictur e i n r everse c an be seen on the b a ck of
the print Some bl ocks by the wa y were a ctuall y engra ved
.
, ,

wi th a design in r everse The pri nts were produced with gr ea t .

pr essure we re a l most embossed i n fa ct so tha t i n some

, , ,

14
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

a bsol ute certai nty The ol der wri ters on wood engra vi ng
.

generall y concurr ed i n gi vi n g the cr edi t of the i n ven t i on to

Ugo da Ca rpi an Ital i an H ardl y a nyt hi ng i s k nown concer n
, .

i n g thi s perso nage not even the da tes of hi s bi r th a n d dea t h

, ,

thou gh he i s sai d to ha ve been of nobl e des cent an d is usuall y ,

consi der ed to ha ve been a pai nter of a verag e meri t b u t obscu r e

fame who flou rished from a bout 1450 to 1520
, He was .

worki ng t he proces s in Veni ce i n 15 16 as i n th a t yea r ,

—
he pe t i ti oned the Sen te of tha t ci ty which seems to ha ve
a

—
been the bi rthpl a ce of copyri ght pri v il eges for protecti on
a gai nst other a r ti sts who wer e produci ng pri nts by the c hia ros
cu r o method of whi ch he all eged he was the i nventor S o
, .

fa r as Ital y was concerned he was n o dou bt responsi bl e for

,

the i ntroducti on of t he proc ess but i n other respec ts was o nl y ,

a copyi st h i msel f Ugo s petition was hea rd an d gra nted

’
.
, ,

on Jul y 24t h an d set out th a t he ha d been a l on g t i me in the

,

c i ty an d h a d di scover ed a n ew u sefu l an d beau ti ful w

, a y of
, ,

pr i nti ng in chia rosc uro (trova to modo omovo di sta mpar e c hi a ro

c t sc u m c osa n ova
,
at bc lla at a t i l e) an d b ei n g i n the ,

ha bit of engra vi ng in thi s wa y whi ch ha d never been thou ght ,

of before by an y other person he r equested the Sena te t o order

,

tha t n o one shoul d cou nter fei t an y of hi s d esi gns or engra vi ngs ,

u n der pai n of c on fisc a t i on a n d a fin e of 10 duca ts for ea ch suc h

counter fei ted i mpressi on whi ch fin e was as usual in such cases

, , ,

di vi ded i nto three pa r ts one for the poor the second for the
, ,

Judge who dea l t wi th the case an d the thi rd for t he a ccuser , ,

w Ugo who des cri bed hi msel f as {Ma gh ad or dc figu r e

'

”
dc l agn o . The entry on the Regi ster of Ven ice is quoted i n
full by Gu al adan i in hi s Di U go da Carpi an d the sa me

wr iter enumera tes fift y pri nts a ttri buted to Carpi who i s ,

supposed to h a ve en d ed hi s d a ys a t Rome .

Bar tsch i n hi s P ei n t r e Gra veu r (1811) contested the i dea

,

th a t Ugo was the i nventor of the chi ar osc u r o method prefer ,

ri n g in stea d to th in k th a t the Germans had the p riori ty whi ch ,

i s al most certainl y the case The wri ter of the noti ce of

.

J ost de N ecker i n the l ast edi ti on (1904) of B ryan s Di c ti on a r y

’

16
THE R I SE OF CHIA ROSCU RO
o f P ai nters E a nd
n gra v er s sa ys i ndeed w i tho ,u t q u al i fi
,c a t i on , ,

tha t J ost i nvented the process but t he sta tement proba bl y ,

has n o other founda t i on th a n the fa ct tha t a pri nt of this so rt ,

da ted 15 10 was pr oduced by him There ar e however others

, .
, ,

wi th da tes sti ll ea rli er as will be seen The art of produci ng

, .

pi ctur es i n the chi a r oscuro man ner was evi dentl y 3 devel op .

ment from hand c ol ouri ng A pri nt by a Ge rma n artist na med

-
.

Mai r of La ndshut (fl 1492 15 14) da ted 1499 was l ong con

, .
-
,

si d ered to be the ea rl i est known i n t he chi ar oscur o styl e but ,

Ottl ey an d others ha ve poi nted out t ha t i t is r eall y on l y a n

i mpr essi on i n bl a ck of an ordi n ary woodcut on gr een pa pe r , ,

wi th t he li g hts i ndi ca ted by hand Duret s work does not seem .

’

to h a ve been much r eproduced i n t he chi arosc uro styl e al thou gh ,

his l a rge por trai t of Ul rich V arn b u l er 1522 was r epubl ished , , ,

wi th the a ddi ti on of ton e pl a tes by some Du tchma n i n the ,

sevent een th centu ry an d an i mpr essi on in thi s fo rm ma y be

,

seen a t t he B ri tish Mu seu m A pi ctu r e of a rhi nocer os engra ved

.
,

by Du r er i n 15 15 was copi ed a t An twerp an d publ ished ther e

, ,

the sa me yea r ti nted i n t he chi ar oscur o ma nner by H L i efrin c k

, , .

B t ch ii 147 Some of D u e o g d w ng
’

( ar s v
, , , r t s ri i n a l ra i s ,

however di sti nctl y suggest chi ar oscur o work such for exa mpl e
, , , ,

as the Hea d of a Young Woman whi ch sta nds out agai nst ,

a pi nkish ba c kgr ound w i th the l i ghts put in i n whi te a n d the

, ,

"
H ea d of a Y ou n g Chil d 15 17 His Stu dy of a N aked Ma n
, .
,
”

1526 an d t he
, Stu dy of a N ude Woma n wi th the doubtful ,

da te of 1500 ha ve sli ght greenish ba ckgrou nds wi th serra ted

,

edges su gges ti ve of l ights on chi a r oscu ro li nes Thi s so rt of

, .

thi n g was pra ctised a t a much la ter peri od as a woodcu t of ,

the Vi rgin in the Schr ei ber coll ecti on by Fra ncisco Denta to , ,

who worked a t Veni ce i n 1540 50 was pri nted i n a da r k brown -

,

ton e wi th the l i ghts indi ca ted by hand .

Wha t nam e was origi nall y gi ven to this c l ass of work i n

Germa ny i s not k nown the pr esent on e c l ai r obscu r bei ng
, ,
-
,
”

obv i ou sl y onl y a r enderi ng of the Ital i a n term The ea rli est .

c hi ar osc u r o pri nt menti oned by B art sch i n suppor t of his ,

th eory tha t the Germa ns were the first to expl oit this phase
17
2
 CO LOU R P RI N TI N G

of art i s Lucas Cra na ch s Repose i n Egypt da ted 1509

,
’

(B. v i i ,
2 79 Th i s, a rt i st li ved mo s t l y a t W i ttenb e rg , ,

from 1472 to 1553 a n d held the a ppoi ntment of Cou rt Pa i nter

,

to the House of Sa xony The fa ct tha t the bl a ck or ou t li n e

.

bl ock of a chi a r oscuro pri nt bea rs a pa rti cul a r da te is n ot ,

however evi dence tha t the ti nted imp ressi ons a re contem
,

p or a r y wi th i t A few y ears . m a y h a ve e l a p sed bet w een the

one an d the other The preval en t tone of the G er ma n c hi a ros
.

cur os i s brown an d al t hough i t i s impossi bl e to l ay down a

,

ha r d an d fast r ul e i t may be sa id tha t thi s col ou r di sti ngui shes

,

most of the ear l y Germa n work (al so some of the la t er D utch

a n d Fr en ch ) as opposed to t he gr eenish tone common to the

Ital ian pri nts N ot more tha n one or t wo tone bl oc ks were

.

used a t fir st the Cra na ch print j us t all uded to ha vi ng on l y one

, .

A Venus by the sa me a r ti st is da ted 1506 on the bl a ck bl oc k ,

bei ng thus pr oba bl y the ol dest da ted pri nt of thi s cha ra cter ,

al though the col our ed i mpr es si on (ti nted m b rown as usu al ) ma y , ,

not ha ve a ppea red u ntil 1509 or l a ter Cra na ch s woodcu t of .

’

S t Chri stopher is i n thr ee sta tes i n the B rit ish Museum copi es
. ,

the ea rl i est i n a grayish tone t he two l a ter in different sh ades of ,

br own A very fin e a n d u nusual exam pl e is the pr int of an armed

.

ma n on ho rseba ck in whi ch the b l a ck i mpressi on i s col our ed

,

from two tone bl ocks one in dark bl ue an d the other in gol d , .

Contempor ary wi th Cra na ch wer e several other Germa n

a r ti sts who engra ved i n chi aroscu r o Pr omi nent among these .

i s H a ns B a ld un g (1475 1545) who worked c hi efly a t St rasbur g -

.

H e pr oduced a ch i a r osc uro pri nt of An Inca nta tion as earl y

as 15 10 wh i ch B a r tsch menti ons u nder
,
Grun — supposed to

ha ve been a sort of ni ckn ame for this a r tist (B v i i 3 19 .

, ,

It is a l a rge prin t a bout 16 x 12 i nches ti nted wi t h l ight sepia

, , ,

or — —
i n ano t her sta t e i n brown B a ld u n g s A da m an d E v e .
’

i s a very nn e ex a mpl e of the styl e (B v ii 306 of a bout t he .

, ,

sa me siz e an d pri nted on a b r ow

, ni sh pa per whi ch thu s impar t s ,

one tone whil st a sec ond is suppli ed fr om a bl oc k pri nted in a

,

browni sh sh a de Another woodcut by B aldu n g da ted 15 12

.
, ,

was produced i n bl a ck on brown paper .

18
EA RLY GERMA N CHIA RO SCU RO WO R K
Jost de N ecker the all eg ed i nventor of chi ar oscu r o was a
, ,

na tive of Antwerp but went to Germa ny an d settl ed a bout ,

15 10 a t A ugsburg wher e was al so the r esidence of tha t well

,

k nown pai nter a n d engra ve r H a ns B u rgma i r (1473 15 J ost ,

-

di ed in 156 1 Two a t l ea st of his col our pri nts a fter B u rgma i r

.

a r e da ted o n the bl a ck or outl ine bl ock

, 1508 One is an , .

hn pressi on tinted i n red of the , S t George (B v i i 208 , . .

, ,

b u t i n a nother i mpr essi on i n a gr een gr ey tone the outli n e ,

-
,

c u t bea rs n o da te A still better known picture i s th a t of the

.

Emper or of Germa ny (M a xi mili a n 1) repr esented on horseba ck

i n full armou r (B V ii 2 11 The ori ginal da te on the out l i ne
.
, ,

bl ock 1508 a ppea rs wi thout the 0 i n a r eddish brown

, ,
-

impressi on in chi ar oscuro but in a l a ter one the da te re a ppea rs ,

-

as 15 18 I n the former t he na me J de N ecker is pri nted

.
"
, .
,

in bl a ck a t t he bottom of the p ri nt I n still a nother st a te .

,

onl y r epr esented a t the B ri ti sh Museu m by a r eprodu cti on ,

the tone bl ock was pri nted i n gol d i n the sty l e of the Cra n a ch ,

pri nt al r ea dy menti oned In a nother engra vi ng a fter Burg .

mai r whi ch conta i ns some ar chi tectural detail (B v ii 2 15 40)

, .
, ,

ton es were pri nted over the woodcut i n l ight brown an d pu r

p li sh g r ey i n a se c ond st a te the b r o w n was d i sca r ded f or ,

yell ow an d the purp li sh tone for a gr een sha de ; whil st i n a

,

thi r d vari ety more pr onou nced sha des of green an d yell ow
,

wer e used Ther e was very l i ttl e detail i n t he outli ne cut for
.

this pri nt a n d a copy i n t he Hesel tin e coll ecti on da ted 15 10

, , ,

i s pri nted i n t hr ee sh a des of g rey onl y B u rgmair s fin e

’
.

—
por trai t of Pope J u l ius II (15 11) a ci rcul ar print of a bout
9 inches di ameter (B v i i 212 33) — exists a t the Bri ti sh Museum
.
, , ,

in the chi arosc u r o sta te onl y i n a reproducti on by the Royal ,

Pri nti ng Ofli c e a t Berli n The gr ey tone bl ock gr ea tl y suppl e .

ments t he lights an d detai l s of the ori gi nal woodcut A still .

fin er por t ra i t by B u rgmai r is tha t of J B a umgar tner 15 12 .

,

( B i i 21 2 J wo k th i i i tone of een i h
’
. v , os t s , r on s s n s g r s

grey an d his bl ocks fu rn ish most of the detail in the pi ctu re

, ,

the ori gi nal woodcu t gi vi ng li ttl e more tha n a bar e outl ine .

Among other fa mo us n a mes i n the a nn als of earl y si xteenth

19
 COLOU R P RIN TI N G

centu ry German wood engra vi ng i s th a t of Al b recht Al tdorfer

of Ra ti sbon 1480 who was al so a pai nter an d a rchi tect
of consi dera bl e meri t Si xty eight woodcuts a re known to
.
-

ha ve been executed by hi m a n d of these the most i nteresti ng ,

fr om ou r point of vi ew is N o 52 i n the li st gi ven i n Brya n .

Ou r L a dy of Ra tisbon c 1520 From the c ol our pri nte r s

, . .
'

sta ndpo i nt this i s perha ps the hu est of all the earl y Germa n
, ,

pri nts i n chi aroscur o It i s of l arge si ze some 15 x 10 in ches

.
, ,

wi th an orn amental bo rder an d is in a t l east two sta tes The

, .

ori gi nal irn pressi on p res erved a t the B ri tish Museu m is some
wha t smudgy in a ppea ra nce owi ng to imperf ect i n ki ng an d ,

defecti ve r egister The bl a ck out li ne cut i s c ol our ed by n o

.

l es s tha n fiv e tones 11a t wo br own s a grey a yell ow an d a b l u e

, , , , .

I n a pri va te coll ec ti on a t B erli n there is a copy of this pri nt

i n di fferent an d bri ghter col ours v i z r ed bl ue gr een yel l ow , .
, , ,

an d br own , thus consti tuting a di sti nct d epartur e from the

u su al sombr e t in ts of the a r tist i n chi a rosc uro .

Another ea rl y Germa n worker i n th i s bra nch of art was J W .

Wec ht l i n someti mes known as Pi l grim a pa i nter an d wood

,
"
,

engra ver a t Stra sburg i n the firs t h al f of the si x teenth century .

On e of hi s pri nts in chi ar oscu ro The Cru c i fixi on is i n the , ,

u su al gr eeni sh gr ey sha de but l i ke Al t d or i er s Virgi n has an ’

-
, ,

ornamental border whi ch i n thi s case i s i n four pieces This

, .

bor der i s al so used on a nother pri nt An i nteresti ng chi aro .

scu r o prin t of Wec ht l i n s i s The Vi rgi n (B v ii 450

’
.
, ,

pri nted i n a greyish bl ue ti nt the tone bl ock suppl yin g much of

-
,

the detai l of the pi ctur e such as the hill s an d c l ouds seen in t he

,

ba c k gr ound I n another case the Pyrgo Tel es print sol i d

.
, ,

bl a cks occur i n the otherwi se cl oudy ba ckgrou nd whi ch i s ,

pri nted in a greeni sh gr ey tone In the S t Stephen the . .

,
”

si des of the Cru c ifixi on border are t e u sed but the top an d -
,

bottom a re di fferent The Sku ll pri nt (B v i i 45 1 6 7 ) is

. .
, ,
-

in two va ri eti es of greeni sh gr ey but i n a thi r d sta te (9 ) some ,

of the detai l in t he ba ckgrou nd i s di fieren t .

It i s pra c t i call y certai n tha t t he col ours i n chi a roscu ro

pri n ts wer e a ppli ed by the press an d were not suppl emented ,

20
 COLO U R I N G B Y STEN CI L

ei ther by hand col ouri ng or by stencill i ng Thi s l a tter process

-
.
,

however as bei ng a sort of connecting l ink between ha nd an d

,

press col ouri ng dema nds a few words of noti ce It seems to ha ve

, .

been l argel y used in the si xteenth seven teen th an d ei ghteenth ,

centu ri es for col ouri ng pl a yi ng c a rds a n d to a l esser extent -

,

for col ouri ng p rints a n d book il l ustr a t i ons Among J ost .

Amma n s cuts in S c hopper s P a n oph a (Fran kfo r t

'
is
’ '

one representing the B ri efinal er a term whi ch modern ,

di cti on a ries r ender b y ca r d painter The size an d sh a pe -

.

of the brush he i s wi el di ng l ea ve n o doubt tha t he i s engaged i n

stenc ill i ng col ou r on the p ri nts pil ed on the t a bl e a t wh i ch he

i s se a ted A well known Fr ench pri nt of the l a tter pa rt of

.
-

the seventeen th century r eproduced as the fronti spi ece to ,

D All egmagn e s L es Ca r tes d j m r sho ws the ope ra ti ons

’ ’

of stencillin g in full det ai l as ca rri ed on a t a Pa risi an pl ayi ng

,

c a rd fa ctory S o fa r as ea rli er pra cti ce i s concerned the

.
,

Cr omc a Cr on i c a n u m a br ége (Pa ris 152 1) fu rnishes an i nter

' '

esti n g exam pl e The pa ge is a very l a rge on e measu ring

.
,

a bout 25 x 20 i nc hes i n i t s uncut sta te a n d t he wor k conta i ns ,

ma ny c i rcul a r portra its 1} i nches d i a m some small r ect

,

a ngul ar vi ew s of tow ns 3 x 2 inches a n d several genea l ogi ca l

, ,

t e
r es .A mul t tude of sm
i a ll r —
ci cu l a r spa ces 2 inch di a m ,

enc l osin g the names of members of Royal Houses etc are , .

,

ol ou red yell ow th r oughout an d gr een a n d pu r pl e a re used ,

on the por tra i ts an d vi ews The na tur e of the work ma kes .

i t al most cer t ai n tha t the co l ou rs were a ppl ied by stenci ls ,

al though the red bor ders r ound t he po r t ra i ts m us t h a ve bee n

a dded i n pa r t a t a n y r a te by h a nd as the c i r c l e
, s are un br oken
, , .

The col ours a re somewha t muddy A nother Pa ri sia n book .

of Ch ronicl e type (R egi st r c d es A n s 1532) has in so me copies , , ,

—
the wood cuts vi ews of ci ti es portr a i ts of ki ngs coa ts of a rms , , ,

etc ti nted in thr ee or four col ou rs i n a simil ar ma nner

.
-
,

proba bl y wi th the a i d of stencils A p ri nt of a Germa n peasa nt .

woma n by W Drechsel (c 1550) in the B ri tish Museum ha s

. .
,

some col ou ri ng i n pa rts i n fou r or fiv e t i nts whi ch we re m ost ,

li kel y stencill ed It may be of i nter est to poi nt out tha t in a MS

. .

21
 CO LOU R P RI N TIN G

in the B ri ti sh Museum da ted 15 18 an d concerned wi th certa in

, ,

i magi n ar y di a l ogu es between Fra nci s I of Fra nce an d Jul ius

—
Ce sar an a rti st supposed to be one God ef roy has executed
,
—
so me bea utiful li t t l e mi ni a tu r es i n the styl e known as Ca mée

gris or gr isa ill e The out li nes a re dra wn wi th pen a n d in k

.

a fter the ma nn e r of a woo dcut an d then ti nted i n the ch i a r o ,

scur o styl e i n th r ee sha des of bl ui sh gr ey wi th the h i gh li ghts ,

l eft u ncol oured (12a white) The i dea was probabl y deri ved
, .

from Germa n work an d the col ouri ng ada pted to French

,

noti ons of ar t .

We may n ow proceed to a consi dera ti on of Ita l i an wo rk i n

chi a roscuro whi ch may be r egar ded as foll owi ng as i t was
,
— ,

—
i ndeed n o doubt copi ed from t he G erma n i n general styl e
,

an d method of t r ea tment th ough the col our scheme w , as u su a ll y

di ffer ent The des i gns were i n most cases furn ished by the gr e a t
.

masters di r ectl y to the engr a vers P armeg i an o for i nstance .

, ,

seems to h a ve ma de a busi n ess of publi sh i ng hi s desi gn s i n

chi ar oscu ro empl oyi ng men l ik e Ugo an d Antoni o to do the

,

a ctual en gra vi n g of the bl ocks A ccordi n g to B a r tsch two .

,

chi a r oscuro prin ts by Ugo d a Ca rpi were da ted 15 18 A copy .

”
of one of t hese t he Dea th of An a ni as is in t he B ri ti sh
, ,

Museum al though the l ower par t of the i nscri ption be ar ing

, ,

the da te has been cut off Of Ugo s work a s a chi ar oscurist we

,
.
'

ha ve however other evi dence i n the bri ef in scri p t i on Ugo

, , , , ,

whi ch is found on some of hi s pri nts or the l onger ones such as , ,

Ra pha el U rbino per Ugo d a Ca rpi whi ch occu r on ot hers ,

”
.

The number of tone bl ocks used on an y one print is not l a rge ,

two or thr ee a t the most excl udi ng the outl i ne cut in bl a ck

, ,

an d wh il st the i mpr essi ons of some of them constitute wh a t the

”
pri nt coll ec tor terms sta tes 12a show t he pi cture in v a ri ous , ,

sta ges of devel opment others demonstr a te th a t i t was a

,

common pra cti ce to pri nt the sa me bl ock i n different to n es for

su ccessi ve copi es of the pi ctu r e The high l ights were r endered .

by ei ther all owi ng pa tches of the whi te su rfa ce of t he pa per to

show or by pri nti ng a very fa i nt ti nt fr om a bl ock
, .

A nothe r Ital ia n worke r i n thi s fiel d contempora ry wi th ,

22
AN T O N I O AN D AN D REAN I ,
CHI A RO SCU RISTS
Ugo wa s An ton i o de Trento of M ant ua
, H e was a
pu pil of Parmegi an o (Fra nc esco Mazzol a ) a n d one day a bout ,

1530 he was mi ssi ng fr om tha t a rti st s studi o a n u mber of

’

dra wmgs an d sketches di sa ppeari ng wi th hi m A few years .

a ft er , tist bega n publi shi ng etchi ngs a t Paris executed

an ar ,

in a styl e i denti ca l wi th th a t of An toni o but bea ri ng the n a me ,

of Fantose It is now gener all y assum ed tha t the two a re

.

i d enti cal Some two centuri es l a ter a number of Parme

.
,

i
’

g an o s desi gn s suppo sed to h a

, ve be en a mong tho s e thu s

a bstra cted fr om hi s studi o wer e di scover ed by Cou nt Za netti

,

( to be ment i oned i n the next ch a pte r ) a mongst the coll ect i on s

of the Ea rl of Arundel an d wer e conveyed by hi m ba ck to

,

Ital y wher e they fur ni shed ma terial for hi s own producti on s i n

,

the chi a r oscuro st yl e Antonio s pri nts ar e not very num er ous
.
’

an d ar e mostl y di stin gu ish ed by heav y bla ck out li nes .

Many of t h em lik e t he Cir ce an d Chr ist i n t he House of

, ,

Si mon wer e used a gai n by An dr ean i some fift y years l a ter

,

in these par ti cul ar i nsta n ces i n 1602 an d 1609 respec ti vel y

,
.

Fr om t he ti me of the dea th of Ugo or a t an y ra te fr om tha t of ,

the disa ppear a nce of Antoni o t he a rt of pri nti n g pi ctures in ,

the c hi ar oscur o styl e se ems to ha ve been di sc onti nued in Ital y ,

a s i n German y an d w as not r evi ved i n the former countr y

,

un til t he time when we ma y assum e tha t some of the ol d bl ocks

wer e disc over ed an d prep ara ti ons ma de to put the a rt i n
,

pra cti ce a gai n by Andr eani .

Wha tever V l eWS may be hel d wi th r egard to the pr ecise par ts

pla yed by Ugo an d An toni o on the chi aroscuro stage there ,

c an be but li ttl e doubt r especting th a t of Andr ea Andr ea n i

of Ma ntua (1560 as a ma j ori ty of the existing ea rl y

Ital i an prints i n chi ar oscuro were i f not a ctu all y engra ved , ,

a t an y ra te pri nted by him Many of the sui tes of bl oc ks

.

engra ved by the t wo ol der ar ti sts j ust men ti oned seem to have
foun d thei r way i nto hi s h a nds towar ds the cl ose of t he si xteen t h
century an d in severa l cases he engra ved on them his well
,

kn own monogram of the doubl e A fr equentl y wi th t he a ddi ti on ,

of a da te The da tes fou nd on hi s work range between 1583

.

23
 COLO U R P R I N T I N G

an d 16 10 , an d predec es sors mostl y copi ed the

he , li ke hi s ,

designs of the grea t masters of a rt Possi bl y some of them .

,

A Casol an i for i nsta nce wer e interest ed i n the sal e of t he

.
,

pri nts Several of the ol der bl oc ks tha t were t e used by

.
-

Andrea ni sh ow sig ns of bei ng wormed such as tha t of ,

Ra pha el an d his Mas ter I n those pri nts tha t he eng ra ved
.

himself he showed deci ded l ean i ngs towards l a rge composi ti on s

, .

An earl y exa mpl e of thi s is his chi a rosc u ro reproduct i on of

Domen i co B ec c a fu mi s mosai c pi ctur e of the Sa c rific e of
’

A bra ha m on the pa vement of Si ena Ca thed ra l This is in

, .

ten sec ti ons of whi c h the two la rgest composi ng the centra l
, ,

porti on ea ch measur e a bout 36 x 18 i nches the compl ete

, ,

pi ctur e being some 7 feet l ong by 3 feet high The outli ne is .

in bl a ck as usual t in ted in sepi a an d light brown

, This pri nt .

was published i n N ovember 1586 a n d dedi ca ted to the Duke , ,

of U rbino Thr ee yea rs l a ter a nother very l arge one was

.

"
produced the subj ect bei ng the Overthrow of Phara oh
, ,

a fter Ti ti a n It measures about 4} x 2} feet but i s not nea rl y

.
,

so good a n exa mpl e as the o t her It a ppears to ha v e been .

pri nted from sin gl e bl ocks the pri nt not bein g i n secti ons , ,

but i f this was the c a se proba bl y two pull s of t he press were,

n ec es sar y for ea c h i mpres sion The Entombment of Christ .

,

a fter G Scol a ri i s an upright pri nt a bout 20 x 30 i nches

.
, ,

”
whilst the Ra pe of t he Sa bines issued in 1585 is i n t hree , ,

secti on s coveri ng together a bout a squ are yard From i t

, .

we l ea r n tha t Andrea was bo th pri nter a n d engra ver (c a m

i n c i si t i mpr ess“ ) L i ke ma ny o t he r p r i nt p r odu c ers he fo u n d ,

i t conven i ent a n d proba bl y r emun era ti ve to dedi ca te hi s

, ,

pi ctur es to vari ou s fri ends or pa trons The i nscri pti ons a re .

xyl ogra phic t he l etteri ng be in g usua ll y i n a l arge scri pt char

,

a cter . A passage i n tha t on the Tri umphs of J u l i us Caesa r

( 1 5 9 9 ) i nfo rm s u s th a t the wo r k w a s p r e
s ented i n a new
styl e , L a dra wn an d engra ved o n wood
, This i s pe rha ps .
, ,

An dr ean i s fin est pi ece an d extends to n i ne numb er ed sec ti ons

, ,

ea ch a bout 15 i nches squa re wi thou t reckonin g the two whi ch ,

a re occupi ed by the dedi ca ti on a n d ornament The pri nt of .

24
SO ME OL D ITAL I A N CHI A RO SC U RISTS
Love Bi ndi ng Vi r tue (F l o r ence i s ded i
, c a ted to
Fran c isc o de Medi ci Duke of Tusca ny An i nter es ting an d
, .

un usual pri nt is the Al l egory of D ea th a fte r G F Fortuno , . .

The cen tral por ti on repres ents a wheel provi ded with a movabl e ,

hu b i n the fo rm of a ri ng encl osi ng a skel eton ho l di ng a

,

"
ta bl et wi th the syll a bl e mu s Al ong the spokes a r e L a ti n
.

i nscri pti ons whi ch a ll termi n a te i n wor ds en di ng wi th mus ,

so tha t the hub c a n b e tur ned to compl ete a n y of them such ,

a s u n d o su per b flmu s) A compa ni on p ri nt

. The All egory of ,

Chri stia ni ty a ft er Ba ttiste Fra nco (M a ntua

,
i s dedi ,

c a t ed to L ouis Gonza ga an d has an in scri pt i on not on l y a t the

,

foo t but al so round the ma rgin s of the pri nt I n it An dr ea .

sa ys th a t ha vi ng l ong w ished to pe rpetua te some nobl e design ,

he fin all y deci ded to ma ke use of this a n d ha d executed i t ,

in t he new styl e of engra vi ng a n d pri nting from wood This .

pri nt al so bea rs the sign i fic an t r ema rk Supe ri oru m premi su m

”

( )
si c
, denoti ng th a t i t h a d b e en p a ssed by the ec c l e
s i as ti c a l
Cen sor .

Ba r tsc h mentions a few o t her Ita l ia n chia roscurists but i n a ,

work of this na ture i t i s not neces sa ry to enumera te the na mes

a n d pr oducti ons of a ll those who p ra ctised th a t a rt G N . . .

Vi centi n o engra ved in this styl e i n Bol ogna a bout 1530 but ,

his pri nts do not ca ll for detai l ed noti ce pr esenti ng ha rdl y ,

a ny thi ng out of the common P a rmegi a n o furn ished some

.

designs for him a n d in one of them Chri st Hea l i ng Lepers

, , ,
”

Vicenti no used two sha des of pu rpl ish ma uve a n u nusual col ou r ,

for this c l ass of p ri nt The sa me col ouri ng a ppea rs i n Ma t u rin s

’
.

” '
Cl ac l i a
. Seve ra l of V ic en t i n o s sets of bl ocks were t e used -

by Andr ea ni who gener all y a dded hi s monogram an d a da te

, .

Referenc e ma y a lso be ma de to the wor k of B ar thol omeo

Coriol a no of Bol ogn a who engra ved man y prints in chi a r oscuro
,

duri ng the first hal f of the seventee n th centu ry one of whi ch ,

i s da t ed from Rome i n 1627 H e seems to h a ve been fond of

.

r ingi ng the cha nges on the tones Oi a si ngl e small p ri nt of

.

the Vi rgi n an d Chil d (1630) ther e a re ten sta tes or va rieti es i n

the B ri tish Museum one or two of whi ch a re printed on bl ue
,

25
 COLOU R P RI N TIN G

pa per . Most of hi s pri nts a re a fter desi gn s by Gu i do Reni ,

an d some of the oval s such as the , S t M ary fr om t he .

Church of S t Thomas i n Bol ogn a ha ve dec ora ti ve ornament

.
,

in the spa ndr el s between the pi ctur e an d i t s squa r e frame .

Cori ol a no often used wha t i n these da ys woul d be termed

a rul ed gr oundwor k for sh a dows or br oa d sp a ces i n onl y a
,

si ngl e col our a styl e whi ch r emi nds one of the ti t l e p a ge to

,
-

Goetz Empc r or s For several of his productions he wou l d

'
.

a ppea r to ha ve found a p a tr on an d i n su c h cas e t he nam es ,

of hi msel f an d Ren i whi ch usuall y occupy a coupl e of smal l

,

pan el s a re r epl a ced by the name ti tl es an d arms of t h e

, ,

person to whom t he pictur e was dedi ca ted One l a rge al l e .

g or i c al desi g n i s ded i c a ted to the Sen a te of Bo l og n a an d f rom ,

an i nscri pti on a t the foot we l ea rn th a t i t w as publi shed ex

Typogra phi a Ferron i an a The fact th a t i t ha d been
,

’
a ppr oved by the Censo r i s al so menti oned Thi s engraver s .

l arges t c hi aroscur o i s proba bl y tha t a fter Reni s

'
Vi ctory
”
of Jupi ter over t he Gi a nts whi ch i s i n four secti ons measu rin g
, ,

over all a bout 40 x 24 i nch es It is i n two or three shades of

.

brown P ope Urb an V III was so pl eased wi th Cori ola n o s

’
.

pri n t of Reni s Ma donn a tha t he m a de t he engra ver a

’

Kni ght of t h e Or der of L or eto a n d on those pri nts pr oduced ,

a fter 1640 he a cco r di n gl y puts a fter hi s n am e

”
Eq . .

We ma y next menti on b ri efly the work of Fred k Bl oema ert .

,

in Holl and an d F B u si n gk in Fran ce The former (1600

, .
, .

was l oca ted i n Ut recht an d engra ved several p rints i n chi a ro

,

scu ro i n the It al i a n styl e usi ng not mor e th a n two or th ree tone

,

bl ocks H i s wo r k i n thi s li ne is of spe ci al i nterest beca use

.
,

i n some cases he u sed the bl ocks for col ouri ng engra vi ngs on
metal su ch as etchi ngs as well as woodcuts This method
, ,
.

of produci ng col oured pi ctur es became mor e popul ar however , ,

i n t he foll owi ng centu ry i n the ha nds of L e Sueu r an d o t he rs

, .

But Bl oema ert was not the first to use i t as Mr Hi nde i n his , .
,

work on En gra mn g a n d E tc hi n g menti ons an etc hin g da ted

'

1538 r epresentin g a p ai r of l overs whi ch was col our ed by a

, ,

tone bl ock Thi s pri nt is now a t Hambu rg an d was produced

.
,

26
DUTCH AN D F REN CH CHI A RO SC U RO

wi thi n bout twenty year s a fte r t he inventi on of etchi ng

a .

B l oemaert s fa ther Abra ha m was hi msel f an ar ti st of some

’

, ,

note i n hi s day Ma ny of hi s designs wer e en gra ved by hi s

.

son an d in 1740 a coll ecti on of them w

, as pub li shed a t A mster

dam by R an d J Ot t en s i n a l arge fol i o vol ume wi t h the ti tl e

. .
,

of Oar spf on kd yk en verma a r d K on stryk Te K an baek The .

pl a tes ar e i n general ordi na ry li ne engr avings but i n a few ,

cases a du pli ca te impressi on i s i ncl uded col our ed i n brown ,

from a tone bl ock engra ved i n the chi arosc uro styl e The .

fronti spi ece to P ar t I i n whi ch two tones of brown were used

,

( p r ob a bl y r epr ese n ti ng the el der B l oem ae r t a t wo r k i n h i s

stu di o su rr ou nded by model s of t he hu ma n fi u r e) i s the best

, g ,

pl a te of thi s ki nd i n t he book an d th ere is al so a por tra it of ,

the arti st ti nted in t he sam e ma nner One of F B l oema er t s

’
. .
,

"
best pri nts is the Hol y Fa mil y a fter L B u sis an d the ,
.
,

same pi ctu r e w as a fterw ar ds issued by B u sin gk This l a tter .

engra ver was born a t Mi nden i n 1590 but ul ti ma tel y found ,

hi s way to Fra nce an d was worki ng a t P ar i s in 1640

,
He .

i s consi der ed the intr oducer i nto Fran ce of the ch i arosc uro
method of pr oduci ng pi ctures Many of his pri nts wer e
a fter Geo L all eman . There is a series of hal f l ength figu res
.
-

of Christ an d t he Apostl es in two brown tones tha t being t he

, ,

col our mostl y a ffected by thi s ar tist who thus l ea nt to the ,

Germa n ra t her th a n to the Ita li a n styl e I n a few of hi s pri nts .

,

however there i s a gr eeni sh gr ey tone H is outli ne cuts ar e

,
-
.

fr equent l y of a bol d coarse ch a ra cter A fai rl y representative .

exa mpl e of hi s styl e i s the Virgi n a n d Infant Chri st in two ,

”

ton es ; an oval wi thin a pl ai n r ecta ngul a r fra me wi th the ,

spa ndrels fil l ed w i th a grou nd col our Thi s bears the da te of .

1623 . A ccordi ng to Pa pill on some of thes e pri nts wer e p ro

,

du c ed i n thr ee col ours on a speci a l type of pr ess i nvented by

,

L al l eman The ea rl iest for m of thi s was a t ri pl e press as i t

.
,

had th r ee pl a tens si de by si de a ll opera ted by one pu ll of the

,

b a r but as the i mpr essi ons p roduced were not sh a rp enough

,

to pl ease hi m L all eman ma de a nother press a pproxi ma ti ng

, ,

more to the styl e of tha t use d for copperpl a te pri nting It .

27
 COLOU R PRI N TI N G
ha d three tab l es an d six roll ers an d r equi r ed four men to work
,

it. Ea ch of the th ree bl ocks was in ked by a di fferent ma n ,

whi lst the other turned the cross or ha ndl e a n d thus ga ve t he ,

thr ee impr essi ons si mul ta neousl y Both pr esses an d pri nts .

seem to h a ve been co mmer ci al fa il ur es .

P rin ts in chi a roscur o wer e evi dentl y not intended for u se

a s book ill ustra t i ons but for sa l e as sepa ra te pl a tes or occa
, ,

si on all y i n sets Thi s was the rul e but l i ke others i t a dmi ts

.
,

of excepti ons an d a noteworthy one is fu rnished by Hu bert

,

Goetz L i ves of t he R oma n Emper ors Ther e wer e severa l

’
.

edi ti ons of this wor k of whi ch tha t pu bli shed a t An t werp in

,

1557 i s the best It i s a fol i o vol ume wi th an engra ved ti tl e

.
,

i n r ococ o styl e emb odyi ng a centra l pa ne l with por tra i t

, Th e .

outl in e bl ock i s in bla ck tinted in brown t he whol e bei ng on

, ,

a ba ckgroun d of n arrow ho ri zont al str ipes of gr een the i nter ,

st i c es between whi ch a re al so br o w n The wo rk is ill ustra ted .

by 155 ci rcul a r medal l i on portra i ts a bout fiv e i nches i n di am , .

,

a n d many mor e w er e probabl y i ntended as a numbe r of ,

spa c es ar e l eft bl an k The a ctu al outl in es of t he po r trai t

.

a ppea r to h a ve been pri nted fr om metal su r fa ces en ra ved

g
i n r eli ef an d are ti nted in two sha des of b rown the i n sc ri p
, ,

t ion rou nd ea ch bei ng i n whi te l etteri ng J G i et l en g en . .

,

of Court ra i engra ved them For the edi tion of Go etz works
, .
’
,

pri nted a t An twerp by Mor etus in 1645 the portra i ts were ,

t e engra ved on w
-
ood by C S egher an d wer e pri nted i n bl a ck
.
,

on a pl a i n yell ow gr ound The origi nal bl ocks whi ch cost

.
,

six fl or i n s e a ch to engra ve a r e st ill p r ese rv ed in the Pl a nti n

,

Museum a t Antwer p Anoth er memb er of the Go etz fa mil y

.
,

Hen dr i k (1558 engr a ved a number of des igns i n chi a ro

scur o Ba r tsch menti ons twenty one mostl y cl assi cal subj ects -
,

i n bl a ck a n d two tones yell owish b rowns an d bl ue greens

,
- -

bei ng the col ou rs empl oyed There is a good seri es of ova ls .

,

mythol ogi ca l dei ti es 14 x 10 i nches an d a l a rge pri nt of

, ,

Hercul es kil lin g Ca cus da ted 1588 but none of them present
, ,

an y spec i a l fea tur e of tec hnic al i nterest the styl e l ea ns to the

Ge rma n ra the r tha n to the Ital i a n school In several cases .
,

28
 C OLOU R P R I N TI N G

pra cti ce was foll owed in other cases the col ou r bl ocks bei ng ,

impressed on the pa per first an d the outlin e cut registered ,

with them I n the exa m pl e under notice the l etterin g of the

.
,

titl e is i n red an d bl a ck ea ch porti on bei ng worked wi t h i t s

,

own col our bl ock In 15 15 an edi tion of O v id s Mc ta mor

.
,
’

phases was pri nted by Schott for P Go etz an d this has a .

,

'
si mil ar woodcut bo rde r ed ti t l e pa ge i n r ed an d bl a ck B run fel s -
.

P r ec a ti on es B i bh m p r oduced by Schott in 1528 al so ha s a

'

, ,

woodcut border to the titl e pri nted over a red gr ound al though , ,

the tone bl ock for the l at ter seems to h ave l i ttl e or n o engra vi ng
upon i t Every page of this l ittl e vol ume is surrou nded by a
.

woodcut border but pri nted i n bl a ck onl y The l etterin g of

, .

the titl e is in r ed an d bl a ck as in Lupus book I n B ru n fel s ,

’
.
’

H c r ba m m pri nted by Schott i n 1530 2 in two vol umes the

,
-
,

ti tl e of the fir st i s in red a n d bl a ck l etter i ng surrounded by a ,

woodcut bor der pri nted in bl a ck but on the thir d l ea f i s a ,

full page coa t of a rms (10 x 61 i nches) p ri nted i n red an d bl a ck

-

Anothe r e xa mpl e of Schott s

’
in the chi ar oscu r o ma nner .

col our work i s i n a di fl eren t styl e Thi s i s the map of L orra i ne .

i n a n edi ti on of P tol emy s Geogr a phi a p ri nted in 1520 The

'
.
,

vol ume i s a royal foli o a n d the ma p i s therefore of l a rge siz e

,
.

It is surroun ded with a border of shi el ds p ri nted i n red an d

brown a n d p i erced out in pl a ces for ar mo ri a l devi ces such as
, ,

li o ns fishes etc
, The mountai ns ri vers an d forests ar e al so
,
.
,

pri nted in brown the l ast named bein g i ndi ca ted by rows of
,

l ittl e t rees A t the top of the ma p are t wo shi el ds one i n

.
,

brown on a red gr ound the other in red on a b rown ground , ,

the l etteri n g on the ma p bei ng i n red an d bl a ck Red seems .

to be the col our tha t was pri nted first foll owed by brown , ,

bl a ck comi n g l ast .

I f as j ust su ggested B al d u n g o ri gi n a ted th ese ti tl e pa ge

, ,
-

borders in chi a rosc ur o the work must ha ve been a fter wa rds

,

carri ed on by some other engra ver a s B al d u n g mi gra ted to ,

Freiburg a bout 15 11 Wei ditz was in Augsburg unti l 1522 so

.
,

tha t an y ch i a roscuro titl e borders p ri nted by Schott between

these da tes were p roba bl y fr om stock bl ocks Wei di tz in his .
,

30
THE EARLY 161 11 CEN T C OLOU R
. P RI N TER

turn ma y h a ve deri ved i nspira ti on for engra vi ng for col our

,

work fr om R a t d ol t who conti nued to pri nt i n Augsburg u nti l

,

hi s dea th i n 15 10 an d empl oyed col our decora ti on i n sever al of

,

hi s books For exa mpl e the Consta nce Missa l an d the P assa u
.
,

Missal pr oduced by him in 1505 have l a rge ornamental wood

, ,

cut i nitial s an d the arms of the see p ri nted i n red a n d bl a ck

, ,

comb i ned a n d his l a rge devi ce a t the end is l i kewise in red an d

,

bla ck R a t d ol t also brought out a Con sta nce B revi ar y in 1509

. ,

on t he r everse of the first l eaf of whi ch i s a l arge woodcut of the

a rms of the see wi th much o rna ment al deta i l

,
shi el d mi tre , , ,

bands etc bei ng pri nted in red bl a ck an d yell ow thou gh

, .
, , ,

the l ast may perha ps ha ve been stencill ed The red an d bl a ck .

devi ce occurs a t the end of t hi s vol ume al so .

The first h al f of the si xteenth century was one of the best

peri ods in the hi story of typogra phy not onl y for the bea uty ,

of the l etteri ng an d the al most fa ul tl ess techni que of the

,

general a rra ngemen t but al so for the weal th of pi ctori al

,

embelli shment an d ornamen tal detail whi ch the gr ea t pri nters

of tha t da y l a vished upon thei r productions It was essen .

t i all y t he era of the woodcut bo r de red t i t l e pa ge al thou gh

- -
,

exampl es are not uncommon in fift een t h century books Th is .

border l ent itsel f pa rti cul a rl y well to the a ppli ca ti on of col ouri ng ,

a n d hence the m a j o ri ty of exampl es of col our p ri nti ng a t thi s

peri od a re found i n con nection wi th book ti tl es The two .

col our ti tl e page 11a t ha t i n whi ch the l etteri ng was pri nted
-
, ,

in red an d bla ck was so common tha t i t is not necessa ry to

,

do more tha n refer to i t her e an d as r ed was a t all peri ods the

,

most common va ri a nt from bl a ck i n book work exampl es of ,

it will not b e deal t wi th in detail except in a few speci al cases , ,

as not mer el y the l etteri ng i n t i tl es but pri nters devi ces ’

, ,

col ophons r ubrics hea di ngs an d i n i ti als in red were i n u se by

, , ,

al most every p ri nte r of note a t thi s time Typogra phy in red .

an d bl a ck al w a ys m a kes a bra ve show especial l y when the ,

type is of Gothi c chara cter an d pl enti full y besp ri nkl ed wi th the

—
hi stori a ted (or p i ctori al ) a n d the cri bl é i ni t i al s with the l ette r
show —
i ng against a ba ckgrou nd of whi te stippl e whi ch form so
31
 C OLO U R P RI N TI N G

promi nen t a fea t ure in the books of thi s peri od Ah Openi ng .

passage in capi tal s wi th an orna mental hea dpiece or i ni tial

, ,

was often pri nted i n red wi th fin e efl ec t in some of the , ,

ol d Greek foli os such as Cal li erges E tymol ogi c u m Ma gu a m

’

(V c u i ce
, 1499 on e of fo
, u r vo l ume s s i m i l a rl y deco ra ted ) or ,

on a l ess a mbi ti ous sc al e in t he S Oc c u mc mus Commc n ta n a

' ’

.
,

( Ve r on a , Co mm en t ar i e
s on C i v i l o r C a non L a w such ,

as t he Codi ce s of Justi n i a n or t he D ecr et als of P ope Gr ego ry

,

IX wi th thei r frequent ru bri cs provi ded spl endi d Opportu ni ties

, ,

for the use of col our whi ch the p ri n t e rs were not sl ow to ta ke

,

a dva nta ge oi .

Some of these vol umes are al most pi ctori al in thei r displ ay

of typogra phi c c ol our efiec t Ta ke for i nsta nce the work on .
, ,

Justin i an s codes known as t he Vol u me" in t he ed i ti on pri nted

’

, ,

by A Bocardo at Pa ris for T Kerv er an d others i n 15 11

.
, ,
.

Thi s is a quar to of a bout 7 } x 6 i nches type mea surement 1 ,

an d nea r l y every one of i t s 650 an d odd p age s is p ri n ted

i n red an d bl a ck Gothi c type usual l y i n four col umns wi th a , ,

bea uti ful seri es of cri bl é i ni tial s The openin g a t fol i o 197 .

—
to quote on l y one exarn pl e c onta i ns a dozen of these i n fou r ,

differen t si zes pri nted in bl a ck ni neteen sma ll er outli ne

,

i ni ti al s i n red i n t wo si zes, two dozen paragra ph ma rks an d ,

ei gh t een te xt u al passa ges of gr ea ter or l ess l ength al l i n red , ,

an d i n th ree si zes of type A coupl e of pa ges lik e this woul d

.

i ve a compo si to r a l ot of tr oubl e to ma ke up even now yet

g ,

t he book goes on i n tha t styl e through h u ndr eds of pa ges the ,

t wo col ours bei ng genera ll y well r egi ster ed an d the in k r et ai ni ng ,

some of i t s gl oss to th i s d a y Si mil ar wor k on a l arger scal e.

, ,

an d i n Roma n l ette r i s seen i n an edi ti on of the I n sti t u t es

,

publi shed by Au su l t u s a t Lyons a bout 1557 The type .

measuremen t of a page i s 15 x 12 i nches an d the i ni ti a ls a re ,

hi stori a ted the rubri cs bei ng l argel y in i tali cs

, The general .

a ppear a nce of the w ork i s mo re massi ve an d d ign ified tha n the

other but al though the passages pri nted i n red are not qui te
,

so fr equ ent yet an othe r a rr a ngement th a t w

, as a dopted m a de

the composi tor s work more difli c u l t t ha n ever The references

’
.

32
COLOU R P RI N TI N G I N A L MA N A CS

to t he mar ginal notes in the outer col umns a re si ngl e l ower case -

l etters pr in ted i n red a t the end of the word or p assage

, ,

commented on I n ma ny cases there a re dozens of these

.

l etters on a page every one of whi ch ha d to b e a ccura tel y

,

r egi ster ed i nto t he ti ny whi te squar e r eser ved for i t In .

l ooki ng a t such books as t hese one ca nnot but feel r espect for
,

the pa ti ence a n d skill of the ol d ti me pri nter -

.

Befor e l ea vi n g thi s bran ch of the subj ect one other exaxn pl e ,

may be menti oned the Al ma na c whi ch for centuri es was

, ,

pri nted in red an d bla ck in nearl y every European cou ntry A .

singl e i n sta nce will su fii c e to il l ust ra te the compl exi ty of the

wor k i t s prepara ti on often call ed for I n S t oefil er s Cal m .

’

da n u m R oma n u m prin ted by Koebel a t Oppenhei m in 15 18

’

, ,

ma ny pages are di v i ded by ru l e wor k i nto hundreds of l i ttl e

squ a r e S pa ces e a ch conta in i ng a numeral i n bl a ck an d an
,

ast ronomi cal si gn in r ed The vol ume has al so four full page
.
-

cuts of astronomica l i nstrumen ts pri nted in red a n d bl a ck ,

.

Book i ll ustra tions pri nted in an y other col our tha n bl a ck

, ,

a r e not common though p ri nters dev i c es ar e fr equ ent enou gh

’
.
,

An ea rl y ex ampl e of gen uine pi ctori al wor k occurs in a book

on the Sp a ni sh Or der of Sa nti a go printed a t Sevill e in 1503 , ,

by J Pegn i t zer of N ur emberg On the r everse of t he seventh

.
,
.

l ea f i s a full page cut of t he Sa int on horseba ck (81 x 5}

-

i nches) pri nted i n red an d bl a ck i n a man ner so mewha t ,

suggestive of the chi ar oscur o styl e though i t was proba bl y ,

quite an i ndependent effort on the pa r t of t he engra ver an d

pri nter There are also two l arge devi ces of the Or der in
.

r ed . The pi ercing out of bl ocks for col our work was in

common use mor e t ha n four centuri es ago an d a case in point ,

occurs in H de Mon t agn on e s E pytoma S api m ti e pri nted by

.
’

P L i echtenstei n a t Ven i ce i n 1505

. The r everse of the l ast .

l c ei has a full pag e devi ce of t he pri nter a shi el d with a sol i d

-
, ,

gr oun d of which on e hal f i s red t he other bl a ck pi erced

,
-
, ,

in two pl a ces i n ex a ct sh a pe an d size for the i nser tion of

, ,

two small i denti cal bl oc ks of vases surmou nted by orr eri es , .

On t he red hal f of the shi el d the vase etc i s pri nted i n bl a ck ,

.
, ,

33
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

an d on the bl a ck ha l f i n red a simil a r but l a rger bl ock a bove

, ,

the shi el d bei ng i n bl a ck over p ri nted wi th a di agonal r ed,

-

The sam e two co lou r devi ce a ppea rs i n this pri nter s

’
b a nd .
-

books as l a te as 1538 Another pr i nter s tra de ma rk in two

.
’
-

col ours occurs i n t he first vol ume of an edi ti on of the Bi bl e in

French pri nted by B ar thol omew V era rd a t Pa ris a bout 15 14
, .

The l etterpress ma tter a bove i t in l a rge Gothi c (xyl ogra phi c ,

type i s al so i n red an d bl a ck
, .

Someti mes as in the R epos dc Con sc i mc e (Trepperel Pa ris

, , ,

0. a singl e woodcut out of a l a rge numbe r i s p ri nted in

red for n o a pp ar ent r eason In S a b elli c us Chr on i c le (L am

.
’

pugna no Veni ce 0 , the l etteri ng on both the first or

, .
,

ti tl e an d the l ast or col ophon pa ges is pri nted wholl y i n red

, , , ,

an d enc l osed i n an o rn a ment al woodcu t border i n bl a ck In .

this insta nce the col ophon is itsel f engr a ved i n l a rge xyl o ,

graphi c Gothi c chara cters In the edi ti on of Ca sar s works .

’

pri nted by A de Za nn i s de Port esi o a t Venice i n 15 17 this

. ,

a rra ngement i s r eversed t he upper hal f of the t i t l e pa ge i s -

occup i ed b y a la rge woodcut pri nted i n bl a ck within an , ,

orna mental four pi ece bor der in red there being al so a l ine i n
-
,

l a rge red Gothic l etter j ust bel ow foll owed by several l i nes in ,

bl a ck di mi n ish i ng in l ength i n the ma nner common in th a t

,

d a y bel o w all bei ng a sma ll r ed cross

, The sa me wood cut .

a n d bo r de r a re r epea ted on foli o l of the text but i n bl a ck o n l y , .

Sen fel s L i bar S el ec ta m m Ca n ti om m pri nted a t Augsburg i n

’

1520 by Gri mm a n d Wur su n g exhibits a r eversa l of this ,

a rra ngement the co l our wor k bei ng on a n i nsi de page

, Thi s .

i s pe rh a ps the most e la bora te piece of book work i n col ou rs

, ,

tha t has come down to us from the period u nder review The .

vol ume is dedi ca ted to Ma tthi as L a ng Archbishop of Sal zburg , ,

an d the fr ont of the dedi ca ti on l ea f i s occupi ed by his a rms on ,

a shi el d surmoun t ed by a cr oss a bove bei ng a Ca r di nal s ha t

’

, ,

the penda nt cords an d tassel s of whi ch fill up the si des of the

pag e The ha t is supported by two cherub s or na ked boys
.
,

a decora ti ve moti f which is usual l y associa ted wi t h the wor k

of H ans Weidi tz Seven col ours a re used v iz red grey bl ue

.
, .
, , ,

34
1GT H CEN T CO L OU R .
-
DEC O RA TE D B OO KS

fles h pink gol d bl ack an d a greenish yell ow The cross is in

-
, ,
-
.

gol d an d a n a ttempt was ma de to r epresent the j ewels i n i t

,

i n the i r na tural col ours but they a re so small tha t the ti nti ng
,

is h ar dl y percepti bl e The ha t an d t assel s ar e of course i n

.
, ,

red a n d ther e i s a so r t of sha di ng fo ll o w

, ing t he l a tte r p ri nted ,

i n gr ey The cheru bs a n d thei r sca nty garments a re i n fiv e

.

col ours the sashes penda nt from them bei ng di ffer ently ti nted
,

i n ea ch case The quar teri ngs on the shi el d li ons ra mpa nt

.
, ,

a re i n red on a go l d gro u nd Grey seems to h a ve be en the firs t .

col our p ri nted an d bl ack the l ast It woul d be i nter esti ng to .

know whether Weidi tz was res pon sibl e for hi s desi gn (i t i s

consi der ed to be his) bei ng r eproduced in col our in thi s remar k
a bl e w ay The ti nts a re sol i d a n d the i mpressi on is hea vy
.

i n some par ts of the pi ctur e The ba ck of the l ea f whi ch is of .

,

the or di na ry book pa per of the peri od i s occupi ed by the ,

dedi ca ti on a pa ge of bla ck l etter type

,
-
.

A B r evi a mm R oma n u m in 12mo issued si n e n ote but .

,

r eferr ed to c 1520 conta i ns hal f a dozen full pa ge cuts w1t hi n

.
,
-
,

borders whi ch are a ppa rent l y ma de up from type orna ments ,

an earl y e xa mpl e of this c l ass of wor k So me of these borders .

are pri nted i n both red an d bl a ck an d the text of the vo l ume ,

is of course i n these col ou rs thr o u ghout

, , Another si mil a r .

exampl e occurs in the Brevi a ry pri nted a t Veni ce by J P en t i u s .

Here the borders a re ma de up of sma l l flowers

"
in 1526 .
,

a n d severa l of them ar e i n both r ed an d bl a ck An u nusual .

combi na ti on of col ours occurs on the ti t l e pa ge of Amb Leo s

'
-
.

Opus Qu aysti om‘ m prin ted a t Veni ce in 1523 by B an d M de

, . .

Vi tali The l etteri ng is i n red wi t hin an ornamen tal woodcut

.
,

bor der pri nted i n bl ue an al most soli ta ry i nst a nce of the u se

,

of t ha t col our for such a purpose .

Anoth er i nteresting pi ece of Fr ench col our work occurs i n

de G uy e C m d H P i G d P
'

J h (
’
. s s r o ques c a yn a u a r s u r é c , .
,
.

The titl e page to Vol ume I is surrounded wi th a woodcut

-

bor der in four pi eces t he design being of the usual Fra ncis I
,

type The top a n d bottom sect i ons have a cir cul ar por tra it
.

a t ea ch end so tha t there are po r t ra i ts a t the four corners of

,

35
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

the page Ea ch of them i s col oured in r ed benea th the bl a ck

.
, ,

from a nother bl ock which was possi bl y intended to i mpa r t

,

a chi a r oscu r o e ffect to t he por t ra i ts but if so t he engra ve r , ,

evidentl y d id not understand the p rincipl es of tha t b ra nch of

h i s a rt as the r ed bl ock i s mer el y a coll ection of broken li n es
, ,

an d thus obscu r es an d confuses the bl a ck outli nes of the o ri gi n al

woodcut The ti tl e l etteri ng wi thin the bor der i s al so i n red

.
‘

On the ti tl e page of Vol ume II the arra ngemen t i s r epea ted

-
,

but on tha t of Vol ume I II though the sa me bo rder is used , ,

it an d the encl osed l etteri ng a re wholl y in bl a ck The ti tl e .

to J Ca v i c eo s L a P er egri n (Lyons C Ca rc a n d 1533) is in

’
. .
, ,

r ed an d bl a ck l ette ri ng wi thi n an or namen tal bor der whi ch ,

encl oses the pri nter s device i n bl a ck i n i t s turn encl osi ng a

’

r ed hea r t on a sh i el d ensigned by a crown A vol ume of , .

Ita li a n poetry I I P ri mo L i bra dc R ea h by Al t i ssi rn o (Venice

'

, , ,

G A de N de Sa bi o
. . . has the fin e woodcut bor der to
,

the titl e a design consist i ng of grotesque a nimal s an d human

,

ngu r es pr inted entir el y i n red

, .

A curi ous b i t of r ed an d bl a ck wor k i s found i n the D u e

Tr a tta ti of G Cam il l o prin ted a t Veni ce in 1543
. On the
, .

obv erse of fol io 13 the text in bl a ck i s a rra nged in the form , ,

of a circl e benea th whi ch , un der the bl a ck l ettering ) i s

a whee l pr inted i n r ed w i t h a sentence a l so in r ed a t the end
, , ,

of ea ch of the spokes .

This li ttl e l ist of exam pl es of bookwor k i n col our bega n wi th

a Sp a nish publ ic a t i on an d it now ends w i th a nother v iz
,
P ,
. .

Medi n a s A rte dc N a vega r (Vall a dol i d F de Cor dova

’

, ,

The secti on devoted to Al tura d el 80 1 has a fin e fr onti s

pi ece i ncl udi ng a l arge figu re of the Sun i n red wi th red an d
, ,

bl a ck l ette ri ng benea th Systema tic r esea r ch whi ch wou l d .

, ,

however call for t he ex penditur e of a gr ea t deal of time woul d n o

, ,

doubt bri ng to li ght ma ny other an d possi bl y more el a bora te ,

speci men s of the col ou r wor k of thi s peri od The ca tal ogue .

of t he Cax ton Exhi bi ti on hel d in London i n 1877 mentions , ,

two book titl es pri nted in col ours whi ch the writer has not been
-
,

a bl e to t ra ce one da ted 1522 fr om a Wi ttenbe rg press an d

, , , ,

36
 C OLOU R P R INTING

bl a ck i s tha t to Reeves CI msti a n

'

l e t t erpr es s ti tl e i n r ed an d

Di vi n i ti e 163 1,
Books of a higher order than al mana cs
.
,

prin ted i n red an d bl a ck were not common in Engla nd a t thi s

,

ti me Broughton s Commen ta ry on Da n i el (L ondon 1597)

’

has thr ee an d a h al f p a ges of Hebr ew text pri nted i n th a t

styl e , b u t a mor e u nusual exampl e i s P ol yc a rpi at I gn at i o
E pi stokz pri nted a t the O xfor d U ni versity Pr ess i n 1644
, In .

the first part passag es from the Gr eek an d L a tin versions are
,

pri nted in paral l el col umns i n or der to show some i nterpol a ,

ti ons an d i n both fr equent sentences i n red occur I n t he

, .

second pa r t the Epi stl es are p ri nted in fu ll i n both l anguages ,

an d i n the Gr eek text the m b r i c a t ed passag es are very num erous .

an d so metime s o f consi dera bl e l ength extendi ng here an d ,

there to an enti re col u mn even the l ist of erra t a is i n red an d

bla ck Thi s i s a fin e an d pi ctur es que pi ece of m b ri c a t ed
.

typogra phy an d was pr eceded i n 1633 by a si mil ar work Pope

, ,

Cl ement s commentary on the Epistl e of S t Pa u l to the Cori n

'
.

t hi an s i n which however the two col our wor k i s on a much

, , ,
-

mor e modest scal e .

Pi ctori al p ri nti ng i n col ours se ems to ha ve been qu i te n u

kn own i n Engl a nd until L e Bl on s ti me as the el ementa ry ’

armori al devi ces i n the B ake of S i A lba n s c an sc a r cel y be ra nked .

as pi ctur es The onl y a ttempt a t a nythi ng of the sort an d a

.
,

very fai nt a ttempt i t was i s of the kind whi ch ma y be seen ,

ex emplified i n the as t r ol ogi c al di a gra m of t he hu ma n body

which occurs on the ba ck of the titl e of the N ac c ssan A l ma n

'

a c ke for 1560 p ri nt ed a t L o ndon by Th os Marsh ; a n d on a

,
.
,

mor e l imi ted scal e i n the vignette on the ti tl e pag e of W

,
-
.

Muscul us Common pla c es of the Chri sti a n R el i gi on pri nted i n

’

L ondon by R Wol fe i n 1563 These wood cuts ha ve some of

. .

the deta ils pri nted twi ce over first in r ed an d then in b l a ck the , ,

second i mpr es sion bei ng a li ttl e out of r egi ster w i th t he first ,

so t h a t the effect i s sl ightl y r emi ni sc ent of the ea rli er chi a r o

scu r o styl e I n a London Al man a c for 1584 pri nted by Wa tki ns

.
,

81 Rober ts t he dia gra m represen t i ng the ecl i pses of the moon

,

for th a t yea r i s p rin ted in red a n d bl a ck .

38
SOME 17TH CEN T ENG L I SH. A LMA N A CS

It i s curi ous to fin d tha t wher eas t he two col our bor der ed -

ti tl e page ha d pra cti cal l y di ed out on t he Conti nent a t t he

-

commencement of the seven teen th centur y pri nters in Engla nd ,

shoul d be just then begi nning to i n tr oduce i t P on d s A l ma n a c

’
.

for 16 11 has a v er y crude wood cut bo r der in compa r tments ,

ev i den t l y of Engli sh ori gin but pr inted in bl a ck In H opton s , .

’

A l ma n a c for 16 13 i t i s used a gai n but some of the deta il s are ,

r epea ted i n red in the styl e of the si x teenth centu ry ex a mpl es

,

just mentioned In B ret n or s N ewe A l ma n ac he for 1615 the

.
’

sa me t w o col our bo r der occu rs the l etteri ng of the t i tl e page

-
,
-

bei ng al so in red an d bla ck In t he pr evi ous edi ti on of B ret n or .

( 16 14 ) a d i fi er en t fou r piece bo r de r w as u s ed p r ob
-
a b l y of ,

Continental origin with a gl obe in the cent r e of ea ch si de

, ,

pr i nted in r ed an d bl a ck in the sa me styl e as a re al so the i nitial s ,

E A
. .on the bottom pi ece of t he bo r der These wer e pr o .

ba bl y stock bl ock s to whi ch a newl y engra ved one for red was
,
-

a dj usted a fter the fashi on of the Pa r i s book of 1532 a l r ea dy

,

a ll uded to but in B ret n or for 1624 a new bor der a ppea rs ,

proba bl y speci al l y designed for two col our work Ea ch of the -

.

si de s i s di v ided i nto si x pa nel s con t a i ning the sign s of t he ,

Zodi a c the t op ha v i ng the royal arms an d t he bottom t he arms

, ,

of the Sta ti oners Company for whom t hes e al ma na cs wer e

’

printed The fram e l ike border of the pan el s i s printed i n r ed

.
-

throughout an d t he effect is not unpl easi ng This i s a 12mo

,
.

vol ume but in A ll est rc c s A l ma na c for 1634 the same design

,
’

a ppea rs i n a l a rge r siz e to sui t the octa vo p ag e of th a t publ ica

,

tion an d l ike the other i s pri nted i n two col ours Woodhou se s
, , , .
’

A l ma n a c for 1628 has a di ffer ent bor de r to the others but st il l ,

pr inted i n two col ou rs For 1635 the ti tl e borders of al l the

.
,

al ma na c s a ppea r to ha ve b een p roduced in this styl e P ec hi ns

’

’
a n d P ier ce s ha d the gl obe design al r ea dy r eferr ed to S ofi or d s
’

an d J efl er ey s ha d i t al so but w i th the r oyal a rms a t t he top

‘
’

, ,

an d the Sta ti oners Co s bel ow On l y a pa r t of ea ch was

’
. .

o ut li ned i n r ed i n these but i n L a ngl ey s the whol e of the

’

r oyal arms w In Cl a rk s an d Dove s

’
as i n the two col ou rs
’
.

al m a n a cs the bo rder w as m a de up of type o rna m en ts some ,

39
 C OLOU R P R I N TI N G

of whi ch were i n red the r est i n bl a ck All these li tt l e diffe r

, .

en c es occurring a t the sa me ti me su ggest tha t much ex peri

, ,

men t i n g was goi ng ou In F afl ows A l ma n ac for 1637 the .

’

gl obe des i gn r ea ppea rs as well as in Da de s for 1643 i n whi ch ,

'

ca se perha ps i na dverten t l y the red i mpressi on was pri nted

, ,

on top of the bl a ck In books other tha n Al ma n a cs this class

.
,

of col our printi ng seems to ha ve been very sel dom used .

Fisher s Defen c e of the L i t u rgy of the CI mrc h of En gl a mi (L ondon

'

has the t i tl e wi thi n a woodc u t bor der of which the ,

co rners a re pri nted in red a n d bl a ck The Commu n i on B ook .

Ca t ec hi sm E xpou mi ed (L o ndon 1636) has t he l ette rpr ess ti tl e ,

in red an d bl a ck su rr ounded by a comb ina t i on b orde r

,

pri nted i n both col ours Howel l s S u rv ey of the S i gn on e of ' '

Ven i c e (L ondon 165 1) has a cut of the L ion of S t M a r k on

, .

the ti tl e page pri nted i n red an d bl a ck Ah ea rl y novel

-
, .
,

B en t i voh o a nd Ur a ma (L ondon
'

ha s al so a two col ou r
’

-
,

v i gnette on the titl e Foreign sev enteenth century exa mpl es

.

of this cha ra cte r a re i f any thi ng ra rer still Ah edi ti on of

, , .

t he theol ogi c al wo r ks of D H Z a n c hus pri nted a t Geneva . .

,

by S Crispin i n 16 19 ha s tha t typogra pher s woodcut devi ce

.
,
'

of the Sower on the ti t l e page pri nted i n bl a ck with porti ons -

, ,

cut a wa y from the top bottom an d si des which a re fill ed i n , , ,

wi th embl ema ti c al cuts of cherubs etc printed i n red The , .

, .

A c ta S yn odi N a ti on a h s (Do r drecht I GN ) has a shiel d i n red

’

a n d bl a ck on the t i tl e pa ge In a n alman a c for 1682 pri nted

-
.
,

a t B asi e by J E de Mec hel some of the woodcuts a re t i nted

. .
,

by broa d masses of red suggesting the u se of the stencil , .

Exampl es of the use of a bl ock for furnish ing pa rt of the

l etteri ng of a tit l e occur i n the P osti lla Domesti c a hoc est ,

S i mpl ex (E i c hhom Fra nkfor t the wor d Si mpl ex being

, ,

i n l a rge xyl ogra ph i c Roma n c a pi tal s surr o u nded on thr ee ,

si des by a n o rn a mental bo r der thi s b l ock being p ri nted in r ed , .

The ti tl e page of the S hri ft a n d P l a n et e K a lender for 1723

-

( H a m bu rg) has tho se wo r ds eng r a ved i n th r ee l i ne s of Ge r m a n

Gothic l etter wi th a ccomp a nyi ng flou r i shed orna men ts a l l
, ,

pr inted in red .

40
CH I DL E Y THE CEN S O R
A curi ous specimen of English bookwor k enti rel y in red is , ,

furni shed by Sa muel Chi dl ey s Cr y A ga i n st a Cryi n g S i mt e '

(L ondon , a twenty fou r p a ge p a mph -

l et of the usu a l
sma ll qu ar to forma t of th a t peri od Chi dl ey was a pers on of .

huma ni tari a n in cl i na tions who from hi s mother s home in

, ,
’

Soper La ne , penned l ong epi st l es pr otesting aga inst the

”

ba rbarous na tur e of the l a ws tha t then provi ded the dea th

penal ty for compara tivel y t ri vi al offences incl uding tha t of ,

stea l i ng goods to the val ue of thi r teen pence a n d the c ruel ,

puni shment of pr essing to dea th in cases wher e a pri soner

r efused to pl e a d The Cour t of Common Co u ncil the Army
.
,

Council an d the J udges a t N ewga te were successivel y peti

,

t i on ed by Chi dl ey without r es ul t a n d fin all y he a ppea l ed to ,

the L or d P rotector an d the Pa rl ia ment in a four pa ge l ea flet -

al so p ri nted i n r ed A ddr essing them as

. Mortal Gods ,

Chidl ey i n the foll o wing passage expl a i n s why he ha d his

, ,

commu ni ca ti on pri nted in red : An d beca use you a re the

Pa trons of En gl a n d s Sta tutes a n d ha ve powe r to r edress the
’

Gri eva nces which b y your l a wca nnot be redressed without you ,

I ha ve pres ented you wi th these li n es pri nted i n red l etters

beca use though Tophet i s pr epa r ed of old for K i n gs beca use of
, ,

thei r crying crimes yet Pa rli ament s sin s ar e si ns red as sc a rl et

,
'
,

Oi a deep an d doubl e dye Seeing tha t Chi dl ey in this

”
.
,

a ddr e s s to the L egisl a tur e r efe rr ed i n str ong terms to the si ns

,

of the L ying L a wyers whom he further a postrophised as

,

"
La sc i vi ous L ubbe rs it is not surp rising tha t he had to
,

protest aga in in the Cry j ust a ll uded to At the foot of

, .

the l ast pa ge is the foll owi ng : B y Mr Chi dl ey s a ppoi nt .

’

men t who i s the a utho r of this book one of them shoul d ha ve

, ,

been nai l ed upon T i b u rn e Gall owes befor e the executi on wi th ,

this motto wri tten on the top :

Cu rse d b e th a t blood y h and
Wh i c h ta kes thi s d own e wi t h ou t c o mma n d ,
’

as a wi tnes s aga i nst such cursed proc eedi ngs of murderi ng men
mer el y for steali ng food or ra yment but the pa rty coul d not ,

n a il e i t upon T ib u rn e Gall ows Tree for the c rowd e of peopl e

- -
, ,

41
 CO LOU R P R INTING

an d therefor e was forced t o nail e i t t o the tr ee whi ch is upon

t he b ank by the Gall ow es an d ther e i t r emai ned an d w as rea d
, ,

by ma ny both before a n d a fter executi on an d i t s thought i t ’

wil l stand t here still till i t drop a wa y , J ames Hea th s N ew .

'

B ook of Ma rtyrs (Lond c 1665) has by wa y of fr ont i spi ece a

.
, .
, ,

li st o f t he mar tyrs commen ci ng wi t h Cha rl es I pr i nted

, ,

from type in red .

The seventeen t h centu ry a ppears to be t he l eas t frui tful of

al l pe riods i n the a nnal s of pi ctor i al col our pr inting The .

enthusiasm of the fift een t h an d ea rl y si xteen t h centuries ha d

qui te di ed ou t an d in i t s pl a ce we ha ve il l ustr a ti on of a ve ry
,

c ommonpl a ce o r der It i s true tha t thi s was t he age of the

.

E l zev i rs but those excel l ent Dutch pri nters wer e not con
,

c er ned wi th col ou r wor k an d but li ttl e wi th ill ust ra ted books

, .

N or di d t hey do much i n the wa y of pri n ti ng i n r ed an d bl a ck ,

a pa rt fr om a pr etty l ittl e vol u me of J usti ni a n s codes w ith ’

c omment ary A di ffer ent cl ass of work i s seen in An dr ea

.

Ghi si s L a ben n t o (Ven i ce E Deu c hin o i n which for ty

’ ’

.
, ,

t wo of the foli o pages are occupi ed by small wood cuts of

pl ayi ng cards wi th xyl ogra phi c i nscription s all pr i n t ed in red

-
, , .

The u se of col our p rinti ng for the pr oduction of the pl a tes

for a sc i en t ific wor k i s of the utmost ra ri ty pr i or to the mi ddl e
of the eighteenth century but wha t must be an al most soli ta ry ,

i nsta nce of the ki nd occurs in G Aselli s D e la c ti bu s si ve la c tei s

’
.

neu i s publi shed a t M i l a n by J

, B Bi del l i i n 1627 Thi s is a . .

medi cal trea ti se in quar to on the chyl e ducts of the huma n ,

body an d has four l arge fol di ng pl a tes pri nted i n col ours
, ,

from wood bl ocks i ll ust r a ting va rious i nternal orga ns They

,
.

a r e i n a fl esh col ou r ed gr ound ti nt on whi ch the vei n s etc

-
, ,

a r e shown i n a da r ker r ed or by par ts being engr a ved out , , ,

i n whi te some as well as the d escri pti ve l etter i ng an d t he

, , ,

so li d gr oun d which extends fr om the outl i nes of the pi ctur e

to nearl y the edges of the l ea f bei ng i n bl a ck the bl ock appl yi ng , ,

this col our being worked l ast The pa per is b a dl y stai ned .

with the oil used i n the i nks .

The producti on of lin e engra vi ngs from i nta gl i o pl a tes in ,

42
SO ME DUTCH EX PERIMEN TERS

an y col ou r other tha n —

bl a ck now
one of the l ea st pra ctised
-
r s—
of all col our pri nti ng p oces se appears to have tak en i t s rise
a bout thi s peri od A Dutchma n Her cul es Seghers (1625
.
,

a fr i end of Remb ra ndt w as one of the first to pra ctise i t

, .

H i s etchi n gs h a ve oft en been r eferr ed to as earl y exampl es of

col our pri nti ng but as far as c a n be j udged from a n i nspection
,

of them ther e i s onl y a si ngl e pri nted col our though thi s i s ,

gen era l l y some other tha n bl a ck One of those preserved in the .

Pr i nt Room a t the Bri tish Museum a mountai nous l an dsca pe ,

wit h a r u shi ng st r ea m in the for eg r ou nd i s printed in bl ue , ,

an d has in pl a ce s sma ll pa tche s of a so r t of gra in somewha t ,

d i sta ntl y r esembli ng tha t of a qua ti nt though much more ,

i rr egu l a r an d scra tchy suggesting L u t ma s

”
Opus M all ei
’
.
,

Thi s i s al so found on some other of Seghers etchi ngs nea rl y ’

a ll of whi ch ar e mor e or l ess cover ed with pal e an d washy ti nts ,

most li kel y put in by han d though some of t he dar ker pa tches ,

ma y ha ve been stencill ed Seghers work in fa ct be ars much

’
.
, ,

the sa me rel a ti on to col our pri nting as does Bl ak e s most of ’

t he ti nts bei ng obvi ousl y h and wor k -

.

A nother Du tchma n P eter L a st man of A msterdam (bo rn

, ,

a t H a arl em in 158 1 an d thus contemporary w

, ith Seghers) ,

a ppea rs to ha ve gone in for the sa me cl ass of work fr om 1626

onwards though the wr i ter has not been a bl e to come a cross

,

an y speci mens When Ga uti er Da got y the Fr ench expl oi ter

.
,

of t he L e Bl on process was in L ondon a bout 1750 Mr Morti mer

, , .
,

the Secreta ry of the Royal Soci ety showed him some col our ,

pri nts of L ast man s studi es of bi r ds fru i t etc whi ch ha d

’

, , ,

a pp a r entl y been p ri nted fr om a singl e pl a te a t one impr essi on .

N ot hi ng i s known as to the p r esent whe rea bouts of th ese

pi ctures L ine engra vi ngs i n col ou r a re al so sai d to ha ve been
.

p roduced by P eter Schenck a nother Amster damer a bout , ,

1700 .

A bra ham Bosse a copperpl a te engra ver of some note i n hi s

,

d a y b ri efly described i n hi s Tra i t é des M a méres de Gr a ver en

’

, ,

Ta m e douc e (P a ri s a method of p ri nting i n col ou r s from

,

copperpl a tes Hi s i dea was a ppar entl y to pr oduce those l ittl e

.

43
 COL OU R P R I N TIN G

devoti onal pri nts of t he sa i nts etc commonl y termed ,

"
Im ages a n d whi ch were wont to be col our ed by ha nd H e
,
.

first took a n i mpressi on i n the or di n ary wa y from the coppe r ,

pl a te on whi ch the design was engra ved on a pi ec e of da mped ,

pa pe r or car d then took a nother pl ai n pl a te cove red wi th white

,

va rnish an d l a i d the pri nted pa per down on i t so as to produce

, ,

i n the p ress a set ofi r eversed i mp ressi on on the top of the

-

va r ni sh This done t he varn ish under those par ts of the

.
,

desi gn i t was intended to col our was cut a wa y an d the pl a te ,

etched i n the ordi nary wa y the sa me process bei ng a dopted

,

for ea ch col ou r requi red other tha n bla ck .

Whether Bosse p roduced a n y col our ed pi ctures by th is

method is doubtfu l as none of his pri nts of sa ints etc ca ta
, ,
.
,

l og u ed by Dupl essis a re sta ted to be in col ours Th e most a bl e .

exposi tor of the possi bili ties of col our pri nting fr om pl a tes
engra ved in li ne was undoubtedl y Joha nnes Teyl er of N ymegen , .

Holla nd who was a mili ta ry en gi neer by pr ofessi on an d an

,

a rt i st a n d engr a ve r by taste an d i nst i nct Very li ttl e 18 known

.

a bout him but as far as co l ou r pr in ting w

, as concer ned he w as

evi dentl y a man fa r i n a dva nce of t he ti mes Who i nspired .

him we do not know but we do know that he produced li ne

,

engra vi ngs i n col ou r to a n extent an d in a va ri ety tha t has

, ,

p roba bl y neve r been surpassed since his ti me H is work .

i n this di r ecti on is onl y known th rough t he medium of a

si ngl e vol u me a l a rge fol i o bound i n c al f gil t an d supposed
, ,

to da te from a bout 1670 A fter Teyl er s dea th i t remai n ed

.
'

i n the possessi on of hi s fa mil y down to compa ra t i vel y r ecent

t i mes but found i ts way i nto a n Amster da m booksell er s sa l e
'

ca t al ogue in 1868 I t is now prese rved i n the P ri nt Room a t

.

t he B ri ti sh M useu m an d conta i ns 185 pri nts of va rio u s si zes

, ,

from a doubl e page down to tiny pi ctures of ca terpil l a rs a n d

other insects The grea t ma jori ty of the pri nts a re in l i ne
.
,

t hough there a re two or three mezzoti nts an d some of the pic ,

tures ar e partl y engra ved i n a sort of stippl e All are prin ted .

in col ou rs a n d though many of the l a rge r on es a re i n fiv e or

,

si x t i nts they were produced a t a singl e i mpressi on The

, .

44
 COLOU R P R I NTI N G
the way i n whi ch the di fieren t tints ra nge flush wi t h ea ch other .

In processes where a sepa ra te bl ock or pl a te is used for ea ch

col our this i s of course expected but when a singl e pl a te is
, ,

i nked i n si x or more col ours al l bo rderi ng on ea ch other i t i s

, ,

a l most i mpossibl e to ri gi d l y p rese r ve the li ne of dema rca t i on

between them yet Teyl er seemi ngl y a ccomplished thi s wi th

,

ease an d wi th such skill tha t onl y a ca r eful exa mi na tion of the

,

pri nts c an con v i nce tha t al l the col ours wer e pr inted a t a singl e
i mpres si on T he sombre t i nts of the chiaroscu ri sts we r e not
.

used by Teyl er who i nstea d revell ed i n bril li a nt r eds bl ues

, , , , ,

greens an d yell ows na tura l col ou ri ng bei ng a dopted as fa r as

,

possi bl e The wor k i s pe rha ps seen a t i t s best i n the li ghtl y

.
, ,

engra ved cl assi ca l subj ects as i n the hea vil y sha ded ba ck
,

gr ound of some of the por trai ts the col our has b een tra nsferred
i n a l most a sol id mass thus pa rtl y obscuri ng the l in es
,
Two .

or thr ee d esi gns for fa ns ar e especi all y good but i n some c ases ,

the col ou ri ng is mor e curious tha n bea uti ful This is generall y .

so w i th the a rchi tectu ra l el eva ti ons wher e bl ue r oofs an d steps , ,

r ed doo rs an d va nes an d yell ow fronts ma ke up so me ra ther

,

crude col our contrasts N o ma tter how mi nute wer e the

.

det ails on some of the pl a tes Teyl er ma nag ed to in k them i n ,

col our pr oba bl y with the a id of a brush In some vi ews of

, .

the in teri or an d e xt eri or of S t Peter s a t Rome there is a .

’

, ,

number of figu res onl y hal f an inch high but they are a ll ,

pri nted i n di fferent col ours M any of the pi ctures in the .

vol ume ha ve been worked on in wa te r col ours by some l a te r

a n d ra ther u n skil ful ha nd but whe r e T ey l er s col ou r pr int i ng
’

i s i nta ct i t is as b ril li ant as when first executed One of the .

"
portrai ts is evi dentl y i n the first sta te as bl a nk spa ces ,

a ppe a r fo r the na me an d ar ms of the person r ep r esented .

Anothe r a fin e full l engt h po rtra it of a l a dy wi th a co ronet

,
-
,

on a cushion a t her si de i s bea utifull y pri nted i n ha l f a dozen

,

col ours though one or two of these a re ra the r l ess bri ght th an
,

Teyl er s a r e wont to b e
’
Wha tever he ma y ha ve been as an
.

a rt ist an d engra ve r the re i s l i tt l e or no sign of the a ma teu r

,

i n his col our pri nt i ng wo rk n or i s there a n y suggestion in the

-

46
R e d u c ed fa c i mil
s e of li i
n e en g ra v n g . i di l
Pr nte n c o o u rs
by j T ey l er . o f N y me g e n , a bo u t 1 760 Ki d l y p i d by
he ed
n r n te
“ l
. .

c ast s T a y or B r o t
. n . L e s.
CO PP ER PL ATE C OLOU R WOR K
vol u me t ha t he i ntended to publ ish a book of such pri nts it ,

bei ng quite evi dent tha t t hey ar e specia l proofs fr om pl a tes ,

i n ked an d p ri nted by Teyl e r himsel f as a so rt of hobby Why .

a man who ha d as i t we r e thus i nvented a new fo rm of a r t

, , ,

whi ch has r em a ined al most unpra cti sed si nce hi s da y shou l d ,

have been content to hi de his l ight u nder the bushel of a

li ttl e D utch town will p roba bl y neve r be kno wn
, H i s u ni q u e .

book has however r escued hi s memory from obli vion a n d

, , ,

were some of the a r t pr int publi shers of the present d a y to see

i t i t woul d p roba bl y r eveal to them hi ther to un d r eamt of
,

possibili ties i n the wa y of col our prints The pr ocess i t i s .

,

true is both sl ow a n d expensi ve but seeing tha t the fiv e gui nea

, ,
-

co l our etchi ngs so popul ar j ust now an d mostl y produced by ,

a somewha t si mil a r method hn d pur chas ers easil y eno u gh , ,

ther e shoul d be an equall y good fiel d for t he expl oita ti on of

mul ti col our li ne engra vi ngs .

On e of the most prol ific Ital i a n etchers an d en g ra vers of t his

peri od G M Mi t el li of Bol ogna (1634
, . .
, pri nted a few of
hi s l i ne engr a vi ngs i n red O ne of these r epresents S t P hil ip
. .

N eri a fter A Al gar di an d an other a Roma n gall ey with

, .
, ,

so l di ers A ra ther novel styl e of col our p ri nti ng i s seen in t he

.

pl a tes for t he a nonymous P an str oma ta Tu r c i c a 1 e Turki sh

' °

.
, .
,

Ca rpets published a t P a ris in 164 1 This is an embl ema ti cal

,

di sser t a ti on on the sta te of Eur ope in i t s r el a ti on to Tu rkey

an d Tur ki sh i ntr igues an d conta i ns h al f a dozen coppe rpl a te
,

—
l i ne engr a vings on e of which ser ves as the ti tl e page -

r ep r esent i ng ca rpets whi ch a re p ri nted i n one co l our a r ect

, ,

a ng ul a r cut out spa ce i n the centr e be i ng fill ed w

-
i th an embl em
a ti c engra v i ng i n a nother so th a t wher e the c ar pet i s bl a ck
, ,

as i t i s i n fou r cases the cent r e i s r ed an d vi c e ver sa

, A si mil a r , .

method was used on an eighteenth century It a l ia n ti tl e pag e -

in the wr iter s possessi on of D elta P ru d en za ded i ca ted to

’

, ,

P V Pi sa n i P rocura to r of S t M ar k s Veni ce Most of the ’

. . . .
, ,

spa ce is occupi ed by a fin e r ococo design p ri nted in bl ue w ithi n ,

the central pa nel of wh ich is the l ettering pri nted in red from ,

a second pl a te .

47
 CO LOU R P R INT I NG

Before qui ttin g thi s peri od bri ef r eference ma y b e ma de

,

to a nother method of pr oducing col our effects on paper the ,

i nvention of whi ch i s generall y asc ribed to the seventeenth

century , marbl i ng Whether first pra c t ised in France or
.

Holl a nd ca nnot be ex a ctly determi ned thou gh the l a tter coun

,

t ry i s usual l y cr edited wi th the honour The ea rl i est Engli sh

.

p a tent conn ected wi t h it i s tha t of R edri c h Jones (17 24)

but if a passa ge i n one of B agfor d s MSS i s to be bel ieved the
’
.
,

i ntr oducti on of the process i nto th i s country da tes fr om some

thi r ty yea rs befor e H e a ttr i butes it to one Dr Gar enci eres
. .
,

who was perh a ps a Huguenot r efugee an d ha d l earned some

,

th i ng of the proc ess i n Fra nce Fi ndi n g tha t the forei gn

.

ma r bl ed pa per was dea r he sta rted to ma ke it i n L ondon a t

, ,

Cl erkenwell Green but hi s pr od uctions wer e dul l er an d not

so gl ossy as the D utch so he tu rned hi s a ttenti on to the ma nu
,

fa cture of the necessa ry col ours i n whi ch he was so successful

,

tha t on hi s dea th he l eft a prosperou s busi ness to hi s da ughter .

One of the B agfor d sc ra p books preserved a t the B ri ti sh

Museum contai ns a nu mber of speci men s of the marbl ed pa per
of two centuri es ag o but they are mostl y of quite o rdi nary
,

ch a ra cter It will be r emembered by r ea ders of Tri str a m

.

S ha n d y th a t a piece of ma r bl ed pa per se rves as an ill ust ra ti on

in tha t wor k .

48
 CH APTER III
C OLO U R P R I NTING I N THE EI GHTEEN TH CEN TU R Y
SEC TI ON I
B LON S
'
THRE E -
C OLOU R P R OC E SS . r m: LA E R T W OR K E R S
IN c ma n osc uno .

ITH the comi ng of the ei ghteenth century ,

t h e art of col our pri nti ng a t l a st thr ew

oil the sh a ckl es whi ch ha d for so l ong

c on fin ed i t w i thin compara t i vel y na rrow

li mi ts an d emer ged into the full light
,

of d ay Most of the pr ocesses Opera ted

.

du r i ng thi s peri od are still conti nued ,

though on modi fied lin es a t t he presen t ,

time Genui ne col our pri nts as di st i ngui shed fr om t he ra ther

.
,

col d an d gl oomy ones i n chi aroscu r o now began to be i ntro ,

d u c ed an d al though chi ar oscur o wor k was agai n r evi ved i t

, ,

took on to some ex tent a more brill i a nt dr ess The intr o .

duction of new methods of engra vin g was l argel y r es ponsi bl e

for this i mpr oved sta te of thi ngs Hi th erto with the al most
.
,

soli ta r y excepti on of T eyl er s w ork whi ch per ha ps never

’

, , ,

came befor e the publ i c eye in an y qua nti ty the woodcu t ,

ha d fo rmed the sol e medi um of pr oducti on engra vi ngs i n ,

i nta gli o bei ng onl y used i n a few i sol a ted cases .

Befor e pr oceeding to deal wi th pi ctoria l work somethi ng ,

may be sa i d concerni ng l etterp ress p ri nti ng i n col ours of ,

whi ch a par ticul ar i nteresti ng ex ampl e b el on gs to the earl y

pa r t of the peri od u nder noti ce Appropri a tel y enough i t .
,

i s the wor k of a pri nte r a t M entz t h e cr a dl e of typogra phy , ,

an d occurs i n an edi tion of the wor ks of Raymond L ull y the ,

thi r teent h century a l chemist whi ch was i ssued in eight

,

ponder ous foli o vol umes between 172 1 an d 1742 There i s .

c ol our work in most of them but onl y t wo a re spec ia ll y

,

49
 COLOU R P R IN TING
r emarka bl e i n t his respec t Each con t ai ns a bo ut a scor e of .

sepa ra t e pl a tes of ta bl es an d di a grams mostl y pri n ted i n ,

four col ours bl ue green red an d yell ow The di agrams

, , , .

are very i nte resti n g In a ci rcul a r spa ce a re fou r square or

.

tria ngul ar ta bl ets wi t h a common cent re but a rra nged a t

, ,

di ffer ent a ngl es ; ea ch i s pri nted i n a di fieren t c ol our not ,

so li d but fr om engra ved l i nes

, This i nner ci rcl e i s surrounded .

wi t h o t her concentri c ones di vi ded up by rul e work i nto a ,

number of spa ces contain i ng l etter i ng al so pri nted i n several ,

col ours The ta bl e work is stil l more remar ka bl e

. tha t
hea ded Fi gu ra Ob j ec t u m occupi es a full pag e di vi ded ,

by ru l es i nto a l a rge nu mber of recta ngul a r spa ces contai ni ng ,

ca pi tal l etters pri nted in red bl ue yell ow a n d purpl e Some , , .

cha ra cters such as ,V a re themse l ves in two co l o u rs

, ,

ea ch li mb bei n g i n a di fieren t ti nt The Figur a Secu nda .

foll owi ng i s so l arge as to require two sheets for i t s pres enta tion ,

whi ch i n ea ch case takes t he form of a large trian gl e di vi ded

, ,

as befo re i nto spa ces a bout 1 inch squa r e in ea ch of wh i ch a re ,

words pri nted i n two c ol ours In this ma nner on va ri ous .

,

pages a re the wa rri ng el ements textuall y depicted the vi rtues

, ,

an d vi ces cont rasted etc i n the ma nner se t out i n L u ll y s

’

wri ti ngs The pri nter of t he ea rli er vol umes who was certa in l y
.
,

to be congra tula ted on his ski ll a n d pa ti ence was J G , . .

H affner who proba bl y di ed duri ng the twenty yea rs t he work

,

was i n progress so tha t t he task was fin ished by his son

,

J .H H a fi n.er who howeve r , p r i nted

, h i s t a b l es i n the co m,
mon
red a n d bl a ck onl y As an exa mpl e of semi pi ctori a l l etterp res s
.
-

work i n col ou rs this prod ucti on p robabl y sta nds unri vall ed
, ,

even the r ul e work a n d the descri pti ve l etteri ng bein g i n col ours ;
the i nk s used have genera ll y retai ned their bri ll i a nce unimpair ed
an d good r egiste r i s ma i nta i ned t hr oughout There is a com .

p l et e set of the vo l u me s i n the B ri t ish Mu s eum but a n odd ,

one whi ch however contai ns the best exposi ti on of Hafin er s

, ,
’

col our work c an be 1n spec t ed at the Tec hni cal L ibra ry of t he

,

S t Bri de Fou nda t i on

. .

From t he col our pri nter s poi nt of v i ew t he most i mporta nt ’

50
 COLOU R P R INTING
bl ue an d yell ow In this form the i dea seems to ha ve a ttra cted
.

the a ttenti on of L e Bl on who was perha ps the first to a ppl y

,

the pri nci pl es supposed to govern col ou r in na ture to t he

r epr esent a ti on of col our by the pr ocesse s of a r t H i s tr ea tise .

on the H armony of Col ourin g was proba bl y not wri tten until
a l a ter peri od but i t s tea ch i ng w
, as no doubt pra cti sed by him

fr om the first .

The medi u m he sel ected for the pur pose of demonstra ti ng ,

t he corr ectness of the th eory was the en gra vi ng method known ,

as M ezzoti nting whi ch ha d been in vented a bout ha l f a

,

century befor e proba bl y a t Amster da m by L i eu tena nt Col onel

, ,
-

L ouis v an Si egen an ofli c er in the ser vice of Willi a m VI

, ,

L a ndgr a ve of Hes se Mezzotin t engr a vi ng i s effected by

.

puncturi ng or br ea kin g up the enti r e surfa ce of the copper

pl a te by mea ns of a r ocker an i nstr ument li ke a broa d chi sel , ,

with i t s edge grou nd to the segment of a ci rcl e li ke the rocker ,

of a cra dl e one si de bei ng engra ved i n pa ra l l el lin es so as to

, ,

form mi nute teeth on t he curved edge This pr oduces a .

un iform burr whi ch is after wards r educed to vari ou s degr ees

,

of intensity by scra pin g an d burn i shi ng thereby r egul a ting ,

the a mount of i n k c a pa bl e of being r eta ined by the pl a te the ,

ri chest bl a ck bei ng p ri n ted fr om the pl a te in i t s o ri ginal sta te

a fter the rocki ng a n d befor e be ing wo r ked ou

, The proces s .

was extensi vel y used in the prod uct ion of por traits an d
a ffo rded fu l l er an d r icher efl ec t s of gr a da ti on froml ig ht to
,

sh a dow th a n ei ther etchi ng or o r di n a ry copperp l a te engra vi n g .

Mezzo tint i n fa ct ha v ing a sor t of

, , gra i n as a basi s ,

r enders the mi dd l e or hal f ton es of a pictu r e better th a n an y

-

l i ne engra vi ng pr oces s c a n do thus L e Bl on in sel ecting it as ,

t he most sui t a bl e one for use in connecti on w i th hi s

”
inventi on star ted to work not merel y a thr ee col our but a
,
-
,

thr ee col our hal f tone proces s

- -
.

In the thr ee col our pr ocess of to d ay the col ou rs are sel ec ted
- -

an d a rra nged a utoma tica ll y by the camera th rough the medi um ,

of the l ight fil t ers b u t L e Bl on ha ving no cam er a to assi st

, ,

him i n col our sel ection ha d to p roceed i n the same way as

,

52
 LE B L ON STA RTS THE P ICT U RE OFF I CE

the expert chromo l ithogra pher does 1 e to menta ll y a n al ys e

-
, .

t he col our scheme of an y pi ctu re he pr oposed to copy he —

used t e p oce m tl y fo this purpose a n d to prepa re
h r ss os r —
hi s col o ur pl a tes a cco r di ngl y j us t as the li thogra phe r pr epares
,

his stones There was one mezzoti nted pla te for ea ch col our
.
,

a n d it i s to b e ga ther ed fr om some of hi s pi ctur es tha t he

printed t he bl ue fir st then the yell ow a n d l as tl y the red, , .

H a vi ng prepared some specimen pri nts a bout 1704 L e Bl on ,

showed them to m a ny emi nent pe rsons i ncl udi ng Pri nce ,

Eugene of Sa voy an d ha v i ng obtai ned t heir commenda ti on

, ,

tried to form a sort of syndi ca te to expl oi t the process .

Faili ng to do t his in Holl an d he a bout 1705 went to Pa ri s , , , ,

but as mezzoti nti ng never took root i n Fra nce he was equa ll y ,

unsuccessful there .

He t hen deci ded to foll ow the a dvi ce t ha t ha d been given

him by L o rd H a li fa x to go over to Engl an d an d a rri ved in
, ,

L ondon a b out 17 19 Here he found a publi c to some ex tent

.

sympa theti c The ar t of eng ra vi ng i n mezzotint ha d been

.

descri bed in de t a il wi th ill ustra ti ons in the S c u l pt u ra of John

, ,

Evel yn of Di a ry fame as ea rl y as 1662 an d so was fu ll y u nder

, , ,

stood in Engl a nd a n d a ppr eci a ted a l so

, L e Bl on fou nd a firm .

suppo r ter i n Col onel S i r John Gu ise an a rt a m a teu r who pr o , ,

mised to put money i n the proposed syndi ca te himsel f a n d no ,

doubt i nduc ed ma ny of his friends to do the same George I .

was gra ci ousl y pl eased to ta ke an i nte res t in his cou ntryma n s ’

enterprise an d a ccor ded hi m permissi on to copy some of the

,

pi ctu r es at Kensi n gton Pal a ce so tha t all thin gs l ooked ,

pr omisin g for a sta rt A prospect us was i ssued a Compa ny

.
,

"
formed in 1720 wi th the ti tl e of The P i ctur e Offic e the ,

neces sa ry ca pi t a l ra i sed an d L o Bl on a ppoi nted techn i ca l

,

di r ector Col onel Gui se bei ng the chai rma n of the concern
, ,

whi ch ha d i t s hea dqu ar ters a t the Dutch House in the

Sa voy where a la rge st a fi was empl oyed All went swi rn min gl y
, .

for a ti me 25 p i ctur es we r e copi ed an d several thousa nds ,

of th ree col our pri nts produced to sel l a t pri ces from 105 to
-
, .

2 13 ea ch a ccordi ng to size
.
,
 COLOU R P RINTIN G
We get some in teres t i n g deta i ls abou t The Pi c t u re Ofi c e
from famil y pa pers pres er ved am ong the Earl of E gmon t s ’

MSS Ou August 3ot h 172 1 J ames Lord Perci val (a fter

.
, , ,

wards first Earl of Egmont) wr ote to hi s brother from L ondon ,

on the subj ect a dvi si ng him th a t he was sen di ng seven Speci

,

men s of L e Bl on s wor k whi ch cost { 3 14s i ncl udi ng 105

’
. .
, ,

”
for the M agdal ene a ft er Car a cci an d
, for t he S usa nna ,

”
an d t h e El ders Sai d his L or dshi p
. Ou r mod ern pa inters
ca n t come near i t "
’
the proc ess] wi th t hei r col ou rs a n d i f ,

they a ttempt a copy ma ke us pay as ma ny gu i neas as now we

give shilli ngs Ou Mar ch 22n d Lor d P e rci val menti oned
.

tha t the compa ny ha d su ffered a good deal from mi sma nag e

men t but was never thel ess improvi ng
, A year l a te r .
,

however there was a di fieren t tal e to tel l whi ch is conveyed

, ,

by a l etter from one D Deri ng to Lor d Per ci val gi ving pa r

.
,

t i c u l a rs of a meet i ng of t he compa ny on March 7t h when for ty ,

or fift y of t he members wer e p resen t w i t h Gu ise i n the ch ai r , .

A l on g a ccount of the compa ny s proceed i ngs was r ea d an d

’

conta in ed ma ny reflec t i on s on L o Bl on ea ch of whi ch he ,

ch ara cteri sed as a li e j e dec la r e que c el a est fa u x

,
490 sha res .

of 15 ea ch had been taken u p so t ha t wi t h wha t was due ,

to the ori gi nal promoters the li a bili ti es amounted to a bou t

of whi ch ha d been spent of i t u nder ,

L e Bl on s di rect i on in t he pr oducti on of pr ints whi ch

'

, , ,

i f sol d a t the pri ces fix ed woul d enta i l a l oss of , One

Gui ne was al so pr odu ci ng pri nts for t he compa ny but on a ,

much more economi cal basi s as for he ha d turned,

ou t in ten months an d th ese when sol d woul d bri ng in

, , ,

p rofit .

Some ch ange had proba bl y been ma de i n the proc ess as the ,

r epo r t se t out th a t wi th the twenty fiv e sets of pl a tes i n stock -

,

by the method they now u se there mi ght be more

pri nts pr oduced whi ch wi t h Gui ne s ,
wou l d if sol d
,
’

, ,

bri ng in L e Bl on ha d obta in ed an Engli sh pa ten t

—
for hi s proc ess i n Febr ua ry 17 19 20 but no det a ils of the , ,

i n venti on are i n exi stence the so call ed spec i fic a t i on being

,
-

54
LE B LO N S COL OR I TT O
’

mer el y tra nsc ript of the entry on the Pa tent Roll H e

a .

seems however to ha ve demonst ra ted hi s methods i n publi c

, ,

on mor e tha n one occa si on About 1722 (the B ri ti sh Mu seum .

c a tal ogue da t es it 1755 he pu bli shed a work enti tl ed Col ori tt o ,

or the H a rmon y of C ol ou n n g i n P a i n t i n g a thi n qu ar to vol ume

'

, ,

of whi ch onl y a few copies wer e i ssued a t a gu i nea ea ch ,

contai ni ng an expl a na ti on of t he col our scheme he ha d

formul a ted on the basi s of the N ewtoni a n theory It i s .

ill ustr a ted by ni ne full pag e pl a tes mezzot i nted by L e Bl on -

, ,

but onl y two or th r ee of these a re i n col our hi s obj ect i n ,

publishi ng the book bein g to expl ai n not the thr ee col our ,
-

pr ocess b u t the princi pl es on which i t depended T he work

,
.

i s not however very i ntelli gi bl e

, indeed Dr Si nger (S tu di o
, ,
.
,

May 1903) ch ara cteri ses i t as sil l y It was dedi ca ted to Si r

, .

Robert Wal pol e the chief poli ti cal pers onag e of the day a t
,

the English Cour t H i s son Hora ce the wr i ter of the wel l .

,

known L ett er s sta tes in hi s A n ec dotes of P a i nt i n g tha t he ha d

,

seen L e B l on I f they met whil e the l a tter was i n Engl a nd

.
,

Hora ce was but a boy a t the ti me ha ving been born i n 17 17 ,

i t i s posmb l e however tha t he ma y ha ve seen L e Bl on on the

, ,

occasi on of hi s vi si t to Paris i n 1739 Anyhow he r efers to .

,

the engraver pri nter as a -

un i versal proj ec tor ei ther
a dupe or a chea t I thi nk the former as he wa s much of
,

a n enth u si ast per ha ps l ike most enthusi asts he was both

, , ,
”
one an d t ot her ’
.

Wh ether a chea t or not L e B l on was cer ta inl y the ,

c a use of a good deal of money bei ng l ost by t he members of

hi s compan ies In a fter yea rs he cl aimed to ha ve l ost
.
,

hi msel f but this may ha ve been a mer e empty b oast as

, ,

George Vertue ca ll s L e Bl on a ma n of for war d spi r i t tol er ,

a bl e assur ance an d w ith a good tongue of hi s own ”

, The .

members of the ori gi n al syndi ca te na tura ll y l a uded hi s process

to the ski es but the arti sts as na turall y tri ed to consign
, , ,

it to a qui te di fferent l ocal i ty It is sa i d tha t some of L e .

Bl on s pri nts fr om pi ctur es by Rubens an d Van Dy ck wer e

’

sol d for o r i gi n al s per ha ps by un scr upul ous pi ctur e dea l ers

,
.

55
 COLOU R P R I N TI N G
He prepa r ed the des i gn s for the en gra vers an d corr ected ,

their wor k an d had ma ny pri nters col our ers an d fra me

, ,

ma kers u nder his care as well As for Col onel Guise Vertue .
,

des cribes him as swea ri ng a t an d bu ll ying eve rybody wi t h ,

the idea tha t he was thereby a dva ncing the compa ny s ’

i nterests .

L e B l on ha d two stri ngs to hi s bow ha vi ng a l so i nvented ,

a p r oces s of r epr oduci ng pi ctur es i n t a pest ry The P ictur e .

Offic e ope ra ted thi s an d a t the meeti ng j ust referred to it

,

was sta ted tha t al though £9 50 ha d been expended i n erecti n g

buil dings i n the neighbour hood of the M ul b erry Ga rdens at
Chelsea a n d putt ing down l oo ms t he o n l y r es ul t was the
, ,

wea vi ng of a pi ctur e of a chil d s hea d an d a piece of silk whi ch

’

m ight be worth £30 Under thes e ci rcumstan ces i t is not

.
,

sur p risi ng tha t a Commi ttee w a s a ppo i nted to l ook i nto the

a ffai rs of t he compa ny an d repo r t to the sha r ehol ders

, Wha t .

ha ppened a fterwa rds seems to ha ve been tha t L o Bl on was

depri ved of his post of Di r ecto r a n a rtist na med Pr u dhomme ,

b ein g a ppo i nted to suc ceed hi m This must h a ve been not .

l a ter tha n October 1722 but it seems li kel y t ha t the compa ny

, ,

was i n existence t ill a much l a ter pe ri od as L e Bl on was wont ,

to boast tha t for four or fiv e yea rs a fter they were una bl e

, ,

to ca rry on the busines s pr ope rl y wi thout him Aft er hi s .

conn ec ti on with The Pi cture Ofii c e ha d thus co me to an

end he tur ned his a ttenti on to po rtra i t pa inting for a ti me
,
-
.

H is col our prin ts a ccordi ng to Wa l pol e we re di sposed of by

, ,

a sor t of l otte ry but those who ga ined them as pri zes found
,

tha t very li ttl e val ue was set upon them by the publ i c Wa l .

pol e however a dmits tha t they were very tol era bl e copi es
, ,

of t he originals Dr Singe r thi nks tha t a bout fift y pla tes

. .

in all wer e engra ved by the pr ocess an d t ha t the a verag e ,

edi ti on was a bout 200 copies I f thi s be so then out of these ,

pri nts not more than a bout a hund red a re known to

ha v e sur v i ved though ma ny mo re may ex ist ma sque ra di n g
, ,

as oil pa i ntings by the ai d of a th i ck co a t i ng of va r nish as ,

is t he ca se wi th so me of the few spec i mens prese rved a t the

56
L E BL O N
’
S FA I L U RES I N E N GL A N D
Bri t ish M u seum Al though the process li nge red on in Engla nd
.

for a numbe r of years wi th va ryin g success no book is kno wn

, ,

to have been ill ustra ted by i t Mezzotinted pla tes were rea ll y .

too deli ca te for conti nuous wor k a n d i t was sta ted tha t ,

a fter a numbe r of c 0 pi es ha d been ta ken 0 3 the col ou r ,

i mpr essi ons b ec ame very fa i nt In his C ol ori tt o L e Bl on .

,

menti ons tha t he was engaged i n pr epa ri ng some pl a tes for

use i n a wo r k be in g got r ea dy for the p ress by Dr And re .
,

a n a tomi c al surgeon to George I but the Doctor was mix ed

u p wi th an al l eged mir a cul ous b 1rt h sca ndal a t Guil dfor d i n

1727 an d when the bubbl e bu rst hi s r eputa ti on was expl oded

,

wi th i t so tha t the book was never publ ished

, .

Thi s disa ppoin tment proba bl y l ed L e Bl on to t ry hi s ha nd

a t formin g a nother compa ny for the purpose of expl oiti ng ,

hi s ta pestry pr ocess He a ccordi ngl y peti ti oned the Cr own

.

for a pa tent in 1727 the wa rra nt for whi ch sti l l e xi sts in the
,

Bri ti sh Museum (A d d MSS 3 1626 t o . This docu ment

.
, .

a utho rised hi m to fo rm hi s pr oposed compa ny so a fr esh sta rt ,

was ma de but the new concern which in tended to repr oduce ,

Rapha el s Ca rtoons (a t H ampton Court) in ta pestry met wi th

’

the sam e fa te as the ol d one N othi ng da unted L e Bl on .

, ,

in 173 1 tried to sa ve hi s col our pri nting p r ocess from extin cti on -

by in viti ng the Royal Soc i ety to test an d report upon i t .

Mr Mor ti mer the Secreta ry d id so an d hi s rema rks will be

.
, , ,

foun d in t he Soci ety s P hi l osophi c a l Tr a n sac ti on s for June

’

in tha t yea r but we l earn ha r dl y a nythi ng new from them

, ,

the ma tter consistin g mostl y of a des cri pti on of the ta pestry

proc ess It was esti ma ted t ha t the engra ved pl a tes woul d
.

sta nd i mpr essi ons be i ng ta ken from them whi ch sounds ,

a b surd . This report proba bl y di d L e Bl on no good as i t ,

was now too l a te to revi ve the ol d schemes the peopl e who

ha d suppor ted hi m a t the sta rt we r e d isgusted by t he l oss
of thei r money an d in the end L e Bl on who was hea v il y i n
, ,

debt sa w tha t the ga me was up so fa r as this cou ntry was

,

concerned an d so decided i n 1732 to beta ke hi msel f a n d hi s

,

process a cr oss the wa ter .

57
 COLOU R P R I NTING
He tri ed hi s fortun e once more a t the H agu e but wi th the ,

sa me wa nt of su ccess as befor e an d by 1735 ha d moved on ,

to Pari s where he was desti ned to spen d his few remain i ng

,

years i n compara ti ve pea ce H e seems to ha ve ma de no .

more a ttempts to form compa ni es but took the pr eca ution ,

of pa tentin g hi s proces s in Fra nce In N ovember 1737 the .

, ,

Council of Sta te agr eed to gi ve hi m a t wen t y yea rs monopol y ’

of his thr ee col ou r met hod an d i n the foll owi ng A pril he was
-
,

i nformed tha t hi s pa tent coul d be consi dered secur e as soon

as he ha d demonstr a t ed hi s p roce s s to four Commissi one rs ,

one of whom was M Ga uti er de Mon t d orge L e Bl on dul y

. .

compli ed wi th t he condi t i on a n d the Commi ssi oners thought

,

t he pr ocess both tedi ous an d expen si ve A li ttl e circ l e of .

pupil s ga ther ed rou nd the i nventor but onl y a few pri nts ,

seem to h a ve been p roduced i n Pa ri s by L e Bl on himsel f ,

who di ed i n poor ci rcumsta nces i n a hospi tal there i n May ,

174 1. To some ext ent hi s process ma y be sa i d to ha ve

,

di ed wi th hi m al though i t sur vi ved i n vari ous mod ified forms

,

for an other fo rty year s Hi s own work a t an y ra t e i n the

.
,

ear li er yea rs seems t o h a ve been stri ctl y on the t hr ee col our

,
-

basis but there has been a good deal of controversy as t o

,

whether or not he used a fourth or bl a ck pl a te as a key for

t he col ours . Mr Morti mer s r epor t sta ted tha t in cases where
.
’

economy bea uty or speed was r equi red more than three
, ,

pl a tes wer e someti mes used Th a t L e Bl on did so i n Pari s

.

i s almost certai n an d he i s sai d to ha ve commu ni ca ted deta il s

,

of thi s modi fic a t i on of the pr ocess to t he Commi ssi oners before

whom he ha d previ ousl y demonstrat ed his met hods The .

genuine L e Bl on t hree col our prin ts bea r in the li ght or flas h

-
,

ti nts a str i ki ng resembl a nce to those of t o da y but in the dar k

,
-
,

sh a do w s a l ittl e l i ne engr a vi ng w as occasi on all y r eso rted to

as well as i n the ha ir i n l a rge pi ctu r es such as the Ma donna , ,

a fter B ar occi thi s li ke ma ny others of hi s pri nts was pro

, ,

d u c ed the fu ll si z e of the o ri gi na l i e a bout 24 X 20 i nches , . .

,
.

The pr i nted col ours wer e occasi onall y suppl emented by a

li ttl e hand work i n the eyes or li ps or as in the fin e pri nt ,

58
 CO LOU R P R I N TI N G

a ttenti on of the King to a th ree col our pri nt engra ved by hi msel f
-
,

much to Dagot y s disgu st The l a tter had previ ousl y worked

’
.

the pr ocess i n par tnersh i p with Mes srs Vigui er Vill a rs .

,

Robert bei ng with them i n the ca pa ci ty of empl oyé but t he ,

par tners qua rrel l ed an d i n May 1747 the pa rtnershi p was

, , ,

dissol ved by j udi cial decree .

Rober t rema i ned wi th Vigu i er 8: Vill ars who still worked ,

the L e B l on pr oces s by agr eemen t wi th Dag ot y who st ar ted on ,

his own a ccount el sewher e i n Par is In 1750 Dagot y v isi ted .

L ondon i n connecti on wi th the publi ca t i on ther e of a La t in

transl a tion De opti c a m ores I sauc i N ewtoms—oi a work
— '

he ha d issued i n Paris the yea r befor e dea l in g wi th some ,

a ll eged defects i n N ewton s theory of l ight a n d col our for

’

whi ch he substi tuted one of his own an y person who doubted

the correctness of hi s sta tements coul d ha ve them prov ed
to hi m wi th the a i d of a prism tha t Dag ot y ha d i nven ted on
, ,

a ppli c a ti on to the bookse ll er (Coga n of the Mi ddl e Templ e) ,

who got out the London edi ti on of his trea tise whi ch ha d been ,

presented to the Fr ench A ca demy i n 1749 Soon a fter Dagot y .

,

commenced the publi ca ti on of a sort of magazin e en ti tl ed ,

Observa ti on s I Hi st oi r e N a tu rel l e la P hysi qu e et su r l a

’
su r , su r

P ei nt u r e
of whi ch eighteen par ts
, , formi n g si x qu a r to vol u mes ,

a ppear ed i n 1752 5 Fi fty thr ee out of t he si xty three pl a tes

-
.
- -

a r e pri nted in col ou rs by Dag ot y s p rocess but wi th t wo '

,

excepti ons they show poor wor k compar ed wi th L e Bl on s ,

'

a l t hough the na tur e of the subj ects a n a tomi ca l bota ni ca l etc , , ,

d i d not ca l l for hi gh a rt The excep t i ons are a pl a te on the

.

Opti cs of pain ti ng in Vol u me I i n whi ch the spectrum is ,

printed in col ours as well as some other designs e xhi bi ti ng gra

,

da ti ons of the t hr ee pri ma ry col ours an d a pla te of two fishes i n ,

Vol u me II whi ch al thoug h ha v i n g some l i ne work on i t is

, , ,

ve ry good In N ovember 1755 Dagot y i nformed the edi to r

.
, ,

of the Merc u r e de F ra n c e tha t he wa s the i nvento r of the ar t

of prin ti ng pi ctu res i n co l ours wi th fou r pl a tes whi ch he ,

cl a imed to h a ve found out a t Ma rseill es before he knewL e Bl on .

Subsequentl y he went to Pa ris a n d there met Fa ther Castel , ,

60
MON TDOR GE V . DAGOT Y AN D OTHERS

a J esui t pries t who ha d wr i tten a tr ea ti se on col ou r an d wa s ,

persua ded by him to persever e wi t h the pr ocess but t he ,

exi stence of L e Bl on s pa tent p revented hi m from foll owi ng

’

the a dvice a t tha t time As a ma tter of fa ct both he an d .

,

L e Bl on seem to ha ve been i ndebted to C aste] for some useful

hi nts .

Whil st Dagot y was thus boasti ng of hi s a chievements as

a col ou r prin ter an unexpect ed O pponent a ppea r ed in M
, .

Gautier de Mon t d orge one of the Commi ssi one rs before whom ,

L e Bl on ha d demonst ra ted hi s p rocess in 1738 H e publ ished .

a t P a r is i n 1756 a wor k whi ch is usual l y r eferr ed to as t he

second edi ti on of C ol on t to al though the a ctu a l ti tl e w

'

as ,

L A rt d I mpn mer l es Ta btea u x A fter the publi sher s a ddress

'
’ ' ’
.

to the rea de r comes a r epri nt of Col on tto in both the l angu ages
’

of the origi n al foll owed by some further deta il s of the p rocess

, ,

win ding u p with the sta tement (signed by Mon t d orge an d

an other Cormn i ssi on er) th a t V i guier w as then wo r ki ng i t on

the li nes l ai d down by L e Bl on himsel f Vigu i er ha d a share .

in the publi ca ti on of the book whi ch was heral ded by a revival ,

of the epi stol ary cont rove rsy between Dagot y an d Rober t
i n t h e Mer c u r e d e F r a n c e From thi s it a ppea rs t ha t Dagot y.

used hy e si x or even seven col our pl a tes on occasi on a method

, , ,

whi ch Robert consi der ed a dded to the expense wi thout an y

cor responding b en efit Dagot y seems to h a ve publi shed a repl y
.

to Mon t d orge s asserti ons but the wr i ter has not seen i t
’

, .

Out of al l th ese c l a ims an d counte r c l ai ms an d charges ,

an d counter cha rges we ma na ge to get a fai rl y cl ear idea of

,

the na ture of L e Bl on s pr ocess The di fferent gr a da ti ons ’

.

—
of ti nt ha d of course in the a bsence of t he r ul ed screens of
,

ou r da ys — to be dependent upon the man ner i n whi ch the

,

vari ous pl a tes were worked by the engr a ver an d the degr ee ,

of gra i nin g given to them If the pl a te were r oughl y gra ined .

,

a n d the col our consequentl y sa nk i nto it deepl y a da r k sha de ,

woul d b e prod uced whereas i f i t wer e onl y li ghtl y sc ra ped

,

an d the col our but sl i ghtl y imbi bed i n consequence a li ght ,

immessi on woul d be the r esul t In the bl ue pl a te for .

,

61
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

exa mpl e those pa r ts tha t were to a ppear perfectl y bl u e ha d to

,

be l eft qui te rough but where the bl ue had to bl end wi th the

,

col ou r of a nother pla te the sur fa ce ha d to be sc ra ped more

or l ess smoot h an d whe r e no bl ue a t a ll w
, as to a ppea r i t ha d

to be poli shed to a degree of perfect smoothn ess an d so on ,

wi th the other pla tes The col ours used for printi ng ha d to
.

be tra nspa r ent enough to show through one a nother in order ,

tha t the prope r bl e n di ng of tints might be obta i ned They .

were gr ound wi th nut or poppy oil an d one tenth of d rying ,

-

oi l w as a dded Pr ussi a n bl ue yell ow och re an d r ed l a ke

.
, ,

the l a tter mi xed wi th two pa r ts of ca rmi ne were usuall y ,

empl oyed The best efl ec t was produced when all th ree pl a tes
.

were used in immed ia te succes si on i e when the pri nts , . .

,

wer e compl eted one by one instea d of all of them bei ng ,

pr inted first in bl ue then in yell ow an d so on as the col ours

, , ,

bl en ded more r ea dil y i n a damp sta te .

From 1756 Dagot y seems to h a ve r ema i ned un di sturb ed

,

by hi s ri val s About ten yea rs l a ter b e commenced the pl a tes

.

fo r a botan i c al wor k of hi s own for whi ch he obta i ned a si x ,

years Pri vil ege in M a rch 1767 It was enti tl ed Coll ec ti on

’

, .

d es P l a nt es U su eltes C u ri eu ses at Etr a n ger es a n d the pl a tes

, ,

a r e pri nted in col ou rs by Dag ot y s pr oce They a re u nusua l

’
ss .

in tha t the bl uish ba ckgr ou nd which ha d hi ther to cha ra cteri sed

his pr i nts was in this book repla ced by a fin e i rregul a r sti ppl e ,

pr inted in bl a ck The col our work is general l y very poorl y

.

executed an d i n pa rts suppl emented by hand ; red green

, ,

a n d bl ue a re the usual col ours though occasi ona l sma ll pa tches

,

of the first an d perha ps of the others al so ha ve been a dded

, ,

by a brush Dagot y s pra cti ce of engr a vi ng hi s pl a tes himsel f

.
’

brought him i nto coll ision a bout th is ti me wi th the Compa ny

of Copperpl a te Pri nters a t P a ris whi ch consi der ed tha t i t s ,

members ought to do all such wo rk H i s sons hel ped him .

in the pr epa ra ti on of his pl a tes a n d books an d al so brought ,

out some publi ca ti ons on thei r own a ccount A rmand E . .

Gau tier Dagot y the second son was i f a nythi n g a mo re

, , , ,

effic i en t demonst ra to r of the L e Bl on pr ocess tha n hi s fa the r ,

62
SO ME DA GOTY FA MI L Y B OO KS
pl a tes he di d for J a d el et s A n atomi e (N a ncy 1773)
’
t he ,

bei ng much better exa mpl es of col ou r pri nti ng tha n th ose
i n an y of the other wor ks tha t ha ve been menti oned The .

vol ume i s an i mperial foli o an d the first two pl a tes nude , ,

ma l e an d femal e figur es are r eall y ar tisti c conception s ex

, ,

hi b i t i n g t he spi rit of L e Bl on s best work though in the eyes

’

an d li ps ther e is a l i ttl e red put on by ha nd The th i rteen .

other pl a tes an a tomi ca l di a gra ms a re al so good a n d in all

, , ,

cases t he da r k oli ve gr een ba ckgr ou nd char a cteristi c of some

-

of L e Bl on s pictu res is substi tuted for the pl ai n bl ue or stippl ed

'

ones seen in prints by the el der Dagot y The di fieren c e .

between the work of these two col our engr a vers is well ill us
t ra t ed by the very medi oc r e pri nts in the Pl an t es P u rgat i ves
d u sage (Pa ris
’
, got out by Dag ot y p m This was .

i ntended to b e an i mporta nt publi ca ti on but onl y Pa rt I , ,

wi th ei ght pl a tes a ppea red the pri nts have t he usual bl ue

,

ba ckgr ound an d are of a very deca dent order the smudgy

, ,

mezzoti nted col our be i ng eked out by some lin e engra ving
a n d ha nd col ouri ng
-
.

Dagot y s fift h son Ga uti er Fa bi en a lso wor ked the fa mil y

’

, ,

col our pr i nti ng process an d seems to ha ve ba n ished the last

,

ves tige of art from i t In 1781 he got out a t Par is the first
.

( an d on l y ) p ar t of a H i sto i r e N a t u r ell e wh i ch cont a i n s fift y n i ne ,

-

pl a tes engr a ved an d prin ted in col ou rs The wri ter has not .

been ab l e to see a copy but i f the pl a tes ar e anythi ng li ke,

those the same engra ver di d for a wor k of Desfon t ai n e s on '

Cf y sta l ogr a phi e (Pa ris 1790) they ar e not worth t roubl in g
,

a bout . In thes e the ba ckgr ound an d the det ail are mostl y
,

i n lin e wi th a li ttl e mezzoti nting

, bla ck an d brown a re the
onl y pri nted col ours the others bein g a dded by han d
, .

Consi dered as col our prints they ar e wretched producti ons , .

Dagot y p m di ed a t Pa ri s i n 1785 two years a fter one of ,

hi s son s Edwar d Ga uti er Dag ot y (born

, ha d cl osed
hi s short li fe a t Fl or ence The B ri tish Museu m coll ecti on
.

of L e Bl on process pri nts in cl udes a po rtrai t of this son by

Ca rl o L asin i o i n whi ch he i s styl ed the i nvento r of eng ra ving
,

63
 C OLO U R P RI N TIN G

in col ou rs Th er e are al so some separ a te col our pr i nts by

.

him i nc l ud ing one of L eda an d the Swan a r a ther coarse

, ,

gra i n mezzotint in which i s seen the br own ish tin ge tha t

,

a ppears i n so m a ny of the Dagot y famil y s pri nts In one of ’

.

hi s pi ctur es A Sl eepi ng Femal e a fter Titi a n da ted 1780 , ,

the col ou ri ng of the dra pery somewh a t r esembl es t ha t seen i n

chiar oscu r o engra vi ngs Oi a nother pri nt there i s an i mpres
.

sion i n sepi a as well as one i n col ou rs In 1780 he i ssued a .

se ri es of twel ve pl a tes a fter pi ctur e s i n the coll ec t i on s of the

Du ke of Orl ea ns an d oth ers .

L asi n i o ha d t he deta il s of t he col ou r p ri nti ng pr ocess com

mu n i c a t ed to hi m by Edwa r d Ga uti er Dagot y an d a fter the ,

’
l a tter s dea th he pr a ctised it on hi s own a ccount Ther e i s a .

col our pri nt by him of S t Mar k da ted 1783 whi ch ra ther l ooks
.
, ,

as though i t had been p ri n ted fr om a singl e pl a te i nk ed i n ,

col ou rs in the then o rdi n ary wa y L asi n i o has however l eft a t .

, ,

l east one remarkabl e monument of hi s pe rsevera nce i f not of ,

his genius in the shape of a coll ecti on of po rt rai ts of pai nters

,

( R i t r at t i de
’
en g ra v ed fr om the o ri gi n al p i ctu r es in

the Royal Gall ery a t Fl or en ce It i s doubtful whether i t

.

was ever published in book form t hough the set of upwar ds ,

of 350 portra i ts i s pres erved a t the Briti sh Museum bound i n

th ree qua rto vol umes wi th MS titl e an d i ndex the former
, .
,

being da ted Veni ce 1789 Ther e i s a twel ve page pri nted

, .
-

li st of the po rt rai ts boun d i n a t the end of the l ast vol ume ,

fr om which i t woul d appear tha t the pri nts were sol d separa tel y
by the p ri nter Pi etro L ab reli s a t Fl or ence Thi s pa r ti cul a r
, , .

set w as once the p roperty of Fr an c i sc o Rizzo P a t er ol an ,

Itali an nobl ema n whose book pl a tes are i n the vol umes a n d
,
-
,

fr om hi s l ib ra ry they passed into the h an ds of a Veneti an

booksell er The pri nts a re a ll mezzotints an d (wi th t he
.
,

excepti on of one in sepi a ) a re pri nted in col ou rs usual l y red , ,

yell ow an d bl ue as wel l as bla ck the l a tter fur ni shi ng most

, ,

of the deta i l Ea ch pri nt measur es a bout 6 x 5 inch es

.
,

a n d though the engra vi n g i s ra the r coarsel y done the amount

, ,

of l a bour bestowed upon the task must ha ve been enormous ,

64
 Red ced f c i mi l e
u a s ee c l me i
of t hr -
o ou r z zo t n t

( Po r t r a 1t o f G id Re i 5 5 6
u o n . 1 7 -
1 42;
b y Ca r l L asi n i o f
a t er E G D f m h Ri
a g ot y,
"
t rat i de
Ve i e
o . . ro t e
Fu t on , n c . 1 7 89 .
 C OLOU R P RI N TI N G

who are sa i d to ha ve p roduced engra vi ngs i n col our i n the

L a Bl on ma nne r we r e J an L Admi ral a D utchma n an d J
’
.
, ,

Robe r t There i s a sma ll frontispi ece by t he former to the

.

Di sserta t i o de A rteri es of B S Al bi ni (L eyden . but i n

.
,

the copy the wri ter has seen the printed col our i s hel ped out ,

by hand work As to Rober t Tari n s A dversa n a An a tomi c a ’ ’

.
,

(P a r i,s 1750) cont a i n s a numbe r of li ne eng r a vi n gs by him ,

sever al of whi ch a re p ri nted in red a n d bl a ck but ther e ,

i s not the sl i ghtest t ra ce of the L o B l on pr oc ess i n a n y of

them .

In order not to di sturb the threa d of tha t port ion of t he

na rra ti ve the fo rtu nes of the first th r ee col ou r process ha ve
,
-

been foll owed down to i t s fin al exti ncti on some for ty yea rs ,

a fter i t s i nvento r s d ea th D uri ng tha t period ma ny othe r

’
.

events of i nte res t or i mport a nce occurr ed in connecti on wi th

the devel opment of col our pri nt ing S o much ha ving al read y .

b een sai d w i th r ega rd to the u se of the mezzot inting p r ocess

i n the producti on of col our pri nts th i s bra nch of the subj ect ,

may be foll owed a l i t t l e furthe r .

A Ge rma n bot ani ca l wo rk commenced i n L e B l on s l a ter

’

yea rs J G Wei n ma n n s P hyta nt hoza I c on ogra phza conta ins

’
’
. .
, ,

a l a rg e n u mber of pl a tes pa r tl y p ri nted i n col o u r a t a si ngl e

impres si on a method whi ch was pe rha ps based on some

, , ,

experi ence or knowl edge of wha t Le Bl on had been do ing ,

a n d ma y i n i t s turn ha ve fu rn i shed the el der Dagot y w i th the

keyn ote for his own expe ri ments i n t he sa me di rection a t a
l a ter pe ri od The work i n questi on was issued in e ight fol i o
.

vol umes a t Ra ti sbon between 1737 an d 1745 an d is i ll us

, , ,

t ra t ed by copper pl a tes of flowe1s a n d pl ants a ma j ori ty ,

of whi ch a re engr a ved i n li ne though th er e are very ma ny i n ,

mezzo t i nt t hi s method bei n g more pa r ticul arl y used i n cases

,

where a la rge engra ved surfa ce occurs i n represent i ng broa d ,

l ea ved pl a nts for i nsta nce Some a re depi cted i n pots on the
, .
,

desi gn an d d ec ora ti on of which the engra ver spent a l i tt l e

more time tha n usual There i s generall y one pri nted col our
.

on a pl a te i n addi ti on to tha t of the outlin es an d someti mes

, ,

66
K I R KAL L ,
THE FIRST EN GL I SH CHI A ROSC U RIST
two but the pr esswork is l a rgel y suppl emented by ha nd
,

col our i ng a l though it often extends to t he l ine engra ved portion

,
-

as well as to th a t whi ch i s mezzoti nted The engr a vers of .

the pl a tes were B Sente r J E Ri di nger an d J J Hai d of

.
, . .
,
. .
,

A ugsbur g an d a ccordi ng to a sta tement on the titl e p age

,
-

(N i i d i i m m m
’

t ss e a c r z i n c i sa e et si ul di u d esi d er a t a a o r ea s

i n v en ta a r te vi vi s c ol ori bus et i c on i bu s) thes e ill ust ra ti ons we re

printed i n co l ours resembli ng those of the origina l pl a nts ,

by a r ecentl y i nvented process the stippl e ba ckg round tha t

ch ara cterises Dagot y s bota ni cal pl a tes i s a bsent i n these The
’
.

sa me seri es of pri nts a ppea red in a D utch ed i ti on of the wo rk

( Di V m etc pub i hed mu t neou y

'

n d e l y k e e r t o n g ) ,l s si .l a sl a t
Ams terd a m fr om 1736 to 1748
, This i s d isti ngui shed by three
.

fin e pl a tes in mezzotint by H a id p r inted in bl ue v i z an

, , .

embl ema tic front ispi ece representing the goddess Fl o ra a n d

, ,

por tra its of Wein mann a n d A E B iel er The bota nica l . . .

pl a tes wer e pr eserved for a t l ea st hal f a centu ry as H a id s - -

,
’

son r epubli shed them wi th an engra ved titl e page in

,
-

French a t A ugsburg i n 1787

, , .

A bout t h e ti me tha t L e B l on was engaged in hi s wo r k for

The Pi cture Offi ce a young Y or kshireman na med Edwa rd
, ,

Ki rk all (born a t S hefli el d a bout who ha d come up to

L ond on i n 17 18 a n d was first enga ged i n engra ving sma l l
designs on metal star ted pr oduci ng col our pri nts in whi ch
,

mezzoti nti ng provi ded the grou ndwor k of the pi cture but ,

he onl y used a si ngl e mezzoti nted pl a te whi ch furn ished the ,

sha dows the outl i nes be i ng i ndi ca ted by etchi n g whi c h w

,
as ,

done on the same pl a te Then the tones were a dded by one .

or two wood bl ocks engr a ved in the chi a r oscur o m an ner so ,

tha t the resul t was a compound pri nt both reli ef an d intagli o ,

met hods be ing utili sed The pi ctures were much more
.

spi ri ted i n effect th a n the ordi nary chi a roscu ro on es the ,

bol dl y etched outl i nes an d mezzotinted sha dows combining

-

wel l wi th the high l ights which sta nd out in l ow rel ief from ,

the sur fa ce of the print owi ng to the gr ea t pr essure used ,

i n t he a ppl ica tion of the tone bl ocks to t he p a pe r a n d to ,

67
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

the deep hol es tha t we re c u t in them the wash sha di n g

i s sa i d to ha ve been p rinted fr om pewter Ki rk al l was ve ry .

fond of engra ving orn a menta l bo rders to his pri nts most of ,

them being fu rnished with something of the kind genera ll y ,

pri nted fr om the tone bl ocks i n the case of the chi ar oscuros .

Gr een seems to h a ve been a fa vouri te col ou r wi th thi s en

gr a ver ma ny of his pi ctur es bei ng pri nted i n tha t tint brown
,
.

an d b ri ck r ed al so occu r i n the chi ar oscu r os most of whi ch ,

ar e engr a ved a fter p i ctu res in fa mous coll ec ti ons of his d a y ,

such as those of the D uk e of D evonshi r e an d Dr Mea d One . .

speci a l l y i nter est i ng pri nt i s a r epr oducti on (1722) of the

chiar oscuro engra vi ng by Ugo d a Car pi i n 15 18 r epresenti n g ,

E neas carryi ng his fa ther from Tr oy ; thi s i s t i nted fr om

wood in yell ow an d b rown but i n the bl a ck mezzoti nt impres,

si on, whi ch was i ssued separa tel y there i s mor e detail th an ,

i n the mezzotint used for the col ou r pri nt Oi the ol d styl e .

of chi ar oscu ro pr int the wri te r has onl y come a cr oss one
,

exampl e by Ki rk all a smal l wood cut of a cl assi cal l a ndsca pe

, ,

ti nted in gr een an d yell ow from other wood bl ocks L ike the .

ol der en gra vers by the sa me pr oces s Ki rk all pr oduced hi s ,

chia roscur os i n more than one col our ; tha t of a boa r hunt ,

a fter C Fer r ea. for inst a nce

, occurs in a t l east thr ee
st a tes i e
, r ed
. gr een an d r eddi sh b rown His pri nts we re
.
, , ,
-
.

n ot very expen si ve as i n a fill ed i n copy of a r ecei pt fo r m he

,
-

engr a ved (in mezzoti nt an d chi aroscuro ) he a cknowl edged ,

the pa ymen t of a gui nea an d en gaged to deli ver twel ve prin ts

,

in —
cl ar o obscu r when rea dy on r eceipt of another ;
, ,

never thel ess Wa l pol e (Cat of E n gr a ver s) sa ys tha t Ki rk a ll

”
ha d mu ch success much a ppl a use an d no imi ta tors
, , .

In a ddi ti on to hi s wor k as an engr a ver i n chia roscur o ,

Ki rk all publi shed man y pri nts in pure mezzotint i n c l udi ng ,

a set of H ogar t h s H arl ot s Progress pri nted in gr een

’ ’
.
,

A mezzot i nt of a Storm Scene a fter V an Hu ysu m is pri nted ,

”
,

in two col ours gr een an d brown from a si ngl e pl a te at one

, ,

impr essi on a r ar e a n d earl y exampl e of a styl e of col ou r pri nt

,

i n g which beca me mor e common l a ter i n the cen tury Th e .

68
 COLOU R P RIN TI N G

whil st others such as B on n a t t 1 5

, Sa i nt Restori ng a Bli nd
“
Ma n s Si ght
’
r ec a ll the e a rl y Ger m a n chi a r oscur os
, Vi ncen t .

L e Sueur (an uncl e of N i chol as) engra ved some of the wood
’
bl ocks for the col our wo rk a s in the print a fter Ra pha el s ,

Her cul es Gr een an d br own seemingl y so insepara bl e

.
,

fr om chi ar oscuro work a re the ti nts most commonl y used

, ,

but the S ac r ific e to Baa l is i n red an d bl ue an d in some ,

pri nts thr ee tints a re seen In a few cases the green col ouring
.

ha s fa ded a t the sides of the pictur e to a muddy br own t h i s ,

'
bein g par ti cul arl y noticea bl e in some pri nts a fter Far in a t i s
designs In Par t II ther e ar e two or th ree l ine en gra vi ngs
.

pri nted i n i n k of a yell owi sh or r eddi sh ti nge The col oured .

prints are speci all y men t i oned in the pr efa ce to the wor k ,

wher e al so a short a ccount of t he h istory of engra vi ng in

chi a roscur o i s gi ven From thi s we l ea rn th a t the nam e th en
.

a ppl i ed i n Ital y to pi ctu r es of thi s ch a ra cter w as thr ee col our -

pri nts (esta mpes d e tr oi s tei n tes)

If Ki rk all s work in Engl a nd inspi red th at of the L e Sueurs
’

i n Fran ce i t i s equall y pr oba bl e tha t th ei rs was in tur n t a ken

,

as a model by two contempo r a ry Engli sh engra vers Ar thur ,

P ond (1705 who was also a pri nt coll ector an d C ,

.

Kna pton (1700 The former prod uced a bout 1734 5 ,

-
,

among other p rints a numbe r of etchi ngs a few of whi ch

, ,

ar e i n the B a r tol ozzi r ed ti nt several a re a fter des ign s

by Par megi an o an a r tist whose wor k it wil l be remember ed
, , ,

ha d furni shed the ear li est chi a r oscur o engr a vers with mod el s .

P ond s r epr oducti ons a re etched the col ouri ng being a ppli ed
’

fr om wood bl ocks in the sa me wa y as i n L e Sueur s pri nts ’

indeed ther e i s very much in common from a techni cal poi nt ,

of vi ew between the two sets of pi ctur es the col ours u sed

, ,

by P ond being simil a r to those of L e Sueur bright gr eeni sh ,

bl ues an d brown s P on d l eft di rection s in his will for the

.

destr ucti on of the bl ocks used for hi s pri nts whi ch wer e ,

carri ed into effect by hi s executo rs Kn a pt on s pr i nts of

'
.
,

t he sa me peri od as Pond s a r e al so etchi ngs ti nted i n chi a r

’

oscu ro b u t ther e i s mo r e detail i n the etched work as he

, ,

70
SO ME 181 11 CEN T ENGL I SH CHIA RO SC U RISTS
.

l argel y af fected fter Cl au de whereas P ond went

l a ndsca pes a ,

in more for figu r e stu di es Kn a pt on s work i n fa ct except

’

, ,

for the a bsence of the col ouring r a ther remi nds one of J a ck ,

son s styl e a n d sta nds p r a ctic al l y by i tsel f a t thi s p a r ticul a r

’

peri od H i s col ouri ng i f it may be so termed consists al most

.
, ,

entir el y of neutr a l ti nts such as gr eyi sh brown an d lig ht sepi a

,
-

hi s i nk s li ke some of L e Su eu r s seem not to ha ve been very

’

, ,

good as in many cases they h a ve ca u sed di scol oura t i on of

,

the pri nt wi th the r esul t tha t a casual obser ver mi ght take
,

some of Kn a p t on s pi ctu r es to be mer el y ti me st ai ned etchi ngs

’
-
,

a s the high l ights ar e ha r dl y i ndi ca ted a t a ll except i n the sk y ,

.

Both Pond an d Kn a pton foll owed the exampl e of the L e

Sueu rs in repr oducing pictures i n wel l kn own coll ecti ons -

it i s surpri sin g how di fil d en t a ll the earl y col ou r pri nters seem

to ha ve been i n thi s r espect Th e ol d m asters wi th a
.
,
”

few mode r n on es di d duty agai n an d aga in the i dea of

, ,

prod ucin g some des i gns of th eir own a ppar entl y never occurri n g
to the en gra vers in chi arosc ur o Th ere ar e of course ex c ep .
, ,

ti ons but an original des ign for a pri nt of thi s ki nd is somewha t

,

of a ra r i ty Rogers of the Coll ecti on to be menti oned

.
,

her ea fter sta ted tha t a pri nt i n chi ar oscu r o by Stephen

,

Sl a ughter a fte r Par megi an o was the l argest which up to

, , ,

th a t period ha d been pr oduced in Engl an d but wha t thi s

, ,

r efers to i s uncer ta i n Sl a ughter was a port rai t pa i nter

.
-

who worked in I rel and a bout 1730 40 subsequentl y goin g -

,

to L ondon where he di ed i n 1765 The onl y pri nt by hi m

, .

tha t t he writer h as seen i s an etched copy da ted 1733 of a , ,

dra wing by Parmegi an o in the coll ecti on of Dr H i ckma n .

,

to whom Sl a ughter dedica ted i t It i s pa r tl y tinted i n brown .

from a wood bl ock in a styl e which suggests tha t i t woul d

,

h a ve been better if Sl au ghter ha d l eft the etchi ng to speak

for i tsel f .

Thes e combin a tion processes in whi ch etchi ng an d mezzo ,

ti nti ng wer e cal l ed in to the ai d of the ol d chiar oscuro method ,

nea rl y pushed the l a tter out of exi sten ce al though i n the first ,

hal f of the cen tu ry sa y from 1720 to 1740 a number of pri nts

, ,

71
 COLO U R P RI N TI N G

of the origi nal type printed from wood bl ocks throughout

, ,

were p roduced by Co u nt A M Zanetti of Veni ce (1680 . .

Techni ca l l y consider ed there wa s l i ttl e to disti n gui sh them

,

from thei r ea r li er pr ed eces sors the Ita l ia n styl e b eing na tural l y

,

foll owed by t hi s engra ver who is sa i d to h a ve revived the

,

a rt of p r oduci ng pr i nts i n the chi aroscu r o styl e as a r esul t of ,

his a cq u isi t i on of some dr a wings by Ra pha e l Pa rmegi an o , ,

an d other ol d Ita li a n m aste rs In some of his prints of whi ch

.
,

a coll ecti on w as publi shed in 1749 the bl a ck or outl ine bl ocks

show mo r e deta il th an i s usua l in ch i a roscu ro there bei ng ,

much cross ha tching i n the sha dows

-
Hi s son a lso engr a ved .

for prints i n this ma nner an d a l a rge p i cture p roduced by

,

him in 1724 The Di scovery of the C ross by S t Hel ena

, .
,

a fter Tintor etto w as ded i ca ted to hi s fa the r in a xyl ogra phi c

,

i nsc ri pti on b enea th Thi s i s proba bl y ra re as it is not

.

menti oned by Bar tsch but it h as no techn i ca l pecul ia ri ty

,

t o distin g ui sh i t fr om other wor k of the ki nd .

Tur ni ng from these mi nor workers i n the fiel d of col ou r

printing we come to one who though near l y forgotten now
, , ,

obtai ned some li ttl e fa me i n his d a y v iz : John Ba pti st , .

J a ckson who was an Engl ishma n though his Christia n na mes

, ,

su gge s t Ital ia n co n nections Bo rn a t the commencement of

.

the century he was brought up as a wood engra ver possibl y

, ,

un der Ki rk al l an d went to Pa ris a bout 1726 where he met

, ,

the L e Sueurs an d a ccor di ng to his tal e i nstructed them how

, ,

to produ ce prints in chi a roscur o on the l ines he prac t ised him

se l f b esides assisting them with some of the dr a wi ngs for the
,

Croza t coll ection He was a l so empl oyed by Pa pil l on who

.
,

a ccuse s hi m of go i ng behi nd hi s ba ck to hi s custome rs a n d

t ryin g to sell them his own copies of cuts he had been engaged
upon A fter they pa rted J a ckson went the ro u nd of the
.
,

P a risi a n wood en gra ve rs o ffe ring h is se rvices a t a l most a n y

,

p ri ce .

From Pa ris he went to Rome thence to Ven ice a b out 173 1 , ,

where he proba bl y beca me a cqua inted with Cou nt Za netti ,

an d ha d oppo rt u n i ti es of seeing wha t ha d bee n d one by the

72
 COLOU R P RIN TIN G

al though when J a ckson was i n Pari s he cont ri ved to obtai n

t en ti n ts w i th onl y four bl ocks no d oubt by b l endi ng a n d
,

superimposi ng the col ours j udi ci ou sl y He pr eferred to use

.

the copperpl a te pr ess for the producti on of hi s pri nts an d ,

the gr ea t pressur e to whi ch the bl ocks wer e subj ected has l eft
i t s t ra c es on t he ba cks of the pi ctur es on whi ch t oo the oil, , ,

in the col ours he used has l eft sta in s These pri nts may .

be r egar ded as the first genui ne ones prin ted i n col ours t ha t
wer e ever produced for publ i c c i r cul a ti on by an Engli sh a rti st ,

a l though not i n Engl a nd A few of J a ckson s o t her p i ctures

’
.
,

such as the po r tra i t of Al gernon Sidney h ave l ong i n sc ri pt i ons,

in l arge roma n l etters bel ow engra ved i n i ntagli o on the bl a ck

,

bl ock whi ch also ca rri es a good dea l of cross ha tched sha dow
,
-
,

suggesti ng th a t i t bel on gs to the ea rli er peri od The por t foli o .

'
of J a ckson s col our pr i nts a t the Bri ti sh Museum cont ai ns
a spi ri ted d esign (a bout 36 x 2 ) i nc hes) repr esenting a ba t t l e

scene ,
somewh a t a fter t h e ma nner of the el der R u gen das .

It i s si n e n ota an d i s al togeth er di ffer ent from J a ckson s other

,
’

producti ons both in styl e an d col ou ring so tha t i t is proba bl y

, ,

not his a t al l .

H e r eturned from Ven i ce to Engl a nd i n 1746 an d some t ime ,

after concei ved t he idea of pr oduci ng p i cto ri a l pa pe rhan gi ngs ,

pr i nted i n col ours by hi s process perh a ps fin ding but li ttl e sal e

,

for hi s p ri nts Wood engra ving was th en a d eba sed not

.
,

to say d espised art an d the publ i c seems to ha ve ta ken but

,

li ttl e i n ter est i n a nyt hi ng i n col our tha t was not the product
of brush work whil st l ine engr a vin g on copper was t he onl y
-
,

process thought mu ch of by the di l et ta n ti of tha t da y for pu r ,

poses of book ill ustra ti on P a perha ngi ngs of the ordin ary sort
.

ha d been but l i ttl e used i n the earl y part of the eighteenth

century ex cept by the poor er cl asses an d the li tt l e col our decor
, ,

a ti on they possessed w as mostl y a ppl i ed by h an d i n bl otche

s

fr om the surfa ce of smooth wooden bl ocks much in t he ,

sa me w a y as the p ri nts i n the Bl ock Books of the mi ddl e of

t he fift een t h centu ry a re sa i d to ha ve been pr oduced in fa ct ,

B a gford i n one of hi s MSS di r ectl y compar es the two methods

, .
,
.

74
 COL OU R P RI N TED -
PA PERI I A N GI N GS -

A s there wa s th en no mea ns of pr oducing pa per i n continuous

”
l engt hs pa perha ngi ngs wer e i n twel ve yar d l ong
,
pi eces - -
,

ma d e by pasti ng sever al sheets together end to end ea ch ,

sheet h a vin g a su perfic i es of a bout a squ ar e ya r d whi ch was ,

t he uni t on whi ch thi s cl ass of goods was t a x ed by t h e E xcise

the sel li ng pri ce was then from l s to I s 6d a pi ece O ne . . . .

Will ia m Ba il ey obtai ned an Engli sh pa tent in 1692 for a

method of pri nti ng pa perha ngi ngs in col ours but the detail s ,

of hi s process are unknown M a ny books pri nted i n the .

first h a l f of the eighteenth centu ry ha ve as end pa pe rs pi eces , ,

of figu red designs pri nted in col ours whi ch pr oba bl y r epresen t ,

the pa perha nging ma teri al of the peri od The d esi gn i s usua ll y .

conti nuous t he sam e bl ock bei ng a ppli ed r epea tedl y u ntil t he

,

en ti re surfa ce of t he sheet was col our ed Some of t he des i gns .

ar e of a geometri ca l ch ar a cter i n two col ou rs li ke those seen

, ,

on the chea p pa pers of ou r da y but others were of a more ,

el a bora te rococo order printed in three or four ti nts often

, ,

red , yell ow purpl e an d brown wi th a sti ppl ed ba ck ground

, ,

en gra ved on on e of the bl ocks There was not usuall y an y .

outli ne bl ock the des i gn being bu il t up from the successi ve

,

col our impr essions The better cl ass pa pers ha d a gol d grou nd
.
,

on whi ch the des i gn was pri nted i n a singl e col our in sl i ght
r el i ef, fur ther col our bei ng fr equ entl y appl i ed in i r regul a r
pa tches by a pa d or brush These i nte resting exampl es .

of ea rl y col our printin g fr om bl ock s meri t mor e a ttention than

has yet been bestowed upon them .

Retu rni n g now to J a ckson we fin d tha t he set up a fa ctory

,

a t B a ttersea for t he pr od ucti on of hi s pictor i a l p a perh a ngings ,

an d i n 1754 publi shed an E ssa E i d P i t i

, , y on n gr a v n
g a n r n n g
i n Chi a r osc u r o i n orde r to di r ect publi c a ttenti on to i t
, In .

’
the Kin g s L ibrary a t the Bri tish Museum a copy of this book
i s sho w n with an i n scription denoting tha t i t was the first
,

wor k pu bli shed i n Engl a nd tha t was ill ustra ted wi th col oured
, ,

pi ctures In a sense th is i s t rue al though L e Bl on s Col on tt o

'
’
.
,

of thi r ty years befor e shoul d ha ve been borne i n mind J a ck .

son wr i tes in the thi r d person a n d gi ves onl y twenty pa ges,

75
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

of l etterpress ma tt e r wi th eight pl a tes fou r of t hese l a tte r

,

a re chi a roscur o p ri nts i n v a ri ous b row n an d yel l ow ti nts a ,

bust of Democri tus a sta tue of A poll o etc good of thei r kin d
, , .
, ,

but in no way out of the o rdi na ry They a re however mu ch .

, ,

better producti ons tha n the fou r col our ed pri nts whi ch are ,

r ea ll y w r etched t hi ngs though so me all o w , a nce must be ma de

for the di scol oura ti on ca used by t he oil i n t he col ours as J a ck ,

son t ook cr edi t for t he w ay i n whi ch t he sub st a nce of the

pa per was impregna ted wi th the oil as compa r ed with the ,

vol a til e na ture of wa ter col ou rs The book conta i ns a few

-
.

bri ef a ll usions to chi ar oscur o wor k i n gene ral but mor e to ,

J a ckson s own an d he clai med tha t the Ital i a n method had

’

not been a ttempted by a n yone else si nce the beginni n g of

the si xteenth centu ry a sta tement whi ch d oes not say much
,

for his knowl ed ge of the subj ect The producti on of la sti n g

.

a n d genteel furn i ture as he ter med hi s w

, a ll pa pe rs seems -
,

to ha ve been conducted on a fai rl y l arge scal e as so me fift y ,

ha nds were empl oyed The col ours were a ppl i ed on a ti nted
.

groun d an d the subj ec ts were often bordered a l a Ki rkal l

, ,
.

Hora ce Wal pol e menti ons the ma tter i n one of h is l etters ,

but ri di cul ed J a c kson s i dea of decora tin g wall pa per wi th

’
-

r ep r oducti ons of des i n s by Ti ti a n an d other ol d mas ters

g .

H e r efers al so to some Go t hi c pa per the pane ls of which ,

Bentl ey ha d pr omised to pa i nt for h i m ; this sugges ts tha t

he di d not much car e for the col our pri nted sor t though -
,

he l i ked the Ital i an l a ndsca pes

J a ck son s scheme was not successfu l possibl y owi n g to the
’

fa ct tha t the ol d method of pr inting pa perhang i ngs fr om bl ocks

was consi dered to b e too sl ow an d unsa tisfa ctory In 1764 . ,

J F rye r p a tented the p r es ent one of p r i nt i ng in co l ou rs fr om

engra ved copper cyli nders wh i ch were pl aced i n a press though
, ,

a s l a te as 1786
J B u nn
. e t t p r opo sed t he use of wooden cy li nde rs .

In hi s l a ter years J a ckson was a t N ewcastl e on Tyne wher e he

,
- -
,

met Thos Bewi ck t he wood engra ver to whom he ga ve sa mpl es

.
, ,

of his pri nts an d a dra wi ng of the press by whi ch they wer e

p rod uced a t the sa me time tell i ng him tha t he ha d been
,

76
 COLOU R P RIN TIN G

in
one red brown a fter whi ch i s the bl a ck out li ne bl ock a copy
-
, ,

of the fin i shed pr i nt compl eting the seri es Here we c an .

study a chi ar osc ur o pri nt in the m a king an a dva nta ge sel do m ,

o ffered by exa mpl es in coll ec ti ons .

The l as t of the ol d school of engra vers i n chia r oscuro was a n

Engl i sh a ma teur Joh n S k i ppe of L edbury who was educa ted
, , ,

a t Merton Co ll ege O xfo r d a n d a fterw a rds stu di ed a rt u nde r

, ,

V em et A pa rt fr om hi s pri nts he i s al most en tirel y u nk n own

.
,

to fame Recent though hi s period i s hi s pr oductions a ppea r

.
,

to be very sc a rce being pr oba bl y mostl y ci rcul a ted a mongst

,

his fri ends Cha tto who was al most a con tempora ry knew
.
, ,

of but thr ee prints i n chia r oscuro by S kippe Ha rdi e spea ks

of a Fi rst an d a Second Pa rt of some otherwise
unti t l ed seri es da ted 1781 ea ch pa r t conta i ni ng ten pri nts
, ,

engra ven in chia rosc uro The writer has a fol io vol ume of .

contempora ry da te contai ning twenty ei ght prints by S ki ppe -

,

a n d as fiv e of the t w enty or so a t the Bri ti sh Museu m a re not

i n hi s coll ecti on S ki ppe must h a ve done a t l east thi r ty thr ee
,
-
,

not a gr ea t output consi deri ng i t was sprea d over some forty

,

yea rs . The ear li er ones a re i n brown an d a sol id bl a ck ,

ba ckgroun d covers a good pa rt of the pri nt A Leda a n d the .

Swa n oc curs in this seri es one of whi ch (in the Bri tish ,

Museum) is da ted on the ba ck i n MS

,
N o 3 N ovember .
, .
,

3ot h 1770 wi th the a r tist s a utogra ph a n d the re i s another

’

, , , ,

”
in the sa me styl e of Susa nna an d the El ders , .

S k i ppe s pri nts ar e i n the Ital i a n ma nne r an d fa irl y well

’

done as usual the i ndi spensa bl e Old Masters fu rnished

,

the desi gns several of them being a fter Pa rmegi an o The

, .

first pri nt in the wri ter s co l l ect i on i s pe rha ps the ge n er al

’

, ,

ti tl e to the two sets Mr Ha r di e refers to the l ettering is i n .

La ti n printed from type an d rea ds (t ra nsl a ti on) : The foll ow

, ,

i n g pi ctur es engra ved on wood i n hours of spo r t ive l e isure

, ,

i n the ende a vou r t o r es to re a n al most l ost a rt a re devoted ,

a n d dedi ca ted to hi s friends a n d to every l ove r of t he fin e ,

a rt s by John S ki ppe
, who is on l y a nxious to obta i n thei r
,

fa vou r an d pa tronage 178 1 The da te i s not p rinted but has . .

,

78
S K I PP E ,
THE L AST O F THE CHI A RO SCU RISTS
been stamped i n by ha nd a fte r wa rds an d as most of the prints ,

tha t foll ow a re da ted 1782 a n d 1783 S ki ppe proba bl y ma de ,

up col l ections from ti me to ti me for his fri ends da ti ng the ,

general tit l e as requ i red From the dedi ca t ory i nscri pti ons.

bel ow the pr ints we l ea rn tha t a mong these fri ends wer e

,

Benj ami n Bl a yney B D S i r J ames Edwa rds S i r John

, . .
, ,

Strange (Bri t i sh Ambassa dor to Veni ce) S i r John L a we , ,

J B . M al c ha i r a n d,J oh n S y mond s L L D Re g i us P r ofesso r , . .

,

of H i sto ry a t Ca mbri dge A few of the pr ints a re da ted 1809

.
,

but a re not so good as the ea rli er ones some of whi ch a ppea r ,

to h a ve been r e engra ved a t the l a ter da te Two l a rge desi gns

-
.
,

a fter B an di nell i a n d Mi ch a el Angel o r especti ve l y were

en gr a ved i n outl i ne onl y an d pri nted i n b rown in k on pi nk
,

an d on bl ue p a pe r with good effec t, Three or four tone bl ocks .

were general l y used i n S k ippe s pri nts mostl y brown s ochres ’

, , ,

or oli ve gr een s in va rious sh a des the dedi ca tion s wer e engra ved

on copperpl a te an d pri nted sepa ra tel y on a sli p of pl ai n

,

pa pe r .

When S k i ppe di ed the a r t of producing pri nts in the origi nal

,

chi a r oscur o styl e ma y be sa i d to ha ve expi red with him there ,

ha vi ng been no a ttempt a t a genui ne revi val since hi s d a y .

Between the S k i ppe a n d Sa vage peri ods ca me Fri ed W . .

Gu b i t z (1786 a Ger ma n wood engra ve r who showed ,

a li ki ng for col ou ri ng of a mo re moder n type t ha n t ha t of the

a vera ge chi a roscuri st Th os Bewi ck refers to hi m in his

. .

M emozrs Gu b i t z ha d sen t some specimens of hi s c hromoxyl o

'

gra phi c work which Bewi ck grea t l y a dmi red consi deri ng
, ,

t hem li ke bea uti ful li ttl e pa i nti ngs they mi gh t indeed be ,

sa id to be per fecti o n Exampl es of hi s col our pri nts do

.

not seem a t all common the Bri ti sh Museu m has onl y one ,

a por tr ai t of a Ger m a n l a dy i n ei gh t sta t e s or p ri nt i ngs As , .

r egar ds brilli a ncy of col our i t sta nds li ke the da te a t wh i ch i t , ,

was most proba bl y produ ced midwa y between the eighteenth ,

an d n i neteenth centu ry styl e s of wood bl ock col ou r pr i nts .

In Cha tto J a ckson s book on the history of engra ving

’

on wood is a l ong account of a col our pri nt of Ch rist a n d

79
 COLOU R P R I N T I N G

a Gl obe whi ch bore the da te of 1543 an d was a ttributed

, ,

to L Cra n a ch on the evi den ce of a device supposed to be hi s

.
, .

It was pri nted from a bout ten bl ocks whi ch i s i n itsel f a ,

su ffi c i en t indica tion th a t i t did not da te fr om so ea rl y a peri od ,

i n fa ct Cha tto himsel f doubted i t an d wa s incl i ned to consi de r ,

the pr int (whi ch then bel onged to Bran ston the L ondon wood ,

en gra ver) as the wor k of a German engra ver na med Unger ,

who flou ri shed l a te i n the ei ghteen th century It wa s shown .

a t the C a xton Exhi bi tion i n 1877 an d w as then a tt ributed ,

to Gu b i t z who hel d the post of P rofes so r of wood engra vi ng

,

a t t he Royal P r ussi a n A ca demy of A rt .

One occasi on a ll y comes a cr oss a compa ra tivel y modern

book remi n i scent of the old m an ner A n edi tion of Words .

wor th s P i c tori al Gr eec e publ ished by Orr i n 1856 conta i ns

’

, ,

a l arge number of woodcuts p ri nted in bl a ck on a l ight och r e

ti nted gr ound the l i ghts bei ng in most cases engra ved out
,
.

A bout the sa me ti me or per h a ps a li ttl e ea r li er a series of

, ,

obl ong fol i o woodcut Bibl e il l ustra ti ons by a Germa n ar tist ,

J . Schno rr we r e r e i ssued
, by a L ondon -
pub li she r with the ,

a ddi tion of two tone bl ocks a r eddi sh b r own an d a bl ui sh ,

-

gr een to ea ch the bl ock for the b rown a l so ca rri ed a br oa d

,

decora ti ve border extendi ng round thr ee sides of t h e pictu r e ,

as well as the o r na men t al design b el ow the l etteri ng a t the

bottom There i s nothi ng to indi ca te who was the engra ver or

.

pri nter but these pri nts are of a deci dedl y origin al type an d of
, ,

inter est as constituti ng a sort of connec ting l i nk between the ol d

workers in chi a r oscuro l i ke S k i ppe an d the new such as , , ,

Eva ns or L ei ghton A four th col our was obta ined in pl a ces

.

by the two tone bl ocks being printed over ea ch other The .

i ll ustra ti ons to R C Tr ev el y an s P ol yphemus and other

’
. .

P oems (190 1) a re printed in bl a ck an d a singl e tone the bl ock ,

for the l a tter ha vi ng the li ght s engra ved out i n a still mo re ,

di stinct a pp roa ch to the a n cient chi a r oscur o styl e t hough ,

the designs by R E Fry l a ck the fin i sh an d vi gour of the

,
. .
,

ol der ones The pi ctur es are a ccompa ni ed by xyl ogra phi c

.

i nscri ptions an d the t i tl e page wi th i t s bol d l etteri ng an d

,
-
,

80
 CH A PTER IV
COLOU R P RI N TI N G I N THE EIGHTEEN TH C E N TU RY
SECTI O N II
4 m uc u o P R I N TI N G P n oc sssas ; sn r r w AQ U A I I N T a r c
‘ ‘

, , .

HE
el ief pri nti ng proc es ses for
r

the producti on of col our pri nts

ha vi ng now been deal t wi th
pre t ty fu ll y so fa r as the cen t ury
,

unde r noti ce is concerned we ,

ma y tu rn to a consi dera ti on of
those methods t ha t depended
upon t he use of pl a tes engra ved
i n inta gli o Three of these
.
,

v i z : li ne engra vi ng e t ch i n g an d
.
, ,

mezzotinti ng were ol de r than the,

eighteenth century an d wh il st the first named never ma de an y

,
-

figu re wor th spea kin g of i n conn ecti on wi th col our prin t i ng

sa ve ex per imental l y i n the p a ges of T e l er s book — etc hi n g
’

y ,

though i t was occasi onall y suppl emen ted by col o ur pri nti ng ,

has onl y wi thi n the l ast few yea rs come to ta ke a pr omi nent
pl a ce as a primary method of pr oduci ng col our ed pi ctur es .

The pri nti ng of mezzot i nted pl a tes i n col ours i s essenti a ll y

a l a te e ighteenth centur y ar t an d in a dditi on to it the r e we r e
,

two othe r processes i nvented in tha t centu ry whi ch were

, ,

u tili sed for col o u r work i n t he sa me way t e a qua ti nti ng , . .

,

an d sti ppl e engra vi ng Indeed as Ba ron Portal is points

.
,

out (Ga z d es B ea u x A rts

.
, whenever a new me t hod of
printi ng i n bl a ck was i nvented i t s i nt rodu c t i on was speedil y
,

foll owed by i t s ada pta ti on to col our pri nti ng Stippl e en gra v .

i n g may be r egarded as the ea rl i e r of these two methods an d ,

l ike mezzot i nt an d aqua ti n t is a grai n process the grai n ,

bei ng formed of a se ri es of dots ca refu ll y a rra nged wi th

,

82
 THE RISE OF STI P P L E E N GRA VI N G
r eference to the pl a nes an d modelli ng of t he subj ect It .

consti tutes a reversa l of the cri bl é e ngra vi ng al rea dy menti oned ,

a n d i s i n a sense a comb i na tion of etchi ng an d engra vi ng

, ,
.

the dots bei ng usu all y ma r ked wi t h a needl e thr ough an etchi ng
ground bi tten in by a ci d in t he ordi n ary way an d a fte rwards
, ,

a dded to an d deepened w i th the buri n The method ha d i t s .

bir th i n a ttempt s to i mi ta te on t he copper pl a te the textu r e ,

i f we ma y u se such a term of the li nes i n a cra yon dra wi ng

,
.

This i s one of the very few i nvent i ons conn ected wi th the
g ra phic a r ts wh i ch w as not m a de i n Ge r m a ny "
as the ,

first engra ve r to pra c t i se i t was a Dutch gol dsmi th Jea n ,

L u t ma (1584 who used a smal l h ammer or punch

as do t he en ra ve rs of copper cyl i nders for w a ll p pe p r i nt i n g
g a r -

a t thi s d ay — to pr oduce a sor t of grai n in his pl a tes not unl i ke ,

tha t of a qu a ti nt in general a ppea rance Se v eral engra vi ngs .

of his i n thi s ma nne r Opus Mal l ei ha ve come down to

u s i ncl udi ng a por t ra i t bust of Ta c i tus i n which the h ai r
, ,

re s embl es co a rse stippl i ng The fu r t her i mprovement of

.

this method is due to a Frenchman Jean Chas Fra nc o i s , .

(bo r n a t N a ncy 1 7 17
,
d i ed a
,
t P a r i s who m a,de h is fi rs t
e xpe ri ments i n thi s di r ecti on i n 1740 but got no fur ther tha n ,

the p roducti on of a few p roofs The i dea seems to ha ve been .

then l ai d as i de for some yea rs but in 17 5 1 Fran c oi s revi ved,

i t an d p r oduced mo r e p roofs none of whi ch however we r e

, , , ,

for publ i c cir cul a ti on Among them was a la rge engra ved
.

facsi mil e of a drawi ng in red chal k after C Vanl oo repres enti ng .

,

a Corps du Garde —
In 1756 7 he thr ew hi msel f i nto
.

the task in ear nes t an d brought his new method under the
,

notice of the Royal A ca demy of Pai nt i ng a t Paris who forma ll y ,

e xp r essed thei r a ppr oval of i t i n N ovembe r This ,

engra vi ng a u ma n i ér e cr a yon a ttra cted the noti ce of

L oui s XV a n d Fran c oi s ha vi ng expl a i ned an d demonstra ted
,

his pr oc ess he was compli mented wi th the tit l e of

, Engra ver
to the K in g an d wha t wa s mor e to the purpose was gra nted
, ,

a n a nnual pension of 6 000 1i vr es , Ma ny of hi s ea rl y col oured

.

s ti ppl e engra vi ngs wer e done to i mi t a te dra w i ngs i n bla ck

83
 COLOU R P RI N TIN G

an d white cra yons on bl ue or gr ey pa per He next proceeded .

a step fur ther i n the sc al e of co l our imi ta tion i nt r oduc in g ,

a thi r d pl a te to si mu l a te red ch al k l ines A numbe r of st i ppl e .

portra i ts in the crayon styl e a ppea r in Vol ume I I of S a v eri en s

’

Hi st oi re des P hi l osophes M adam es (Pa r is 176 1 i n a ll the ,

other vol umes t hey are i n bl a ck onl y) two pl a tes we r e used ,

i e for the red an d the bl a ck p a r ts r especti vel y but the effect

. .
, ,

c an h ar dl y be consi de r ed sa t i sfa ctor y whi ch fa ct perha ps ,

l ed to a retu rn to monoti nt in the succeedi ng vol umes The .

onl y edi ti on the wri ter has seen is in 121n o but i n the Print ,

Room a t the B ritish M useum is a pr oof of an a qua ti nted titl e

pa ge to the sa me work i n qu ar to printed in brown wh ic h was , ,

r epr oduced by Mrs Fr an k a u in her E i ght een th Cen t u ry Col ou r

.

P ri n ts .

Fran qoi s was foll owed by L ouis M Bonnet (1743

.

who i s said to ha ve en gra ved a thousand pl a tes duri ng hi s

compa ra tivel y short l ife H e was a ra ther noma di c ar ti st
.
,

going from Pa ris to S t Petersburg fr om ther e to L ondon

.
, ,

an d then b a ck to P a ri s wher e he gra t i fied hi s Engli sh customers

,
-

by ca rryin g on bu si n ess d a ma gasi n A n gla i s an d st il l kept up ,

a connec ti on w ith Engl a nd through his L ondon agen t Vivares

, ,
.

Hi s first three col ou r engra vi ng c u ma mer e c ra yon was a por trai t

'

of a young gir l a fter F Boucher a Fr ench pa inter an d engra ver

.
,

of some note in hi s d a y an d was pri nted in bl a ck red an d

, ,

whi te a separa te pl a te being used for ea ch ti nt Bon net

,
.

cl ai med tha t he al one possessed the sec ret of pri nti ng in whi te ,

but a contemporary (Vari n ) produced engra vin gs on bl ue

pa per in the bl ack c rayon styl e an d heightened them wi t h ,

whi te A cha ra c t er istic pai r of two col our sti ppl es by Bonnet
.
-
,

pri nted in bl a ck an d r ed are J u b i er s L es Pecheurs an d

,
’

”
L es L a veuses a fter Huet
,
A li t t l e l a ter Bonnet a dded
.

a nother pl a te to hi s seri es to i mi ta te bl ue ch al k an ex a mpl e

, ,

of whi ch occurs i n hi s print of a Y ou ng Woma n Rea di ng ,

a fter Boucher ; femal e subj ects an d l ove scen es furnishi ng

the ma teri al for most of hi s pr oducti ons Some femal e heads .

en gra ved by him a fter L ecl er c wer e su rr ounded by a sor t of

84
 CO LO U R P RIN TI N G

whi ch his parti al i ty for the fair sex l ed him i nto an d whil e ,

c ast i ng a bout l ike the A t henia n s of ol d for some new t hi ng

, , ,

wherewi th to r eha bil i ta te hi s cr edi t he bethought hi msel f of the ,

cra yon met hod of engra ving he ha d l ear ned in P ari s l ong before .

A bout thi s time (32a 1774 5) he ha d obt a ined an i ntroducti on

,
-

to tha t gi fted i f somewha t fin i c al l a dy ar ti st Angeli ca Kau ff

, ,

man (born a t Coi r e i n Swi tzerl and 174 1 di ed a t Rome

, , , ,

who ha d come to Engl and some ten yea rs before u nder fash ,

i on a b l e a uspi ces a n d was el ec ted R A i n 1768

,
She ex cell ed . .

i n wha t the pri n t sell ers now ter m decora tive an d fan cy
su bj ects ,
which needed some softer an d tenderer mode of
interpr eta ti on than eit her the ha r dn ess of l ine or the duski nes s
of mezzoti nt Ryl a nd tri ed hi s hand a t reprod uci ng one or
.

two of her d ra wings i n sti ppl e an d they were both hi ghl y ,

pl eased wi th t he r esul t When t he new fashi oned pri nts

.
-

were put on the ma rket the publi c expres sed si mil ar apprec i a
,

ti on an d ha d Ryl and onl y possessed a li tt l e str ength of mi nd

,

an d stea di ness of pur pose fa me a n d for tune woul d h a ve be en

,

assur ed . He opened a sh0 p i n the Stra nd wher ein the pri nts ,

he en graved mi ght be pu rchased a n d for a time all went well ,

The s tippl e engra vings of Ryl and an d hi s contempora ri es

an d successo rs in the a r t wer e ve ry di ffer ent fr om those of

the earl y Fr ench engra vers whose pr oducti ons were mostl y
,

l i mi ted to r eproductions of cra yon d ra wi ngs i n l i ne wi th a ,

mi nimum of sha di ng an d detai l wher ea s Ryl a nd an d the ,

other Engl ish foll owers of the new cra ze gener all y engraved
over the whol e sur fa ce of the pl a te so tha t thei r a ppli ca ti on ,

of the pr ocess enabl ed them to i mita te a dra wi ng i n wash

as well as one in l i ne Some of the ea rl iest sti ppl e engra v i ngs
.

execu ted in Engl and did however foll ow the origi nal French
, ,

ma nner whi ch coul d be fai rl y wel l i mi ta ted by e t chi ng i n the

,

soft gr oun d styl e an d punctu ri ng or r oul ettin g t h e dots

, .

In the Coll ec ti on of P ri n ts pu bl i shed by Rogers in 1778 ar e

some two col ou r etchi ngs i n st i ppl e by Si mon Wa tts wh i ch
-
,

wer e p ri nted from two pl a tes one for each ti nt t he ea rli est
,

86
L A U RIE AN D H I S COLOU R P ROCESS

(in V ol II ) i s da ted 1770 an d i s a portrai t of Hel en a Forman

.
, ,

the second wi fe of Rubens In thi s exa mpl e the costume .

i s i n bl a ck l ine stippl e an d the ha nds an d fa ce in r ed

, In .

Vol ume I ar e r epr od uctions in l ine stippl e of Zuccher o s ’

port r a it of Queen El iza beth an d of a portrai t of Robert Dudl ey

, ,

Earl of L eicester whi ch are da ted 1773 an d are of the sa me

, ,

chara cter as the other But the styl e whi ch Ryl an d pr a ctised
.

came to pr eva il i n the end an d was so di sti n cti vel y Engl ish
,

tha t en gra vin gs so ex ecuted were sai d i n Fran ce to be eu

ma n i ar e A n gl a i s .

Ryl and seems to ha ve ma de no a ttempt a t i mi ta ting the

Fr ench method of engra vi ng a speci al pl a te for ea ch tone
r equi r ed in the pr oduction of a m u l ti col ou r p ri nt p r eferri ng
-
, ,

i nstea d to i n k a si n gl e pl a te i n severa l col ours wi th the a i d of

,

a stump br ush . In this he ha d the assi stance of an exper t

copperpl a te pri nter S ei gn eu er an Al sa ti a n who a fterwa rds set
, , ,

u p i n busi n ess i n tha t li ne on hi s ow n a ccou nt One gr ea t .

a dva nt age of the new method was th a t i t di d a wa y w i th the

necessi ty of engra vi ng speci a ll y for col our work as the engra ved ,

design on the si ngl e pl a te being quite compl ete i n i tsel f coul d

, ,

be inked for pri ntin g (a ) in bl a ck (b) in the r eddish brown ti nt

,
-

so common to the sti ppl e engr a vings of the peri od or (c ) i n a ,

number of col ou rs .

The inventi on of the pr ocess mu st be c hi efly cr edi ted to a

L ondon engra ver Robe r t L a uri e (1749
,
who communi
c a t ed to the Soci ety of A rts i n 1776 a method of p r oduci ng

copperpl a te pictur es in col ours a t a si ngl e i mpr ession by ,

i nki n g the pl a te with stump brushes He contempl a ted the.

u se of pl a tes engr a ved i n a combina ti on of m ezzoti nt an d

sti ppl e, wi th outli ne etchi ng ; hi s mai n i dea seems to have

been the producti on of book i ll ustra tions a t a chea p ra te The .

Society a warded him a pri ze of thi r ty guineas An engra ved .

copperpl a te ha vi ng been sel ected an d c l ea ned the pri nter was ,

pr ovi ded with a wa ter col our copy of the pi cture to be pr oduced
-
,

in which the col our scheme was cl earl y i ndi ca ted A ground .

ti nt i n k was put on the pl a te first of all usual l y brown , ,

87
 COLO U R P RI N T I N G

bla ck or grey whi ch was not however all owed to get i nto
, , ,

the l i nes or dots of the pic t u r e but si mpl y to coa t in a very

,

sl ight degr ee the pl ai n sur fa ce of t he pl a te The brighte r .

col ours such as bl ue red an d gr een were i nked in next wi th

, , ,

a stump b rush or piece of r ag — d l a pou pée as the French ,

term i t the da bber used to a ppl y the in k being sha ped some
,

—
wha t li ke a wooden doll (French pou pée) e a ch ti nt in i t s
,

proper pl a ce as shown in the wa ter col our the p ri nter ha d

,
-

befor e hi m the flesh tint fol l owed the a ppl ica tion of t hi s ,

being perh a ps the most di ffi c u l t pa rt of the whol e p rocess ,

as in some cases a fr esh g round t i nt ha d to be put on to r ece i ve

it l ast of all the col ou rs ha d to be bl ended or merged i nto

,

one another a t the po ints where the va rious ti nts met in order ,

to produce a perfec t a n d ha rmonious res ul t Grea t ca re ha d . ,

of cours e to b e ta ken tha t the col ours d i d not get i nto an y

,

li n es or dots i n whi ch they we re not i ntended to a ppea r ,

t he wiping being full y as deli ca te an d importa nt an

opera tion as the i nking In fa ct t he enti re p roces s was
.
,

emi nentl y one i n whi ch onl y a tal ented a n d sympa t heti c

opera tor coul d produce the best resul ts The work of the .

ar t ist
, or the engra ver went for li tt l e i f the pi ctu r e was
,

bo tched in pri nting a n d thus the fin es t exampl es of this

,

cl ass of work a re n ot nec es saril y the best engra vi n gs b u t ,

simpl y those i n which most ca r e has bee n bestowed on the

i n ki ng an d printi n g .

The process does not ma teriall y di ffer from t ha t foll owed

t o d a y for pr oduci ng photogra vu r es a n d other pri nts fr om
-

i nta gli o pl a tes in seve ral col ours a t a si ngl e i mpr es si on The .

ra te of pr oduct ion w as necessa ril y ve ry sl ow a s the w hol e ,

cycl e of opera ti ons had to be gone thr o ugh a fres h for every
copy requi red S o fa r as the col ouring was concerned al most
.
,

everyt hing depended upon the skil ful nes s or otherwise wi th , ,

whi ch the inki ng was done a ba dly inked pl a te p roduced a

smudgy i mpr essi on no ma t t e r how good the engra ving i t sel f
,

might b e Even the most skil ful i n ke r however coul d

.
, ,

ra r el y a ppl y t i ny p a tches of co l ou r sa tisfa cto ri l y to minute

88
 CO LO U R P RI N TIN G

Wagner at V en i ce en gra vi ng for vari ou s publi ca ti ons

, In .

1764 he ca me to L ondon an d soon a ttra cted the noti ce of

,

the young Ki ng Geo rge III to whom he was a ppoi nted

, ,

Engr aver a t a sa l a ry of £300 ; by 1768 he was an R A L ine . .

engra ving was hi s b ra nch for a few yea rs b u t when t he cra ze ,

for stippl e engra vi ng set i n B ar tol ozzi was not sl ow to ta ke

a dva nta ge of i t a n d to a pp r eci a te i t s money ma king powers
,
-
.

A l arge number of hi s sti ppl es were pr oduced in col ours but ,

li ne engra vin gs se em never to ha ve been e xperi mented wi th

i n tha t di rec t ion thou gh occas i on all y pri nted in r ed
, .

To wri te in deta il of t he sti ppl e engra vers whose producti ons

were pri nted in col ours i n the l a te eighteen th an d ear l y
,

ni neteenth centu ri es woul d requi r e a vol ume

, from t he
v i ew po int of th i s book howeve r such a t ask i s not nec essa ry
, , ,

as to the col our p ri nte r one such pri nt i s very much li ke a nother ,

an d such consi dera ti ons as sta tes ma y well be l eft to the

d ea l er or the co ll ector In an y case an ex cell ent an d c om
.
,
"
pr ehensi ve a ccount of Ol d Engli sh Col o ur Pri nts from ,

the pen of Mr M al colm C Sal ama n formed the l ast Speci al

. .
,

Wi nter N umber of The S tu di o an d as i t al so has the a dvan tage

,

of being full y an d fin el y ill ustra ted the wr i ter can not do ,

better th an r efer to i t s p ages those of hi s r ea ders who ar e

desi r ous of knowi ng mor e a bout this i nterest i ng subj ect an d ,

by wa y of ex cuse he may r epea t Mr S al am an s r emark : .

’

Oi the st i ppl e engr a vers who ma de pretty a n d a tt ra cti ve

col ou r prints thei r name i s l egi on whil e these pa ges a re
, ,

necessar il y li mi ted .
”

Wha t has just been sa id a bout the pri nted mul ti col our -

sti ppl e engr a v i n g al so a ppli es to the engr a vi ng i n mezz ot i nt ,

which was trea ted i n the same ma nner a t the peri od under ,

noti ce for the pr oducti on of i mpr essi ons i n col our ; i t seems
, ,

however to ha ve been much l es s sel dom used for this purpose

,

tha n the sti ppl es proba bl y for the r eason tha t i t s sur fa ce was
,

mor e del ica te an d thus lia bl e to da mage 0 1 the for ty prin ts .

which Mr Sal am an r epr oduced to a ccompany hi s monogra ph

.

j ust r eferr ed to onl y th ree a re mezzoti nts all the r est bei ng
, ,

90
18TH CEN T MEZZOTI N TS I N C OLOU R
.

s ti ppl es al though the propor ti on of the one speci es to the

,

other so far as col ou r i mpressi ons are concerned was pr oba bl y

, ,

n ot qu i te so sma ll as thi s sugg ests M ezzoti nts were someti mes

.

"

produced i n mul ti col our by Conti nental engra vers such as

-
,

J .P P
. i ck l e r (1765 18 06 ) an d F W
-
ren c k (17 b u t thes e
ma y be r egar ded as mer el y the except i ons which pr oved the
r ul e th a t thi s bra nch of the col ou r pri nting ar t w as di stincti vel y

English A s the use of the stump br ush on a mezzoti n ted pl a te

.

was not c a l cul a ted to i mprove i t s surfa ce the col ouring was ,

sel dom l a vi sh was i ndeed often empl oyed i n ra ther a nigga r dl y

,

fashi on even when the pl a tes were ex pres sl y prepar ed for

,

’
pri nt i ng i n col ours An exa mpl e is afforded by J Y ou ng s
. .

seri es of P ortr a i t s of t he E mper or s of Tu r key (L ond the .

,

hi sto ry of whi ch fin e work i s somewh a t curious In 1806 the .

Turki sh Government consigned to i t s Amba ssa dor in Engl and a

case of port rai ts of the Turkish Soverei gns wi th i nstructi ons tha t,

they wer e to be pl a ced i n the ha nds of a competent engraver ,

for the purpose of reproducti on Y oun g was entr u sted wi th

t he wor k an d in the foll owi ng year a spec i men pl a te was
,

des pa tched to Consta nti nopl e an d a pproved of Ou i t s

r etu r n the other pictur es wer e put i n ha nd but the dep ositi on ,

an d dea th of Sul ta n Sel i m III l ed to t h e pr oj ect being a ba n

d on ed an d Y ou ng consequentl y found t h a t a ll hi s t ime an d

, , ,

l a bour woul d g o for nothi ng u nl ess he coul d ma ke some u se

,

of t he pl a tes hi msel f t he Tur ki sh Government ul ti ma tel y

consented to thi s a n d the vol ume of port ra i ts was the resul t
,
.

Onl y a very l imi ted number of copies was produced as the ,

pr ocess of col our printi ng tends so ma teri a ll y to in j ure the

pl a tes Al though i t was sta ted tha t
. the impr essi ons
”
ha ve a ll been printed i n col ou r from the pictur es there i s ,

i n r eal i ty ve ry l i ttl e pr ess col our ing on them ; the grea ter
p ar t of the su rfa ce i s i n bl a ck the ha nds an d fa ce are p rinted
in a flesh t int an d tha t pa r t of the costume whi ch r equi red
,

a b r oa d mass of col ou r i s usua ll y pr i nted a l so but most of ,

the other col ou r was put on by h a nd i t bein g sel dom th a t ,

more tha n two pri nted col ours ap pear i n a pl a te in a ddition

91
 C OLOU R P RI N TI N G

to bl a ck The fr ontispi ece i s in bl a ck yell ow an d bl u e Dr

.
,
. .

Thom t on s N ewI ll u str at i on of t he S exua l S ystem (oi L i n n a u s)

’
,

publ ished in 1807 conta in s a few mezzoti nts pa r tl y pri nted i n

,

col ou r b u t su ppl emented by much ha nd work Most of the

, .

pl a tes i n tha t work a re however aqua ti nts an d as su ch will

, , ,

be r eferred to pres en t l y .

A few ei ghteenth or ea rl y ni neteenth century e n gra ved pl a tes

still ex i st an d ar e now a n d t hen used to produce copie
, s for the

b en efit of the tyr o in pr i nt coll ecti ng ; m a ny other prin t s

a re r epr oduced i n photogra v ur e fr om o ri gi nal i mp ressi ons ,

but i n the case of stippl es the r epr oductive process most

commonl y empl oyed is l ithogra phy Oi such well known p ri nts .
-

as for exa mpl e Whea tl ey s

"
, Cri es of L ondon
, there must
'

be an al most consta nt fl ow of modern copies into the ma rket .

As a r ul e these common i mit a ti ons of stippl e engra vi ngs a re

,

r a ,
—
co ou ed by h nd but of l a te the chromo li thogra pher seems
l
to ha ve cut i nto the work a n d to ha ve produ ced fa csi mil es ,

from i mpressi ons in col ours in such a way tha t the ti nts seem
to r un in to one a nother a t the edges j u st as they do i n genuine ,

ol d col ou r pr i nts b u t the pa per the a bsol utel y smooth surfa ce

, , ,

a n d t h e fresh l ook comb in e to betra y moderni ty i n spi te of the

, ,

usu al pr esen ce of a dir ty ol d fra me an d a pr i ce a bou t twenty ,

fiv e times tha t of the cost of producti on The l a te Mr A W . . . .

Tuer ga ve pr ecise dir ect io ns how to detect these modem

a n t i que p ri nts but as they ha ve grea tl y mul tipli ed si nce
,

hi s d ay it c an o n l y be assu med tha t the igno ra nt a re much

,

more numerous th an the k no wi ng in the ra nks of ol d col oured ,

print coll ectors .

Stippl e engra v i ngs printed i n col ours were very ra rel y used
as book ill ustra t i o ns an d mezzoti nts ha rdl y a t a ll
, thoug h ,

in mon och rome bo th were fa i rl y common The fa cili ty .

with whi ch the sa me pl a te coul d b e used for ta ki ng i mpressions

of either des c ri pti on often l ed to a few copies of a par t i cu l a r
work havi ng the pri nts i n one sta te a n d all the rest i n the ,

other or occasi on all y as in the po rtra it of L i n n z u s i n Thorn

, ,

ton s S exu a l S ystem the pl a te might be presen t i n both sta tes

’

, ,

92
 C OLOU R P RI N TI N G

M a donna d el G a tto or G Romano s Hol y Fa mil y the

'

, .
,

amount of h a nd col ou ri ng i s sm all -

The en gra vi ngs wer e .

mostl y executed by pupils of Ba r tol ozzi i ncl u di ng P W ,

. .

Tomki ns Medl and C ardon etc

, , , .

A sti ppl e engra vi n g pri nted i n col ou rs of t ha t fa mo us ol d

, ,

L ondon pri nter Wm Bowyer by J J Cha p ma n was publi shed

, .
,
.
,

i n 1800 A mongst ot her en gra vers whose wor k was occasiona ll y

.

repr odu ced in col ours may be menti oned Ri cha r d E a rl om ,

S W Reynol ds Ca pt W Ba il l ie Wi ll i am Ward J a mes War d

. .
, . .
, , ,

an d J R Smi th ; the producti ons of the l ast thr ee ha ve

. .

provided su bj ects for a coupl e of interesti ng monogra phs by

Mrs Jul i a Frank au publ ished in 1904 an d 1902 respec ti vel y
.
, .

In ea ch case the vol ume of text was a ccompan ied by a por tfol i o
of pri nts whi ch are of speci al i nter est as bei ng a ctual stippl es
,

a n d mezzoti nts not photogra vur e r eproducti ons a s was the

, ,

case i n Mrs Fra nka u s E i ghteen t h Cen tu ry Colou r P ri n t s

.
’
.

Ma ny of these fin e modern copies of famous ol d engra vi ngs

wer e printed i n col ou rs by the ol d method an d needl ess to , ,

sa y , the publi ca ti ons i n whi ch thes e bea uti ful pictures were
i ssu ed wer e expensi ve but those who cou l d a fiord to a cqu i r e
,

them c a n boast of possessi ng pra c t i ca l ill ustra ti ve evi dence

of the fa ct tha t the a rt of engra v ing on coppe r is not yet qui te
gone fr om u s Some excell ent chromo li thogra phed r epro
.
-

d u c t i on s of eighteenth centu ry col our pri nts a ppea r i n the

posthumous Au t ob i ogra phi c a of t he l a te W E Va ugha n . .
,

the B ri ghton pri nt dea l er -

The grea t peri od in the pr oducti on of sti ppl es a n d mezzo

tin ts i n col ours may be consi dered to ha ve cl osed with the
depar tu re of B artol ozzi in 1802 for Lisbon where he occupi ed ,

the post of Di recto r of t he N a t i onal A ca demy until hi s dea th ,

but col our pri nts of th is cha ra cter contin u ed to be published

u ntil we ll i nto the ni neteenth centu ry tho u gh an era of deca ,

dence soon set in The Ftea rs P oeti qu es of P D en ne Baron

. .
-

( P a ri s 1,825 ) cont a i n s si xteen s tipp l e e n g ra vings of fl o wers ,

pri n ted i n two or three col ours a t a si ngl e i mpressi on ra ther ,

a l a te exa mpl e of t he ki nd Sti ll l a ter on es ma y be found in .

94
ODDS A N D E N D S OF C OLOU R WO RK
ome copies of Ca pt John Ross S ec on d Voya ge to
'
at l east s .

t he A r c ti c R egi on s (L ondon 1835) i ncl uded a mongst the

, ,

il l ustra tions a re a fewc rude mezzotints inscri bed a t the foot , ,

"
Pr i nted i n col ours by C L a hee They ar e i n two col ours
. .
,

bl a ck an d bl ue a thir d red being a dded by ha nd

, , , .

An exa mpl e of a di fferent ki nd i s Emi l L ec omt e s Mel a n ges

'

D Om emen ts Di ver s (Pari s 1838) whi ch contai n s seventy

'

thr ee full page pl a tes of decora t i ve designs of cl assi cal a n d

-
,

r ena i ssa nce types twenty four of them being pri nted i n
,
-

two or three col ou rs a ppa rentl y worked i nto the l ines by

,

a stu mp brush or some si mil ar method Sti l l l a ter wor k of .

this des cr i pti on is seen i n P a ra bl es of Ou r L ord (L ond J .

, .

M i tchell ,
The li ne engr a vi ngs by Goodall a fte r ,

J. F ra nk l i n ar e p r i nted
, i n bl a ck th a t po r t i on of the text ,

whi ch occu rs on the same page bei ng i n Gothi c l etter pri nted ,

i n red with a l arge o rn ament al i ni ti al in bl ue

, This a rra nge .

ment al ter na tes wi th full pages of text pri nted whol l y in

r ed the i ni ti al i n these cases bein g in bla ck
, the entire work
was engra ved an d the pages— ea ch of whi ch i s surroun ded
,

by a red l in e bor de r pri nted in t wo or th ree col ou rs a t a

- —
singl e i mpr essi on ea ch pa r t bei ng i nked sepa ra tel y by h a nd
,
.

The fa d of producing col our ed pi ctur es on sil k or sa tin fol l owed ,

occasional l y by the publ ishe rs of some of the ill u stra ted

pa pers of ou r da y ha d i t s counterpa r t in the ei ghteenth centur y
, ,

an d one of J H a r ding s engr a vi ngs

. The School mistress was
'

, ,

pri nted i n col ours on sa ti n i n 1792 The na me of the actu al .

pri nter of the pictur es sel dom a ppears on them Mr Sal a m a n . .

on l y menti ons one H Fl oq u et 1789 One Gam bl e a sel f

, .
, .
,

styl ed Inventor of Pri nti ng i n Col ours was carryi ng on ,

busin ess i n P all M all in 1784 but of wha t the al l eged i nventi on ,

consisted we cannot sa y .

Before proceedi ng to dea l wi th other i ntagli o engra vi ngs

in col ou rs someth ing ma y be sai d a bou t the
, combin a t i on
processes u sed l a te i n the eighteenth century an d earl y i n the
ni neteenth The chia rosc uro ti nted etchings an d mezzotints
.
-

h ave al rea dy been r eferred to a n d mezzotinted or a qua ti nted ,

95
 COLO U R PR I N T I N G

etchi ngs na tu ral l y come next on the l ist for noti ce The obj ect .

of the engr a vers of thes e was appa r entl y to pr oduce from the
metal surfa ce of a singl e pl a te or a t the most from two pla tes
, ,

an effect si mil a r to th a t for whi ch the wo r kers i n c hi a r oscur o

ha d to u se a set of wood bl ocks Thi s coul d be done in more

.

than one wa y the pl a te cou l d be light l y mezzoti nted al l over ,

or a gr ound th a t woul d t a ke col our obta ined by the u se

of sa nd or the dusti ng b ox to gi ve a gra in or tone In a n y
, , .

c ase the pl ate coul d be subsequentl y l i ne etched a n d the -

,

g r ound ti nt scr a ped a w a y i n p a r ts to a gr ea te r or l esse r degr ee ,

as the n a tu r e of the desi n dema nded so th a t consi de ra bl e

g ,

vari a ti ons in strength of col our coul d be obta i ned fr om a

singl e pl a te al most equ al to those for which sever al wood
,

bl ocks ha d hi t herto been requi red .

Earl y exam pl es of two col our mezzotints of this type

-
,

da tin g from a bout the mi ddl e of the eighteenth century ,

a r e the r eproduc t i ons by C R u gen d as . of A ugsburg (1708 ,

—
of the spi ri ted eq uest ri a n designs mostl y ba ttl e or
—
ca mp scenes o f his fa ther G P R u gen d as ; i n these the
, . .
,

li ghtl y mezzoti nted pl a te conveying the deta il whi ch was i n ,

etched or engra ved outl i ne was printed i n bl a ck on a brown

,

ground a ppl ied from a second pl a te whi c h was l eft c l ea n i n ,

pl a ces in orde r to indi ca te the li ghts It wa s however mor e .

, ,

common to u se onl y a si ngl e col our to pri nt ground an d out li nes

together the strong l i nes of the etching pr ovi di ng an efiec t i v e
,

contrast to the tone of the gr ound now dark now li ght , , ,

a cco r di ng to t h e extent to whi c h it ha d been l eft poli shed

or sc ra ped or gr ai ned the p art s deal t w

,
i th in t h e former wa y ,

of course prin ting whi te

,
.

Stefa no Muli na ri of Fl orence (174 1 179 en gra ved i n thi s

-

styl e p r oduci ng hi s p ri nts i n br ow

,
n gr een an d othe r col ours
, , ,

in imi ta ti on of d rawin gs ti nted i n sepi a or wash he seems

to ha ve made consi dera bl e u se of san d grai ned or dust ground - -

pl a tes to pr odu ce hi s effects in contr a sting sha des an d ti nts

of the sam e col our an d another Fl oren ti ne engra ver A
, ,
.

Sca cci a ti (born 1726) got hi s ma inl y by a qua tinti ng hi s pl a tes ,

96
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

t he fig ures—very —
l igh t l y engra ved in outl i ne occurr ed .

A very st rong an d c rude contrast of li ght a n d sha de was

thus produced of the chara cter n ow someti mes termed
,

Rembra ndtesque .

We come n ow to the l a test of al l the intagl io engra v i ng

proces ses whi ch do not depend upon photogra phy Aqua ,

ti nt Al though this method i s often c al l ed

. engra vi n g it ,

is rea l l y etchi ng by tones for all the gra v i n g i s done by a cid

, ,

a n d thus the r e a r e or need b e no l i nes al though these ma y be

, , ,

etched in The pl a te is pa rti all y protected by specks of r esi n

.
,

an d between the s e specks the a ci d bi tes gi vi ng the pl a te a n ,

i n k hol di ng ca pa ci ty
-
Owing to the fin en ess of the gra in
.
,

which vari es a ccor di ng to the proport i on of the resin a n d

al cohol a proof from an a qu a t i nt pl a te a ppea rs to the eye
,

l i ke a wash dra win g -

The va ri ous tones a re obta i ned by
.

”
stopp ing out as i n etch i ng
, a fin e gra i n i s obta i ned
,

by a sin gl e bi ti ng a fter which the par t intended to be l eft

,

so is cove red wi th a pr otect i ng coa t of v arni sh an d the pl a te ,

put in the a ci d aga i n to obta in a deeper tone for the rest .

The na tural tendency of a qua ti nt i s to render the subj ect i n

fla t tones but these c an to some extent be modi fied duri ng
, , ,

the bit ing a n d a fterwards with the b u m isher

, .

There are m any wa ys of pr oduc i ng the a qua tint g round ,

the two most importa nt being the r esinous dust ground a n d

the spirit gr ound the former contai ning the ground medium
,

in powder an d the l a tter h avi ng i t in sol ution the l iqui d being

, ,

a fter wa r ds got r i d of by eva pora t i on l ea vin g the specks of re s in ,

behind The a bove is the proces s for preparing a pl a te for

.

pri nting in a si ngl e col ou r whi ch i s not necessa r il y bl a ck

, ,

a qua ti nts i n red sa ge gr een br own etc

,
-
being quite common
, , .

When more tha n one col our was requi red the French a qua ,

tinte rs i n most cases prepa red a sepa ra te pl a te for ea ch whi ch ,

ha d onl y tha t pa r t of the design etched u pon i t tha t was i n

tended to be printed i n a par ticu l a r col our Some design s how .
,

ever were of such a n a ture as to permit of two or more col ours

,

being pri nted a t once from a singl e pla te the pa r ts i ntended ,

98
 THE BIRTH OF A Q UA TI N T

to ca rry the di fferent ti nts bei ng su ffic i en t l y di sta nt from ea ch

ot her to a l l ow of the va ri ous col ou red i nks bein g rubbed i nto
them wi thout an y cha nce of thei r r unni ng together .

Where separa te pl a tes were used an extra pla i n one was ,

commonl y pl a ced on the bed of the pres s ca rrying a pin a t ,

ea ch corner The col our pl a tes ha d correspondi ng hol es a t

.

the corners in whi ch the pin s fit t ed so as to ensu re tha t ea ch

, ,

pl a te fell exa ctl y i nto the sa me posi ti on as the precedi ng one

duri ng t he opera tion of pri n t i ng Someti mes all the col ours
.

were put on a singl e pl a te 11 l a pou pée i nks of a very thick ,

consistency bei ng used In this case the pl a tes ha d to be

.
,

ca r eful l y wiped i n the usu al way a fter the a ppli ca tion of ea ch

col our a thorough general wipe being gi ven when they were a ll
,

ou. Aqua tin ts pr inted in two or th r ee sha des ar e fa ir l y common ,

but most of the el a bora tel y ti nted pi ctu res sa i d to ha ve been

a qua t i nted i n col ou rs show on cl ose exa mi na tion
, tha t the ,

ori gi nal prin ted tints ha ve been suppl emented by ha nd work -

.

The invent i on of a qua ti nt— whi ch mea ns wa ter col ou r but -

,

had i n i t s i nception nothing to do with col ou r p rope r is

, ,
—
now genera ll y ascri bed to Jea n Ba ptiste L e Pri n ce a Fr ench ,

pa inter an d engra ver Bo rn a t Metz i n 1733 he studi ed a rt

.
,

there an d subseq uentl y went to Par is in whi ch city a fter a

, , ,

r esidence of some yea rs i n Russia he u l tima tel y sett l ed down

, ,

becomi ng a member of the A ca demy i n 1765 he di ed i n 178 1 .

It has been sta ted tha t he deri ved his knowl ed ge of the process
from the A bbé Ri char d de Sa i nt N on a French a uthor an d ,

a ma teur engra ve r who cer ta i nl y p ra ct i sed etchi ng in a qua t i nt

, ,

a l though i t is unli kel y th a t he w as the a ctu a l i nventor Le .

Prince in r etu rn for a pension of

,
l i vres disc l osed his ,

method to the A ca démi e de P eintur e in a MS whi c h they ,

.

kept t ill 1788 when it was publi shed i n the E n c yc loped i e

,

Methodi qu e Fi fteen years before this one S t a part ha d pub

.
,

l ished a t P ar i s a tr ea ti se on L A rt de Gr aver a u P i n c ea u
’

descri bed as a n ew method A Ge rma n t ransl a ti on of it by

.

H arempt er a ppear ed a t N ur embe rg i n 1780 .

The date of t he first a da pta t i on of the aqua tint method

99
 COLOU R P RIN TIN G

to col our pri ntin g i s unc ertai n but woul d seem to be a t l east
,

as ea rl y as 1768 A t tha t time ther e was li vi ng a t Amste rda m

.

an ex me r cha nt J
-
C P l oos v an A mstel (1726
, . . who had
tu rned ama teur en gra ver an d print coll ecto r H e amused .

himsel f by produci ng some a qua ti nts i n col our an d con sidered ,

hi s wo rk i n th i s dir ect i on to be of such i mport a nce as to warra nt

hi m gi ving a pub l ic demonst ra ti on of his methods in o rder ,

to di spel an y dou bts whi ch ma y ha ve existed as to the preci se

na ture thereof This took pl a ce in O ctober 1768 i n the pres
.
, ,

ence of the Burgomaster of A msterdam tha t wo rthy su b se ,

quentl y publi shi ng a testimony to the genu i neness of A mst el s

’

c l a ims to be a pr oducer by a new method of , p rints i n oil ,

col ours with the ai d of gr oun d v a rn ishes powder an d l i quids

, , ,
.

Thi s vagu e descr i pt i on does not hel p to an u ndersta ndin g

of wh a t Amstel a ct ual l y di d n or do such of hi s productions
,

as the w ri ter ha s se en H e styl ed hi msel f an

. inventor
i n a pl a te publi shed in Febr uary 1765 dedi ca ted to John , ,

Wi t sen a l ine engra v i ng of a monu mental stel e printed in ,

da rk brown on a li ght brown gr ound wi th the l ights engra ved ,

out not unl i ke some of the ol d pri nts in chia roscu r o He seems
, .

t o h a ve produced a fai rl y l arge number of aqu a ti nts in i mi ta tion

of w ash dra wings but a pa r t fr om t he va ri a ti on i n gr ey or neu
-
,

tra l tones produced by the u se of gr ou nds of di ffer en t degr ees

of fin en es s t here i s not mu ch tha t c an be dign ified with the
,

n ame of col our pri nting though ther e i s a good dea l of han d
,

col ouring on some of hi s pi ctur es many of whi ch ha ve a ,

sa nd or du st gra i n i n a ddi tion so me of them r e s embl e the

cra yon sti ppl e or mezzoti nted etchi ng types of tone prints
- -
.

Between 1764 an d 1787 A mst el r eproduced for ty si x pi ctures -

by Dutch m asters pri nti ng about 350 copi es of ea ch an d

, ,

endea vour ed to keep hi s process secret even hi s a pprentice ,

bei ng bound over in a su m of flori n s not to di v u l ge an y

of the deta i l s though t hi s a rrangement speedil y proved
,

un workabl e l ike most of i t s ki nd

, .

In 182 1 a Call ec ti on d i mi tat i on s of dr awi ngs a qua tinted by

’

Amstel was publi shed in London by C Josi a r el a ti ve of the .

,

100
 COLOU R P RIN TIN G

u
u s al col our as i n San d b y s
,
Views of Windsor Castl e ’
,

1776 . It was not un til t he da ys of F C Lewis some thir ty . .

,

years la ter tha t Engl ish col ou r a qua tints began to make
,

their a ppea rance we ha ve therefore to fal l ba ck upon Fr ench

work as fu rnishin g the ea r l i est an d best exposi t i on of a qua
ti ntin g i n col ours L oui s Bonnet who has been r eferr ed to
.
,

in connecti on with col our ed cr a yon sti ppl e wo rk a l so tr i ed ,

hi s ha nd a t a qu a t in t a n d wi th a good sh ar e of success a n , ,

’
excell ent exa mpl e bei ng hi s engra vi ng a fter J B Huet s . .

Sil ence of Venus in which fiv e col ours seem to ha ve been

,

used v iz
, . red fl es h gr ey li ght br own an d bl ue
, , , .

The most a bl e French exponent of the ar t of a qua ti nti ng

i n col ours was P L Debucour t (1755 . who hel d the post
.

of pai nter to tha t un fort una te mona rch L ouis XVI H e ,

.

was the a ctual design er as wel l as etcher of most of hi s own , ,

prints i n contra di sti ncti on to hi s Fren ch contemporari es an d

,

successo rs who c hi efl y contented themsel ves with engra vi ng

,

a fter othe r a r t i sts The years i mmedi a tel y pr ec edi ng the

.

Revol uti on wer e those i n which Debucou rt produced some of

hi s best wo rk i n thi s li ne a n d he sa tiri sed the foll i es an d ,

fashi ons of t he ti me withou t an y of t he coarsen ess an d ex ag ,

g e r a t i on of Rowl a ndson H i s P r omen a de i n the G a ll e ry .

of the P al a is Royal whi ch was pri ced a t 300 li vr es as earl y

,

a s 1787 i s qui te i n i m i ta bl e in the wa y i t depi ct s the fashion

,

a bl e li fe of the F r ench c a p i tal a coupl e of yea rs befor e the ,

gr ea t uphea val There . a ll un consciou s of thei r fa te we , ,

see t h e vi cti ms pl a y though even then they wer e wal ki ng ,

on the brink of a preci pice over whi ch the irresi st ibl e for ce ,

of democra cy was soon to hurl t hem ; qu i te a par t from i t s

meri ts as a fai thful p i ctur e of l i fe a n d manners this pri nt is ,

a fin e spec i men of th a t fo rm of col ou r wor k which has m a de

i t s engra ver fa mous About fiv e or si x modera tel y b right

.

col ou rs wer e used ea ch bei ng pri nted from a sepa ra te pl a te

,

most of the deta i l of the pi cture wa s however etched on one , ,

pl a te onl y the functi on of the others bei ng c hi efly to col our

,

the i mpr essi on fr om this key pl a te L i ke all the workers i n thi s .

102
AL IX A N D J A N I N E T ,
COLOU R AQ UA TI N TERS

d epa r tment of col our pri n t i ng Debucourt used very fin e ,

”
gr ounds wit h here a n d there a suggesti on of mezzotinting
,
.

In fa ct some of these col our aqua ti nts gi ve one the impr ession
of a mezzotint wa tered down ; even the most t ri fli n g det a il s ,

such as the col ou r ed p a tte rn of a d r e s s ar e pri nted so th a t , ,

i f the col our pl a t es wer e r ea ll y a qu a tint ed an d not en gra ved , ,

Debu cou r t must ha ve been a veri ta bl e mas ter of that ar t .

H is N ew Y ear s Day an d A Visit to Gra ndm a

’

oval s are pictures of a different type from the fashion

,

seri es t he spa ndr el s o r spa ces a t the a ngl es of the squa r e

,

pl a te bei ng fill ed i n wi th an i mi ta tion of the mar kings of

bl ui sh vein ed marbl e a styl e whi ch Ali x al so a ffected a s
-
, ,

may be seen i n hi s pri nt of

”
Fort une The col ours used .

are b r own bl ue bl a ck gr ey an d fles h

, , In a seri es of pri nts
, .

”
il l ustra ti ng Russi an pea sa nt l ife Th e Dr osc hk i etc , ,
.
,

the col ours seem to ha ve been print ed together a t a si ngl e

i mpr ession from onl y one pl a te Another an d l a ter seri es .
,

a fter Ca rl V em et i s ha nd col our ed ,

-
.

P M Al ix (1752
. . who was a contemporary of D ebu
cou rt an d a nea t cl ean col ourist has l eft much good work
, , , ,

of this chara cter behind hi m incl u di ng a por trai t of Cha rl otte ,

Corda y the assassin of M a ra t in whi ch even the bl u e in the

, ,

eyes i s pr i nted H e ma de a special i ty of portraitur e an d

.
,

excell ed in i t mo re than in the a ccessory detail s whi ch ma de

up some of hi s pi ctu res In the por tr ai t sai d to be tha t of .

M Mal es herbes (the defender of Loui s XVI ) for i nstan ce

.
, , ,

whilst the fa ce i s well done the l ea ves on the trees ar e l ike ,

bu nches of ba nanas Among hi s other pri nts i s a l arge vi ew

.

of Ol d Westmi nster Bri d ge published a t Pa ri s in 1799 ,

.

The mul ti col ou r Fr ench a qu atint i s pe rha ps seen a t i t s

-

best in the pr oductions of J F J a n in et (1752 It is . .

curious tha t all these mas ters of col our a qu a tinting shou l d
ha ve been born wi thin a year or so of ea ch other an d tha t ,

they shoul d all ha ve sur vi ved the terrors of the Revol u t i on

an d the qu ar ter oi a centu ry of i n cessa nt w
- - -
a r whi ch foll owed .

In hi s prin t of The O pera tion J an i n et de sc ri bed h i m sel f ,

103
 C OLO U R P RI N TI N G

as the firs t a qua tinte r in col ours an d the onl y person who ,

was a bl e to engra ve i n i mi ta ti on of wash dra wi ngs whence -

,

the French term for the process a n ma n i er e l a ws To some

’

.
,

extent he c c pi ed Bo n net s styl e by produci ng some bl a ck

’

a n d tint cra yon stippl e p ri nts such as the pa i r r ep r esenting

-
,

L a Berger Cour onné an d L a Be rge re Couron n é but ,

i t is by his co l ou r a qua ti nts t h a t he i s best known to d a y -

.

O ne of hi s mas terpi ec es i n thi s di recti on i s the po rtra i t of

Ma ri e Antoi nette who i s repr esented in al l the rega l spl endou r
,

whi ch was soon to be torn from her this i s a bea uti ful piece
of col our wo rk bo rdered with a fra me of ca rtouche ty pe
,

p rinted in gol d a n d o rna mented with wr ea ths an d festoo ns

,

of fl owers the bl ue veined ma rb l e o rna ment a ppea ri ng her e

,
-

a l so the ta bl et wi th the insc ripti on being i n bro w

, n For a .

sho r t ti me in 1784 J a n i n et w as bi tten wi th the c ra ze of ba ll oon

i n g which was j ust as novel then as a v i a tion i s now but as

, ,

hi s much a dvert ised expe riments onl y resul ted i n ri di cul e ,

he r eturned to hi s studi o aga in From some of his pri nts .

we l ea r n the na mes of those who pri nted them Bli n Cha pu i s , ,

J . C Se r
. gent fit s (on the C hil d wi th D og p ri nt ) etc , .

One of J an i n et s best fa ncy subj ec ts is The Three

'

Gra ces a fte r P ell egri ni

,
A bout 1873 a port fo li o of p roofs
.

of his col our a qua ti nts was discover ed i n Alsa ce the pri nts ,

i n which we re dispe rsed a t l ong prices .

N ext comes Cha rl es M Desc our t is (1753 . a pupi l

of J a n in et an d a fin e co l ou ri st though not rema rka bl e as a

, ,

d ra ughtsma n or desi gner His L A ma n t Su rpri s a fte r

'
.
,

Schall i s a rea ll y good pi ece of col our pri nting an d the sa me

, ,

may b e sa i d of the se ri es of pri nts al so a fter Schall ill ustra ti ng ,

scene s fr om Pa ul et Vi rgini e a wor k the n i n the zen i th ,

of i t s popul a ri ty fiv e or si x col our pl a tes were used to produce

thes e Some of the a qua tinters in col ou r were proba bl y
.

i ndebted for the gr a in of thei r tone pl a tes to the rou l ette ,

i nvented a bout 1762 by F P Charpent i er of Bl oi s for the . .

, ,

purpose of putti ng in gra da ti ons of l ight a n d sha de on a n

e t c hed pl ate P rints produced by this mea ns we re however
.
, ,

104
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

or li ne ngra vi ng In a few ca ses su ch as The N oddi ng

e .
,

Reneal mi a , three pri nted col ou rs a ppea r but t he Engl ish ,

fashi on of working from a sin gl e pl a te was most l y foll owed ,

not the Fr ench one of ha vi ng a separa te pl a te for ea ch col our .

The most common pri nted ti nts a re green an d bl ue the l a tter ,

being the sk y col our an d genera ll y tha t of the hill s R ed .

occurs a s a pri nted col our here an d there one of the hu est ,

exampl es being t he pl a te of the Fl oweri ng Sensi ti ve Pl a nt ,

’

b u t i n thi s case mor e than one pl a te must ha ve been used ,

as the l ong r ed tendri l s st a n d out i n pe r cepti bl e r el ief cl e ar ,

of ea ch other an d cou l d not h a ve been i nked on the sa me

,

pl a te as the pri nted ba ckgr ound a gai n st whi ch they are repre
sen ted i t i s cu ri ous however th a t the other red on t he print
, ,

shou l d h a ve been put i n by h a nd .

The han d col our ed a qu a tint a s an o r di n ary book ill ustr a

-
,

ti on was i n gr ea t fa vour duri ng the first quar ter of the ni ne

,

t een t h century especi all y in the wor ks publ i shed by A ckerman n

, ,

who al thou gh he showed deci ded l ea nings towards li thogra phy

,

a t first u l t i m a tel y hi t upon a qu a tint as a mea n s of in ter p ret i ng

,

the desi gn s of the nu merous ar tists who dr ew for hi s books .

This i s a phase of i ll ust ra ti ve ar t wi th whi ch we are not con

cerned here but l ong l ists of books contai ning ha nd col our ed
,
-

a qua ti nts w ill be found i n H a r di e s E n gl i sh Col ou r ed B ooks

’

an d Miss Pri d ea u x s A qu a ti n t E n gra vi n g

’
.

The pros s col our ed a qu a ti nt ma de i t s appeara nce much

-

mor e r ar el y in books being more common in the form of

,

separa te p ri nt s but i n either case the usu al p ra cti ce w

,
as to

etch the pl a tes i n broa d masses of l i ght an d sha de a voi di ng ,

mu ch mi nute det ail an d t hen to i n k them in two col ours

, ,

generall y sepi a an d gr een or brown so tha t ea ch print coul d

m
,

be pr oduced a t a si ngl e i mpr essi on E xam ee occur i n some .

vi ews of Indi an scenery published by the D a ni ell s i n 1812

,

i n a seri es of vi ews of the L a ke D i stri ct a fter T Fi el di ng , .

,

publ i shed by T Mc Lean i n 1822 an d i n G F P hi ll ips P ra c ti c a l

.
, . .
’

T r ea ti se on Dr a w i n g 1839 , .

These were on a smal l scal e but amon g t he more expensi vel y

,

106
MO RE COLO U RE D A Q UATI N TS

produced subscri ption vol umes p erha ps t he fin est displ a y

of a qua tinting i n col our though not in mul ti col our i s seen ,
-
,

in W Y O ttl ey s Coll ec ti on of F ac si mi l es of D ra wi n gs by
’

w
. .

Old M a st er s one of m an y si mil ar orks brought out

about this peri od some of which h a ve al r ea dy been men
,

t i on ed Most of the pri nts i n this vol ume wer e a qua ti nted
.

by F C L ewi s (1779
. . a pupil of J C St a dl er who hi m sel f . .

oc casion al l y a qua tinted for col our work The Coll ection .

contai ns a qua tin ts pri nted i n red brown yell ow a n d gr ey , , ,

in fa ct i n a ll the ti nts usual l y a ffected for this cl ass of pr i nt

,
.

In one case perh a ps as fin e as an y a study of tr ees a fter Cl a ude

, ,

i s pri nted in gr een ; The Fin di ng of the Cr oss a fter 8 ,

.

Pa gan i t he l a rgest pictu re i n the book i s in b rown

, Ther e ,
.

ar e a few l i ne etchi ngs on tinted gr ounds or i n the c ra yon

mann er a n d two or th ree others in whi ch the sha dows a re

,

c hi efly r ep r esented by c r oss ha tched li ne work put i n so -

,

st r ongl y a s to pr oduce a di stinct imp r essi on on the b a ck of

the pri nt Somewha t simil a r wor k i s seen i n some engra vings

.

by A Ra nca ti of Rome publ ished a t Mil a n a bout thi s time

.
, , ,

Micha el An gel o s Esa i as for exa mpl e here al so the sh a d

’

,
”

in g i s put i n by cr oss ha tched wor k of a di ffer ent typ e fr om -

,

tha t of L ewi s a n d pri nted over two gr ound tints a l ight a n d

, ,

a da rk br own the li ghts being sc r a ped out , ,

.
J T P r estel (17 39
. a G e rm a n a r ti st did a few a qu a ,

tin ts i n this styl e among them i s a copy of one of Rapha el s

’

stu dies for hi s School a t A thens da ted 1785 an etching , , ,

pri n ted on a yell owi sh brown dust gr ound with the lights -

’
sc ra ped out ; an d a n etched r ep r oducti on of L i gozze s Truth s ’

Tri umph over Env y al so pri nted on a b rown gr ound an d , ,

t inted in two d a rker sha des of b rown but the li ghts are i ndi ,

c a t ed by an i mpr e s sion fr om a thi r d b l ock which w as pri nted in ,

gol d an idea perha ps suggested by some ea rl y si xteenth cent ury

,

prints of Cran a ch a n d J de N ecker referred to i n Cha pter II .

,
.

A M agdal ene a fter Co rr eggi o w as p ri nted by P r estel in thr ee

, ,

sh a des of sep i a a n d co l ouri ng of a si mil a r n a tur e i s seen in a

,

l a rge spi ri t gr ound a qu a ti nt of S t C all en s Tower of Fra nkfor t

’
-
. .

107
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

P restel best work i n col our a qua ti nt is seen in his coll ecti on
’
s

of fa csi mil es of Des si ns d es Meill eurs P eintres fr om the c ol ,

l ecti on of G J Schmi dt a t H a mburg . . All these a re

engra ved the full si ze of the origina ls a n d though ma ny are ,

i n outli ne or i n sep i a ti nts several are in t wo or thr ee col ou rs , .

Ther e is very li ttl e of the dust gr ou nd in these prints the ,

thr oughout many of t he pictur es except for t he presence ,

of t hi s woul d give one the i mpr ession tha t they ar e pri nted
,

fr om wood bl ocks so cl ose is the resembl ance to the old ,

chi ar oscuro work an d some of them wi th the high li ghts

, ,

r epr e
s ented by unco l our ed whi te spa c es st rongl y su ggest ,

the styl e a n d col ou ri ng of L e Sueur as seen i n the Croza t ,

coll ection Green a n d sepi a or gr een an d bl ack a re fa vourite

.
, ,

combi na tions as also a re b rown or red a n d bl a ck one exa mpl e

, , , ,

being i n two sh ades of brown two of green an d a bistr e tin t , ,

in a ddi tion an d a few i n r ed a n d bla ck sti ppl e in the c ra yon

,
.
,

man ner Thi s is a vol ume which shoul d b e compa red wi th the
.

O ttl ey coll ection of hal f a century l a ter previ ousl y mentioned

- -
, .

The se ri es of 100 ill ust ra t i ons to Hu gford s L i fe of A D

’
. .

Ga bbi a ni the Fl orenti ne pai nte r publi shed a t Fl orence i n

, ,

1762 a re sometimes r eferr ed to as ea rl y exa mpl es of the u se

,

of a qua ti nt in col our work They a re however more of t he .

, ,

chara cter of the mezzot inted etchings al rea dy a l l uded to ,

a l though the tone s ma y ha ve been produced by dust gr ounds .

Ma ny of the pla tes a re by Sca cci a ti an d some by Cipri an i ,

Ba rtol ozzi also hel ped There a re severa l l i ne engra vings .

printed in red a n d a n u mber of prints i n the styl e usuall y

,

a fiec t ed by Sca cci a ti t e etchi n gs on a col our ed gr ound

, . .
, ,

r ed, brown yell ow or greenish gr ey Thi s coll ect ion li ke

,
-
.
,

—
Prestel s though i t is not as is the l a tter a one man pr oduc
’

, ,
-

—
ti on ma y be a dvantageousl y contras ted wi th a Bri tish one
publi shed fift y yea rs a fter v iz J Ch m i e i e of '
a b e rl a n e s s r s , . .

fa csimil es of Ori ginal Des igns i n the coll ec tion of George

III This has numerous exa mpl es o f a qua tints i n
col ou r though mostl y onl y a singl e shade whi ch i s usuall y
, ,

108
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

r eferred to i t as a c hy mi c a l an d mechan i ca l method .

The detai l s a re however , wropt in mystery , though ,

such as h a ve su r v i ved suggest tha t m a ny of the exi sti ng

a nonymous copi es of ol d masters ma y be Pol ygraphi es .

Mr Goddard the p ri ncip al man i n the Soci ety di ed i n 1794

.
, , ,

the stock of ori gi na l pi ctur es a n d pol ygra phed copi es b eing

subsequen t l y so l d off an d the conce rn wound u p In the .

a bsence of an a uthentic a ted P ol yg ra ph i c i t wou l d be usel e s s to

specul a te on the p r ec ise n a tur e of the proce ss Those who .

a r e inte r ested will howeve r hn d i t discu ssed a t gr ea t l ength

, , ,

though ra the r fruitl essl y in the j ou rn a l of the Photogra phi c

,

Soci ety for N ovember l 6t h 1863 a n d J a nu a ry 15t h 1864 , , ,

.

Oi l etterp r ess or typogr a phic p ri nting in col ours not ve ry ,

much seems to ha ve been done duri ng the eighteenth centu ry

work i n red an d bl a ck other than on ti tl e pages was al most
,
-
,

entir el y c on fin ed to the ser vi ce books of the Roma n Chu rch ,

an d a l a rge p r opor t i on of even these wer e p ri nted in bl a ck onl y ,

though such esta bl i shments as the Pl a ntin P ress st il l pr oduced

c redi ta bl e exampl es on the ol d l i nes In the mi ddl e of the .

century several edi tions were got out a t Pa ris of a work

,

enti t l ed L a L i vr e 11 l a M ode a sa ti rical descri pt i on of the ,

ma nners of the ti me I t was a 12mo vol ume of whi ch two

.
,

edi ti ons were publ ished i n 1759 one printed wholl y in red , ,

the other in yel l ow In 1760 t here was a not her r ed edi tion
. ,

a n d then the wo rk whi ch w ,

as i n fou r sect i ons w a s t e i ssued ,
-

wi th the ti tl e of L a L i vr e de Qu a tr e Can l au f s the sectio ns bei ng ,

respecti vel y p r inted wi th gr een yell ow red a n d b ro w n ink , ,

.

On the t i tl e page l ette ri ng i n a l l these co l ours a ppea rs i n

-
,

a ddi tion to a vignette p ri nted in bl a ck In 1790 the yea r .

,

foll owi ng the Revol uti on the i dea was rev i ved by t he publ i ca
,

ti on of L a L i vr e R ou ge which conta i ned a l ist of the sec ret pen

,

si ons pai d out of the French T re asu ry befo re the t r oubl e ca me

to a hea d wi t h ra ther free expl a na ti ons why they were

,

gr a nted As the titl e impli es thi s was pri nted wholl y i n red
.
, ,

a n d edi tions p roduced in si m il a r styl e wer e i ssued the sa me

year i n L ondon a n d in Dubli n the pri nter of the l a tter being ,

110
BL A KE S COLO U R ETCHI N GS
’

pr obabl y M Will i a mson of Gra fton Street who seems al so to

.
, ,

ha ve produced some b ooks in green ink a bout this pe riod ,

perhaps as a compli ment to the I rish The wri ter has found .

a r efer ence to an ed i t i on of John Wil ke s E ssa y on Woma n ,

printed in red i n 1772 but has not seen i t , In a ti ny vol ume .

publi shed a t Paris i n 180 1 with the ti tl e of Al ma n a c h des

,

Q u a t r e C ou teu r s the f
, r ont i sp i ece an d fou r othe r coppe r p l a te
engra vi ngs wer e pri nted in bl ue a n d the text in red gr een ,
.
, ,

bistre a n d bl ue G de Boze s L i vr e j a u n e (1748) an d a n edi tion

. .
’

of A bel a r d et H él ozse publ ished a t Pari s in 1834 ma y be

'

, ,

menti oned in passing as exa mpl es of the u se of col our ed pa pe rs

i n pl a ce of col our ed i nks the l ast na med ha ving four sha des
, .

A mor e than usua ll y interesting exa mpl e of typogra phy

i n r ed an d bl a ck i s the ed i ti on of Justinia n s In sti tu t es pri nted
’

a t Pa ris i n 180 ex ofli c zn a stereotype: H er ha n thi s be i ng

'
”
,

perh a ps the first occasion on whi ch the a rt of stereotypi ng ,

then newl y re in troduced wa s util ised for the producti on of

-
,

a book i n two col ou rs It is in a sma ll nea t roman l ette r

.
,

a n d bea uti ful r egister i s mai nta i ned th roughout .

The wei rd publ ica ti ons of Will iam Bl a ke the L a mbeth ,

printer engra ver poet may be i ncl uded under the hea d
- -
,

of l etterpress pri nting in col our i nasmuch as li ke those of , ,

the ol d Bl ock Books ea ch pa ge of Bl a ke s va ri ous vol u mes

,
’

of poems was engr a ved text an d ill ustra ti on together , .

Though the poi nt will p roba bl y a l wa ys r ema in i n doubt the ,

press col our i ng i n Bl a ke s books is most li kel y li mited to tha t

-
’

i n which the text i s pri nted as seen i n The B ook of The" , an d

The S on gs of In n oc en c e (1789 ) A meri c a a P r ophec y ,

usua l l y produced in dark gr een E u r ope a P r ophec y (179 4) ,

i n oli ve gr een ; The F i r st B ook of U ri zeh The S on g of L os

-
,

an d T he S on gs of E xperi en c e a l l pri nted in sha des of

b rown Some of these a re i n monoch rome wi thout an y

.

r etouch i ng by h a nd but i n others the o rigi n al pri nted col o u r

,

has been grea tl y a dded to by b r ushwo rk In The Vi si on s .

of t he Da u ght er s of A lbi on this is i n thi n wa ter col our -

,

but in The B ook of L os i t i s ra ther in the na tur e of thi ck oil

111
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

pai nt a ppl i ed ove r a ll the outli n e ill ustra ti ons an d al so i n

, ,

smea ry pa tche s a t the sides oi or a cr oss the text much i n the , ,

sa me styl e as one wou l d expect a chil d i n possessi on of a box ,

of pa ints to Spoil a book an d tendi ng to str engt hen the i dea

, ,

th a t Bl a ke was menta l l y affli c t ed In the foli o vol ume of .

r epr oducti on s of hi s wor ks publ i shed in 1876 the text a n d , ,

ill ustra tion s c an be studi ed in monotint a s o ri ginal l y engra ved ,

a n d pri nted but as the pri nters a n d col ou ri sts wer e Bl a ke

,

a n d hi s wi fe nearl y eve ry copy exhi bi ts points of d i fl eren c e

,
.

The pl a tes used were l ike the en gra ve r himsel f of a deci dedl y
, ,

ori gi nal cha ra cter In pl a ce of wr iting an d dra wing hi s text

.

an d ill ustr a tions in i n k Bl a ke used an a cid r esisti ng compo

,
-

siti o u with whi ch he wr ote an d drew on the surfa ce of the

,

copper ; then when the design s wer e d ry a qua fortis was

, ,

pou red over the pl a te the su rfa ce of whi ch sa ve wher e the

, ,

l etteri ng a n d pi ctur es protected i t was ea ten a wa y Thus , .

Bl a ke s pl a tes wer e surfa ce prin t ing etchin gs It is as a desi gner

’
-
.

of embl em a tic subj ects tha t this r emar ka bl e ar ti st is bes t

known an d in tha t pa r ticul a r l i ne i t woul d be d iffi c ul t to
,

n a me hi s equ al .

S o much spa ce ha vi ng al r ea dy been devoted to col ou r pri nt

ing from wood bl ocks an art th a t will have to be r eferr ed ,

to agai n i n t he succeedi ng cha pter something ma y fit t i n gl y ,

be sa i d a t this poi nt a bout the J a pa nese col our pri nts whi ch , ,

l ike the Eur opea n wer e p rinted fr om wood bl ocks an d l ik e

, , ,

them al so wer e the r esul t of a devel opment from h and col ou r

,
-

ing The a rt of engra vin g on wood though doub t l ess of gr ea t

.
,

a ntiqu i ty in bo t h Chi n a a n d J a pa n di d not a tt a in i t s best ,

pe ri od until l a te in t he seventeen th centur y when book ,

ill ustra ti ons al ong the so cal l ed popul ar li nes bega n to be -

intr oduced by the two Ma t a b ei of whom the el der d ied in ,

1650 an d thei r foll ower Mor on ob u (d i ed

,
Thei r work
was in bl a ck an d white but han d ti nti ng i n red beca me common
,
-

ea rl y in the eighteenth century an d the next to pri nt ,

ing i n col ours was first ta ken under the a uspi ces of the fol
,

l owers of Tori i Ki yon ob u who died i n 1729 these i ncl udi ng

,

112
 CO L OU R P RI N TI N G

but few ca re to coll ect them .The modern J a pan ese disci pl e
of the gra phi c ar ts i s ra t her fonder of somethi ng a bsol utel y
n ew li ke coll oty pe h a nd col o ur ed exa mpl es of w
, ,
-
hi ch process
ar e qui te common i n J a p a n to d a y Even where an a ttempt
-
.

i s ma de to r epr oduce i n some sl ig ht measur e the ol d styl e ,

moderni ty i s well to the fore as in the seri es of li ttl e vol u mes

,

publ ished a t Toki o a fewyears ba ck u nder the ti tl e of j a pa nese

F a i ry Tal es .These wer e pri nted on crepe pa per qu i te a ,

d i fi eren t ma teri al to the n a ti ve a r ti cl e an d the bl a ck outlines

,

of the pi ctures were c rudel y col oured though proba bl y from ,

wood bl ocks i n fl a t masses qui te removed from the fin e

, ,

di st i ncti ve ti nti ng of the pri nts of the ol d sc hool Col oured .

d ra wi ngs by J a pa nese a r ti sts on na ti ve l ines h a ve occasi onall y

, ,

been r eproduced by u p to da te Eur opea n methods as in

- -
,

F V Di cki ns tra n sl a ti on of the J a panes e r oman ce Chushi n g

’
. .
,

u ra (L ondon , wh i ch i ncl ude s so me photo l i tho r ep r

-
o
d u c t i on s by Gri ggs of J a p an ese col oured pi ctu r es
, , A pu bli ca
tion whi ch had a sha re of popu l a ri ty a few yea rs ago A rti sti c ,

j a p a n cont
, a i ned m a ny mode m a nt i que -
J a p a nes e p ri nt s i n

col our .

114
 CH A PTER V
C OLOU R P R I N TI N G IN THE N I N ETEE N TH CE N T U R Y
C H RO MO -
G
XY LO RA P H Y . PA RT I
S A V A GE A N D H I S DE C O RA T I VE P R I N TI N G H I S — B A XTE R ,

—
LI CE N S E E S A N D H I S RI VALS T H E C H I S W I C K P R E SS
,

qua r ter of the nineteenth centur y

H E first
wi tnessed the r evi val i n a new form , ,

of the old chi ar oscu ro process a n d ,

al so the i ntroducti on of an enti rel y

fresh col our pri nti ng method v i z ,
.

chromo li thogra phy -

.

We wi ll de a l wi th the fo rmer first i n ,

thi s an d the succeedi ng cha pter L i ke .

T ey l er s i t i s onl y known a t the sta rt through the medi um of

’

a singl e wor k but whereas Teyl er s car eer i s veil ed i n al most

'

t otal obscu ri ty the na me of Willi a m Sa vage i s known to ma ny

,

who h a ve perha ps never seen hi s book on col our pri n ti ng ,

as he w as the a utho r of some other an d bette r kno w n works

connected wi th the tra de .

S a vage wa s a Yorksh i rema n bo rn a t Howden i n 1770 an d

, ,

twenty years l a ter was in par tnership the re wi th hi s brothe r

J a mes as a booksell er a n d sta tione r In 1797 he went to .

L ondon an d a coupl e of years a fterwar ds was a ppoi nted to

,

ta ke ch arge of the printing depar tment of the Royal I nst i t u

tion H a vi ng i n this post pl enty of spar e time on hi s hands
.
,

he i n 1803 st ar ted a p ri nt i ng business on his own a ccount

, , ,

an d w as thus ena b l ed to devote some of hi s l ei su r e to experi

mental work i n connecti on wi th the tra de H is a ttention .

was speci a ll y di rected to the wan t of col oured i n ks whi c h a , ,

century ago were sca rcel y to be had i n Engl a nd an d he set

, ,

to work to r emedy this d efic i en c y In contradi stincti on to .

Ba xter s pra cti ce a qu arter of a century l a ter Savage s i deal

’ ’

115
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

i n k for col ou r pri nti ng wa s one whi ch di d not contai n oil ,

he u si ng bal sam ca pi vi an d dri ed tu r penti ne soa p i nstea d .

Ha vi ng succeeded in this di r ection he hi t on the i dea of ,

publ i shing a book which shoul d e xhibi t the appl i cati on of

,

hi s new col our ed inks to l etterpr ess work of a pi cto ri al an d

decora tive cha ra cter of a ki nd which ha d not hi ther to been seen
,

in En gl and Ou the cover of the Gen tl ema n s M a ga zi n e for

.
’

A ugu st 18 15 the re a ppe ar ed a so rt of pr ospectus a dver tisement

, ,

of the proposed book whi ch was to h a ve the appropri a te t i tl e

,

of Dec orat i ve P ri n ti n g an d be publ ished by subscri pti on as

, ,

was usual wi th an y expensi ve wor k a t th a t ti me the pri ce ,

of a l a rge pa per copy bei n g ten g uineas an d of a sma l l pa per ,

one fiv e guineas Sa vage g u ara nteed tha t no second edi t ion

w
.
,

of t h e ork shoul d a ppear as all the bl ock s wer e to be de ,

str oyed whi ch oper a tion hi s subsc ri bers coul d see hi m per for m
,

i f they li ked H i s pr oposal s for thu s cr ea ti ng an a rt ific i a l

.

sca rci ty of the book wer e sever el y condemned by sever a l

wr iters in subsequent numbers of the Gen tl ema n s Ma ga zi ne ’

however he got en ough subsc riptions (ther e are 227 na mes

,

in the l ist ) to j u sti fy hi m in proceedi ng wi th the enterp rise an d ,

a ccor di ngl y obtai n ed dr a w i ngs sel ected the subj ects for the
,

pi ctur es an d ha d most of the en gr a vi ng work done by well

,

known pra ctit ioners in tha t li ne The il l ust ra ti ons to t he book .

wer e to be mostl y i n col ours an d all wer e to be printed from ,

wood bl ocks but some in bright t ints i nstea d of the neutr al

,

sha des afi ec t ed by the old sc hoo l of chia r osc u ri sts The en gra .

vers whom he empl oyed for the col our bl ock s (there are al so
sever a l o rdi na ry bl a ck an d whi te ill ustrat i ons) were very
- -

sceptic al of the possib il i ty of r ep r odu c i n g co l our ed dra wi ngs by

the method Sa vage proposed an d as busi ness i n the wood en ,

g ra vi ng l i ne w as b ri sk j u st the n t h e pr ogr ess of Sa v a ge

, s boo k ’

was gr ea tl y r eta rded in vari ous wa ys not the l east of whi ch ,

ar ose fr om the fa ct th a t he r esol ved to pri nt nearl y al l the

col our work hi msel f on an i r on han d press oi the Ru t hven

,
-

type then r ecen tl y introduced by a person of tha t n ame i n

,

Edi nburgh Wha t wi th one del ay an d a nother thr ee year s

.
,

116
 COLOU R PRI N TI N G
an d Ar ms
of whi ch on l y part s ar e in c ol ou r
’
Lord Spen cer s , ,

may be r eckoned as a dozen al toget her but not more t han ,

h alf tha t number ar e passa bl e from an ar ti sti c stan dpoi nt .

O ne of them i s a r eproducti on of a two col our in i ti al in t he -

Men tz Psal ter of 145 7 an d is gr ea tl y superi or in desig n to ,

the ugl y grotesque r enderi ng of the same l etter (B ) by

Bra nston notwi thst andi ng th at t he l a tt er l i ke t he ti tl e
, , ,

was part l y prin ted in gol d The vol ume contai ns eig hteen .

sampl e s of Sa va ge s col our ed i nks an d i t says much for the

’

car e bestowed on thei r pr epa ra ti on tha t they r ema i n bright

to thi s d ay except the , orange l ea d whi ch has oxi dised ,
.

The pri nts in c hi aroscuro wer e pr oduced by fr om t wo to ni ne

bl ocks but in on l y one ca se were the progr essi ve st ages of
,

the pi ctu r e sh own i n the Crossi ng Sweeper an d Chil d

,

( th r ee b l ock s) of w h i ch the r e a re h y e p r oo fs il l us t ra ti n g ,

vari ous st ages of devel opmen t The col our pri nts proper wer e .

pr oduced by i mpr es si ons from two (the Heral di c ti tl e a n ,

engraved bl ock prin ted on a col our ed ground) up t o as man y

as tw en t y n i ne bl ocks ;
-
the desi gn made up by these l ast
i s the gr ea t fea tu r e of t he book from a col our prin ter s poin t
’

of vi ew thou gh i t i s anyt hi ng but a ha ndsome or even pl eas

,
’
i n g pi ctur e It ill ustra tes Collin s
. Ode to Mer cy an d ,

as i t i s perha ps the most compli ca ted j ob ever p ri nted i n

, ,

col ou r s fr om wood bl ocks i t may be wor th whil e to enu ,

mera te t he ti nts empl oyed in the or der i n wh i ch t hey wer e ,

used whi ch i s as foll ows four sepi as yell ow puce bl ue red

, , , , , ,

dark grey yell ow l i ght grey li ght yell ow two r eds ma uve
, , , , , ,

li ght bl ue t wo bl ue gr eys t hr ee sha des of p al e pi nk gr een

,
-
, , ,

g r ey i sh b l ue-
li gh t bl ue a, pu r p li sh r ed a n d a , gr ey r e d (o n

di ffer en t p ar ts of the sa me bl ock) bl ue a pal e r eddish g r ey , ,

-
,

g r ey, an d li ght b r o wn th i r ty i n a ll The o

, ri g i n al p a i n t i ng w as .

by W H Brooke an d the col ou rs in i t wer e a nal ysed a n d the

. .
, ,

bl ocks en gra ved by G W Bonner ; ni n eteen was t he nu mber

, . .

of the l a tter a t first fix ed upon but others were found necessary ,

a fterw a r ds Sa vage does not give a l i st of the col ours in thi s

.

su i te ,
for they are so bl ended together tha t i t woul d an swer ,

118
 C OLO U R P RI N TI N G

in tha t j o urn al she po inted ou t tha t as her fa t her had pro

d u c ed pri nts in col o u rs l on g before Bax ter the l a tter cou l d n ot ,

j ustl y be call ed the inventor of the process But the i nventor .

an d pa tentee of oil col our pictur e pri nti ng

- -
(as he g ra n d il o

quent l y si gned hi mself) wou l d not hear of such a suggesti on ,

an d i n a l ong an d po mpo us l etter to the Da i l y N ew s sta ted

his opi ni on tha t the re was no ori gi nali ty wha tever in Sa vage s
’

work or an y improvements on previ ous essays i n the sa me

,

d irecti on ; tha t he (G B ) was the i nventor of an enti rel y

. .

ori gin al process Lord Bro u gha m had said so a n d fr om hi s ,

L or dshi p s di ctum the re coul d of course be no a ppe al

’
.
, ,

Except for the use of the metal key pl a te an d t he mi x tur e ,

of oil wi th t he col ours the re was pra cti ca ll y no difference

,

between Baxter s process a n d Sa vage s but the l a tter neve r

’ ’

a ttempted to ma ke a commer ci al success of the me t hod ,

wherea s Ba xter bei ng a persistent sel f a dvertiser got most

,
-
,

of the cr edit for work tha t had rea ll y been pi oneered by others .

The person al sa tisfa ction whi ch Sa vage fel t a t the public a

ti on of hi s Dec orati ve P n nt i n g probabl y fo rmed his onl y
’

r emun era ti on seei ng tha t he sunk hi s ow

, n profit i n ext ra

col our bl ocks for i t In 1825 the Soci ety of Arts i n r ec ogni ti on
.
,

of his work i n the di recti on of produci ng i mi ta ti ons of col our ed

dra wi ngs by pri nti ng from bl ocks conferred upon hi m a sil ver ,

med al an d a cash premi um of 15 15s H e wrote the Society

, .

a l ong l etter on J a nu a ry 19t h descr i pti ve of hi s ex peri ences

,

an d his method s an d sent wi th i t a few speci men co l ou r

,

pri nts evi dentl y pr oofs of some i n his Dec or ati ve P ri nt i n g

, .

I n 1832 Sa vage embodi ed the r esul t of his experi ments in

,

the ma nufa ct u r e of col our ed pri nti ng inks i n an octa vo vol ume
enti t l ed P repa rati on s i n P ri n ti n g Iu h i n va ri ou s Catou r s .

There was not much demand for col ou red in k s a t tha t time ,

b u t tha t S a vage was not the onl y worker in th is hel d is proved

by the taki ng ou t of a pa tent the yea r a fter by one Leggett ,

whose pri nti ng medi um was a preci pi ta te from a decoc ti on

of l ogwood mi xed wi th a sol uti on of a ceta te of copper Thi s .

di d not i tsel f suppl y the col ou r whi ch was br ou ght out i n a

,

120
T HE C O N GREVE P ROCESS
e ond wor ki ng by a rea gent such as a sol ution of ta rta ri c
s c ,

a ic d f o r ye ll ow b
,
i car bon a te of am mo n i a fo r bl ue etc From , .

the t ime when he first came to L ondon Sa vag e ha d been ,

engaged in coll ecting m a teri a l for an Encycl ope dia of the

pri nting tra des an d the resul t of hi s forty yea rs of l abour
,

i n thi s di rection a ppea red in 1840 1 in the form of a thi ck -

,

octa vo vol ume with the titl e of Di c t i on a ry of the A r t of P ri n t i n g .

T hi s was hi s l ast wor k as he di ed a t Kensi ngton i n 1843 ;

,

notwi thstan di ng his l ong connecti on wi th the Royal I nstituti on ,

no memori al of hi m now r emai ns ther e sa ve a copy of Dec ora ,

t i ve P ri n ti n g but hi s d a ughter Ali ce was housekeepe r the re

,

for ma ny yea rs an d di ed as r ecent l y as 1903

,
.

Savage s was not the onl y col our pri nting proces s wi t h
'

whi ch the Insti tution was assoc ia ted In the Technica l .

L ib rary of the S t B ri de Foun da ti on i s a specimen of

. Rai n
bow Pr inti ng e xecuted i n the L i brary of the Royal I nstitution
,

a t the Soi rée on Wedne s day 17 th A pr il 1844

, This is a ,
.

r ococo desi gn in oct a vo size a n d the col o u r i ng i s of t he cha ra cte r

,

usu al to this method runnin g from bl ue to bl ue

,
v i a r ed , ,

o ran ge a n d green di a gon all y a c r oss the pl a te

, The inscri pti on .

i s in a central pa nel in whi te on a bl ue ground

, N o na me is .

a tt a ched, but the pr ocess i s pe rha ps tha t of Joseph Bu rch

, , ,

who took out seve ra l pa tents in connecti on wi th thi s cl ass

of work between 1839 an d 1845 .

Befor e deali ng with the wo rk of Ba xter a few words may be ,

sa id a bout a p roc ess whi ch to some extent const i tutes a

, ,

conn ecti n g l i nk between i t an d Sa vage s In 1819 S ir

’
.

Willi am Congr eve (177 2 of r oc ket fam e took ou t ,

seve ral pa tents i n connect i on w i th the prepa ra ti on of engra ved

pl a tes for pri nti ng the ba ckgrounds of cheques ba nk notes , ,

et c i n col ours to p revent fo rgery

, Ther e were mal e
.

a nd femal e di es or sta mps separ a tel y inked an d combined

,

to form a si ngl e design tha t consi sted c hi efly of the fil igree

,

work (concentric cir cl es oval s etc ) whi ch to this d a y forms

, , .

the stock pa tte rns for si mil a r doc u ments ma ny of the pl a tes
wer e engra ved for Congreve by Robert Bra nston sen i o r of , ,

12 1
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

t he firm of Whi t i ng 81 Branston Beaufort House Strand , , ,

who Opera ted the process which they a cqui red from Con
,

greve i n 1830 This firm subsequentl y spli t into two J am es

.
,

Whi ti ng r emai ni ng i n the Stran d whil st Branston joi ned the

,

el der V izet ell y The Government used the method to a con

.

si d era b l e ex tent ,for the pr odu cti on of such thi ngs as the
col oured stamps on cou ntry bank notes ; the r eam l a bel s
used by the Exci se Depar tment i n connec ti on wi th the pa per
duty ; pa tent medi ci ne l a bels etc In the hands of Messrs
, . .

Whiti ng 81 B ra nston however the pr ocess was l argel y

, ,

devoted to wha t may be consi der ed bas er uses i e to the , .

producti on of l ottery bill s an d ti ckets The publi c l ottery .

i s st ill l ooked upon as a l egi t i ma te form of gai n on the Con

t i n en t b u t in this coun t ry i t was a bolished in 1826
, For .

mor e tha n a century pri or to th a t da te it ha d however flou r , ,

i shed n ak ed an d unash amed an d the sal e of tickets fu r nished

,

a n u mbe r of firms of stockbr okers a n d others wi th a l uc ra ti ve

oc cu pa ti on thei r tra de announcements whi ch usua ll y took ,

t he form of ha ndbill s wer e as may be i magi ned wor ded i n

, , ,

—
very seductive an d persuasi ve terms an d whi ch i s mor e t o ,

our poin t — were fr equentl y pri nted in col ou rs Two or three .

firms seem to ha ve ma de a speci ali ty of turn i ng out these

mu l ti col ou red l ot t ery bill s am ongst whom Whi ti ng 8:
-
,

B ran ston took a pr omi nent pl a ce i n most instances the pl a tes

”
t hey u sed wer e en gra ved by the r ose engi ne an d pri nt ed in -
,

col ours by Congr eve s pr ocess In one case the desi gn wou l d
’
.
,

be pri nted in gr een the l etteri ng bei ng in whi te al thou gh

, ,

i n one or two pl a ces some of i t woul d be on a bl a ck gr ound ,

or, in a cen tr a l panel on a red one other desi gn s bei ng i n

, ,

r ed and bl ue The l ottery b rokers t ra ded under names

.

a pp rop ri a te to thei r ca ll ing such as H a za r d 81 Co

, Ri char dson .
, ,

Goodl uck 81 Cc etc an d were a ppar ent l y grea t beli evers

.
, .
,

i n the dra win g power of col our the an nouncement of ,

one firm ta king the form of a nosega y i n which the fl owers ,

ar e prin ted i n red a n d bl a ck from wood cuts whil st one desi gn ed ,

for H aza r d r epr esented a bal l oon typ ifyi n g the expa n di ng ,

12 2
 C OLO U R P RI N TI N G

were very popu l ar a t tha t peri od an d t he styl e was i mi ta ted ,

to a ni cety sa ve t ha t the bo rders were of t he ordi na ry typ o

,

gra phi cal cha ra cter i n the , Al b u m Wrea th of a few

years l a ter A fin e speci men pl a te of Whi ti ng s col o u r pri nti ng
.
’

by Congr eve s process (whi ch by the way seems never to ha ve

’

, ,

been used for des igns of a pi ctori al cha ra cte r) i s p res erved a t ,

the S t Br ide Foun da t i on an d ra ther reca lls some of the

.
,

Orl off Pres s pr odu cti ons .

Oi all t he workers who pri nted in col ou rs from wood bl ocks ,

none ha ve a chi eved so l asti ng a fam e as George Bax ter ; t he

coll ecti on an d c l assific a t i on of his pri nts have i ndeed been
el eva ted i nto a so rt of cu l t tha nks to the mu l ti tude of pens
,

whi ch ha ve been empl oyed on the subj ect to the forma t i on ,

of Baxter Soci eti es the hol di n g of Bax ter pri nt exhi bi tions
, ,

an d most r ecent an d i mpo r tan t of a ll

, to t he publi ca ti on of ,

Mr Co u r tn ey Lewis s val ua bl e monogra ph Yet to t hose

.
’
.

who ar e in the ha bi t of studyi ng the chromo xyl ogra phy of -

the mi ddl e of t he ni neteenth centu ry i t i s a l i tt l e difi c ul t ,

to discover wha t all the pother is a bout B a xter was a first .

r a te d ra ughtsma n an excell en t co l ou ri st an d w
, i th al a pai ns ,

ta ki ng pri nter b u t a fter a ll h is work di d not furn ish the

, , ,

fims c or ona t aims of col our pri nti ng even in his own d ay
’

.
,

The brill i a ncy an d perma nence of his col ou rs a l wa ys comma nd

a ttenti on to his pr odu ctions an d the car eful hu i sh whi ch i s
,

generall y evi dent i n even the most t ri flin g detai ls a dded to ,

a ce r t a in di g n i ty of a ppe ara nce irn a rt ed by the embossed

p
mount a ll combi ne to bes peak t he fa vo u r of the col ou red
,

pri nt coll ector in fa ct i t mi ght al most be sai d tha t the re is

,

onl y one prophet i n t he worl d of col our print coll ecti ng an d -

,

tha t his name is B axt er as those who ga ther up a n d cherish

,

other col oured pi ctu res tha n those produced by his process
a r e few an d far between sa ve those mon eyed enthusi asts
,

who c an a fford to i ndul ge i n the coll ecti on of eighteen t h

centu ry mezzoti nts a n d sti ppl es in col ours The existence of .

Mr L ewi s s book m a kes i t u nnecessa ry for us to dea l wi t h the

.
’

subj ec t the reof i n a nyt hi ng l i ke detai l b u t some a ccount of ,

124
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

was fai rl y r egul a r from the sta rt he ma de i t cl ea r tha t his

spec i ali ty w as pr i nt i ng i n oi l col ours an d this dist i ncti ve ,

ti tl e was a ppl ied to t he process all through hi s l i fe a n d ,

—
commemora ted a fter i t on his gr a ve
As soon as B a xte r ha d deci ded to foll ow the ca r eer of a
wood engra ver an d col ou r pri nter he set a bout obtai n ing ,

a p a t ent for hi s pr oc ess on wh i ch poi nt Mr , H ar di e rightl y .

observes (i n E n gl i sh Col ou red B ooks 1906) tha t there wa s ,

r eal l y nothi ng in the p r ocess to pa tent P ri nti ng i n col ou rs .

fr om wood bl ocks ha d been pra ctised for centuri es befor e

Bax ter s ti me an d so far as the col ouri ng by them of a n
’

impressi on from a n engra ved metal pl a te was concerned ,

this ha d been done by Ki rk a ll P ond L e S u eur an d others , , ,

neverthel ess B a xter procu red a pa tent i n O ctober 1835

, , ,

a bout whi ch ti me he r emoved hi s pri nti ng est a bl i shment

from King S quare C oswel l Roa d to the ra ther more a risto

, ,

cra tic l oca ti on of Cha rterhouse Squa re Her e he settl ed .

down for some yea rs a n d foll owi ng the usua l p ra cti ce ga the r ed
, , ,

some pupils r ou nd hi m a mong those who wer e thus t rai ned

,

under his eye be i ng H arri son Wei r hi msel f a na tive of L ewes , ,

an d Geo rge C L ei ghton who i n a fter yea rs w

.
, a s desti ned to

be an a cti ve ri va l Bax ter s process was si mpl y the col ou ri n g

.
’

of a n impression from a n outli ne or key bl ock whi ch cou l d b e ,

,
—
either a coppe r zin c or steel pl a te or a li t ho stone though the ,

l a tter was b u t sel dom used b y successi ve i mpr es si on s from

—
col our bl oc ks of wood or metal one for ea ch ti nt used The , .

i ntenti on was a vowedl y to produce ornamental prin t s in

col ours ,r esembli ng a hi ghl y col ou r ed pa i nting whether in ,

oil or wa ter col ou rs instea d of monochrome pri nts col our ed by

”
-
,

h a nd i n t he ma nner commonl y seen i h for e xa mpl e A cker , ,

man n s well known publ i ca ti ons there was i n fa ct no c ol our

’
-
, ,

pri nti n g i n u se i n Engl and a t the ti me when B axter c ommenced

hi s work an d for a few years he ha d the fiel d to hi msel f Soon
, .

a fte r he enter ed i nto occup a ti on a t Cha r te rho use Squ ar e he ,

must ha ve commenced work on tha t fin e book The P i c t ori al ,

A lbu m or Ca bi net of P a i n t i n gs issued by Cha pman 8: H a ll

, ,

126
 COLO U R P RI N TI N G

up by col our i n the fin i shed picture The method of preparing .

the col our bl ocks was the sa me as tha t desc ri bed a li tt l e fur th er
on i n connecti on wi t h Kron hei m s wor k N o l ess than twenty
’
.

si x spec i rn en p r ints wer e sent i n w ith the spec ific a t i on of

Ba xter s pr ocess most of them bei ng in col ours M a ny were
’

, .

r eprod uc ed by li thogr a phy i n the pri nted copy of the s ec i fi c a

p
t ion but onl y i n bl a ck an d white
, The origi n al s ha ve n o .

doubt been des t royed .

A bout 1842 B a xter ma de hi s second an d hu al move to

11 N ortha mpton Squa re Cl erkenwell an d some ti me a fte r
, ,

he al so took i n the a dj oi ni ng house N o 12 Both of these , . .

houses still exist in p ri va te occupa ti on the en tra nce to N o 11 .

,

wit h the li on s hea d knocker tha t yet r ema ins is shown in the
’

well known pri nt of t he Mornin g Cal l publi shed in 1853

-
,
.

In vi ew of the fa ct th a t Mr L ewi s s book contai ns a l ong an d

.
’

detai l ed ca ta l ogue of the Ba xter pri nts 37 6 i n number whi ch , ,

tha t gen t l eman s indefa ti ga bl e resear ches en a bl ed him to

’

disc over i t i s needl ess to go i nto an y pa rt i cu l a rs of them he re

,
.

Th e hu est i s gen eral l y a dmi tted to be the so call ed Co rona -

ti on pri nt r epresen ti ng t he l a te Queen Victori a r ecei v i ng

,

the sa cra men t on t he occasi on of her cor ona ti on a t West

mi nster Abbey i n J u ne 1838 This pi ctur e pub li shed in
,
.
,

1842 i s a verita bl e ma r vel of a ccura cy an d fin en ess of det a i l

, ,

an d i s sa i d to cont a in a bout 200 por t r a i ts of the di stingu ished

gu ests i nvi ted to wi tn ess the ceremony L ike so man y other .

of Ba xter s p rints the engra ved key pl a te i s a compl ete pi ctur e

’

in itsel f an d was in fa ct so publi shed the col oured i mpressions

, , , ,

bei ng i ssued sepa ra tel y an d probabl y in a very small edi ti on

,

this is not onl y the hu est but one of the l a rges t (Zl i x 17}
,

i nches) of Ba xter s pri n ts an d i t i s al so one of the ra rest an d

’

consequentl y the most expensi ve L ewi s s va l ua tion for a ,

’

col ou red copy bei ng £35 an d for an ordin a ry sepia i mpressi on

, ,

10 to 15 .

Except for the very li mi ted competi ti on of chromo l itho -

’
gra phy an d the al most non c ompeti ti ve existence of Kni ght s
,
-

p rocess Bax ter ma y be sa i d to ha ve ha d no rival s i n his art

,

128
BA XTER AN D HIS PATEN T

u ntil the fift i es In the mean ti me his p a tent was on the poin t
.
,

of expi ri ng an d as he considered tha t he ha d not been su fli

,

c i en t l y r emune ra ted for the tr ou bl e an d expen se he ha d gone

t o i n perfect i ng the process he deci ded to petiti on the Pri vy ,

Cou ncil for an extensi on He was proba bl y tol era bl y sangui ne

.

a bout getti ng i t as not onl y t he Queen but P ri nce Al be rt

, , ,

the Qu een Dowa ger (Adel ai de) the Ki ng of P russia an d other , ,

gre a t person ag es ha d pa tr oni zed B a xter an d expressed t heir ,

a dmi ra ti on of hi s pr ocess an d hi s pictu r es H e cl a i med to .

h a ve ex pended on experi ments duri ng t he li fe of the

ori gin al pa ten t B y this time (1849 ) hi s a pprentice L ei ghton
.
, ,

ha d compl eted hi s term an d bei ng per ha ps wel l a wa r e tha t a

,

coa ch an d four coul d b e d ri ven t hr ough B ax ter s pa tent

- -
’

wi th ou t much tr oubl e seems to ha ve star ted to do i t But he

, .

first r esol ved to t ry an d defea t the a ppli ca tion for an extension ,

whi ch cam e on for heari ng i n June 1849 t he ground of the , ,

opposi ti on being tha t i f the p a tent wer e extended L ei ghton , ,

who ha d devoted fiv e out of the seven yea rs of his a ppren ti ce

shi p to l ea rni ng B a xter s pr ocess wou l d necessar il y be un a bl e
’

to t urn hi s knowl edge of i t to an y pra cti ca l a ccoun t until

1854 .But as i t was sta ted in evidence tha t some other
,

ex appren t i ces of B a xter s were ea rn ing ve ry good wa ges as

-
’

wood engra vers L ord Brougha m by whom the case was

, ,

hear d consi dered tha t Lei ghton s argument was demolished

,
’

by his own wi tnesses so the exten si on was gran ted an d hi s

, ,

L o rdshi p a dded his commenda ti on of the pr ocess to tha t of

m a ny other di stinguished persons .

Hi t her to Ba x ter ha d r eta ined hi s pa tent i n hi s own han ds

, ,

but on the exten si on be ing gr a nted he evi dentl y thought

, ,

t h a t it mi ght be a profit a b l e specu l a ti on to a ll ow others to u se

i t for a considera ti on an d a ccordi n gl y a dver tised hi s wi l l i ng
,

n ess to gra nt li censes to wor k the process for a fee of £2 10 ,

in Gr ea t B ri ta in or £50 i n Fran ce Bel gium or Germ any in

, , ,

which cou ntri es he ha d al so pa tented hi s col our pri nting -

methods an d ha d ha d hi s rights extended The r esul t was

, .

wh a t might h a ve been expected not more tha n hal f a dozen

129
9
 COLO U R P RI N TI N G

or so Engli sh firms were will i ng to pa y hi m a l a rge su m for

the pri vil ege of opera tin g a pr ocess whi ch woul d become publ i c
p roperty in fiv e y ea rs time They i ncl uded L e Bl ond 81 Co
’
. .
,

J . D i cke s J M K r
, onhe .im an d .Mye rs i n L ondon a n d, , ,

B ra dsha w 8c Bl a ckl ock of M an ches ter a bout e a c h of whom

, ,

a few wo rds w ill be sa i d pr esen t l y In pra ctice t he li cense .

,

fee seems to h a ve t a ken the fo rm of a n a nnua l payment of

£ 50 . B a xte r h a d a s t a nd fo r h i s p r oduc t io ns a t the Gr e a t
Exhi bi tion of 185 1 but onl y recei ved Honora ry Mention
,

a t N ew Y o r k i n 1853 a n d P a ris i n 1855 howeve r he was

, , ,

aw ar ded med al s A bout this ti me he issued some pr i nt s in

.

sepi a ton es in the styl e of the po r t rai t of the Rev J Wil l i a ms

,
. .

in one of the 1837 ed itions of M i ssi on a ry E n t erpri ses these ,

"
pri nts being termed B a x t erot ypes In 1857 B a xte r .

obta ined provisi on al protection for a meth od of ma chine

r uli ng p ri nti ng su r fa c es with a vi ew to obtai ning gra da tions
,

of tone in etched bl ocks but he di d not pa tent the idea I n , .

1859 he di d p a tent a nother noti on of hi s v iz tha t of col ouri ng ,

.

photos by hi s process but is not known to ha ve produced ,

a n y pict u r es by this method gl ass nega tives an d even sil ver ,

prints i t ma y be mentioned were a t tha t per iod often col our ed

, ,

by ha nd In the foll owi ng yea r for some r eason not cert a inl y
.
,

known Ba xte r decided to reti re from the oil col ou r print i ng

,
-

busi ness whi ch seems never to ha ve been a source of grea t

,

weal th to him i f the sta tements he ma de a bout i t from ti me

,

to ti me a re to be bel i eved Tha t there was consider abl e t ounda .

tio n for them ma y be inferred from the fa ct tha t he had then

over a hundred thousa nd of hi s pri nts i n stock whi ch together , ,

wi th more tha n a hu ndr ed sets of pl a tes a n d bl ocks wer e ,

sol d by a uction m an y of them with the pl a nt an d the busi ness

, ,

itsel f pa ssi ng i nto the ha nds of the l a te Mr Vi n cent Brooks

,
.
,

a w ell known L ondon l ithogra pher who a rra nged wi th Ba xter

-
,

tha t he shoul d gi ve a cer ta in a mo u nt of perso n a l super visi on

to the oil col our printi ng bra nch of hi s esta bl ishment O ther
-
.

an d chea per col ou r p rint i ng processes we r e now however , ,

i n the field a n d thus B a xter s gra du all y died a n a t u ra l dea th

’

, ,

130
 COLOU R P RIN TI N G

A fter hi s dea th Vin cent B rooks di sposed of the oil col our
,
-

pri nti ng business with the stoc k of pl a tes etc through the
, , .
,

i nvento r s son to A L e Bl ond one of the l icensees Y ou ng

’
. .
, ,

Ba xter kept a few bl ocks for hi msel f a n d was in busi ness for ,

a sho rt t i me as an oil col our p ri nter a t Bi rmi ngha m but the

-
,

process was dea d an d coul d not be r evived so he soon ga ve

, ,

i t u p an d i s supposed to h a ve emi gra ted to Ameri ca whi th er

, ,

one of the L e Bl onds ha d preceded him L e Bl ond 81 Co . .

pr oduced pri nts b y the Ba xter p rocess wi th mor e or l ess regu

l a ri t y fr om a bout 1850 to 1870 when they cl osed up this ,

br anch of their business an d stowed a way the b l oc ks an d ,

pl a tes together with a l arge stock of p rints these r ema ined u n

,

distur bed until 1888 when they wer e sol d to Mr Mockl er of

, .
,

Wootton under Edge the founder of the B a xter cul t ; hi s

- -
,

coll ecti on of pri nts was sol d i n i t s turn i n 1896 an d a l arge ,

par t of i t wa s a cqui r ed by Mr Bul l ock a Bi rmi ngham book .

,

sell e r who extended the ci rcl e of B a xte r s a dmi r ers by i ssu in g

’

a ca t al ogu e of the p ri nt s pr efa ced by a sho rt a ccount of t h e

,

col our pri nter s l i fe an d work Most of the bl ocks an d pl a tes

’
.

ha d been sol d p ri va tel y b y Mockl er in 1894 to Mr B ra m ah , , .

,

a S heffiel d i r onmonge r an d i n hi s h a nds they still r em ai n

,
.

Ther e a re nea rl y one hundr ed steel or copper pl a tes an d ,

compl ete sui tes of the col our bl ocks a ccompan y most of
th em so tha t ma ny of the famous
,
Ba xter col our p ri nts
coul d stil l b e r eprod uced from the inventor s own engra ved ’

pl a tes .

B a xter s work l ike tha t of ma ny other pi oneers seems to

’

, ,

h ave a ttra cted but li ttl e a ttention from hi s own fami l y or

r el a t i on s or from the pu b l i c a t l a rge a fter hi s de a th Had .

he not be en so to spea k r edi scover ed by Mockl er hi s n am e

, , ,

an d fam e woul d i n a ll p r oba bili ty h a ve compl etel y passed in to

the li mbo of forgetful ness Even a t the Caxton Q ua d c en .

-

t en a ry Exhi b i t i on hel d i n L ondon i n 1877 al thou gh col ou r ,

pri nts of nearl y a ll peri ods an d b y ma ny processes were shown , , ,

B a xter s were not repr esented N or was there an y separa te

’
.

coll ection of B a xter col ou r pri nts a t the Bri tish Museum until
132
LE BL ON D S C OLOU R P R I N TS
’

Mr . F W Ba x ter a gra nd nephe w of the pri nte r gener ousl y

. .
,
-
,

presented the Trustees wi th one a few yea rs si nce A number .

of books il l ustra ted by t he proces s as well as some separa te ,

pri nts by Le Bl ond c an be see n a t the Techni ca l L i brary of

,

t he S t B ri de Fou nda t i on
. .

Oi t he hr ms who wor ked Ba xt er s p rocess u nder li cen se

’

t he bes t known is cer tai nl y L e Bl ond 81 Co w ho car ri ed on

busi nes s i n Budge Row an d Wal l b rook The son of one of .

these well known col our pri nters Mr Robert E Le Bl ond

-
, . .
,

now resi des i n Ci nci nn a ti a n d in a l etter to t he In l a mt

,

P ri n t er (Chi cago) i n Febr uar y 1909 ga ve an i nt erest i ng , ,

a ccou nt of his r ecoll ecti ons of the pr oc ess al bei t he w as onl y ,

a l a d of hi tec h when i t was bei ng carri ed on by his fa ther

an d Ab ra ha m L e Bl on d Al though the pa t en t ha d expi red
.

a t t he t i me of whi ch he w r ot e (1854 5 ) pr eca ut i ons we re ye t -

taken t o pr event stran gers fr om seei ng t he proc ess i n opera ti on .

The fa t her wen t t o Ameri ca i n 1856 l ea v i ng Abraham in c harge ,

of t he bu si ness whi ch wa s moved to Kin gston a bout 1860

, ,

when severa l of t he ol d hands l eft an d went t o Kron heim s

’

t he fir m ha d a bou t twenty pl a ten pr esses an d hal f a dozen ,

li tho a n d copperpl a te p resses empl oyed in prod u c i n g Ba x ter ,

prints It is c u ri ous t ha t al though Mr R E L e Bl on d is

. . . .

sa i d t o ha ve t he hu est c oll ec t i on of B axt er t ype p ri nts i n

Ameri ca he has never seen a gen ui ne

'

, Ba x ter 1 L e Bl ond s
bes t pri nts are t he seri es of ova ls some t hir t y in number , ,

most l y depi cti ng English ru ral scen es

’
Ma ny of Baxt er s .

pla tes were t e used by him aft er the i nven tor s dea th pri or
-
’

to whi ch ti me however he ha d issued a good ma ny pri n ts

, ,

on hi s own ac c ou nt bea ri ng hi s name as li censee , .

Di ckes whom L evvi s des er v edl y terms a fin e c ol ou rist ha d

, ,

premises in Ol d Fish Street Doctors Commons ; his best ,

'

wor k by t he Ba xt er proces s is S tu di es fr om the Gr eat Ma sters ,

iss ued in ni ne parts ea ch contai nin g t wo pi c tu res in, ,

1859 62 by H a mil ton Adams 81 Co Some of t he pri nts su c h

-
, . ,

as the Bli nd Begga r after Dyc kmans whi ch forms t he

,
”
,

front i spi ece are very good but others are spoil ed by medi oc re
, ,

133
 COLOU R P RI N TI NG
dra win g an d ra ther gl a ri ng col ou rs ; Hess s Christ Bl essi ng ’

Li t tl e Chil dren has a ba ckground of gol d These p ri nts . ,

li ke Kron hei m s wer e fr om metal pl a tes an d ther e was no

’
, ,

men ti on of B ax ter anywhere i n the vol ume al though as t he ,

p atent ha d ex pi red several years b efore t her e was no pa r ti cul a r ,

r eason why he shoul d be men ti oned Even when D ick es wor ked .

the pr ocess un der li cen se he was content to u se the wor d

,

L i censee wi t hout r eferri n g to Ba xter as in the prints ,

’
he did for A beokut a (N isb et 81 Co 1853) an d Ca ptai n Spen cer s
.
,

Tu rkey R u ssi a etc (1854)

, , . On the ba ck covers of some of
the l a ter p ar ts of t he S tu di es a nu mber of na tterin g pr ess
,

Opi ni ons of t he work were quoted most of them contai ni ng ,

some general al l usi on to col our pr in ti n g but i n no case w as ,

Ba xter r eferr ed to i n the quoted passa ges a t an y ra te The

,
.

bur den of these opi ni ons was to t h e effect th a t much of the

col our pri nti ng of tha t day wa s both dear an d b a d ; t he
Li tera r y Gazett e for exampl e sai d tha t
, Art pri nti ng i n col ou rs
,

has l ong been i n use but ei ther i t has been compa ra ti vel y
,

Di ckes went
”
costl y i n the process or wea k in the res ul ts .

on producing pri nts of B a xt ert ype chara ct er down to t he

seventi e s
, an d so me good ex ampl e s of his l a ter wo r k of t hi s

c l ass c an be seen i n a coup l e of vol umes he ill ustra t ed for

the S P C K S c en es i n the E a st
. . . an d S i na i a nd

j em sal em several of the p i ctu r e s i n thes e books ha ve an

a qua ti nt pl a te as a key for the col ours .

After Ba xter hi msel f J M K ronhei m mu st h a ve been the

, . .

most p rol i fic produce r of Bax ter pri nts He was a Ger ma n .

,

who a fter some experi ence i n Paris an d Edi n b urgh as an

,

engra ver an d des ign er ca me to London an d esta blish ed

, ,

hi msel f as an a rt pri nter in Pa ternoster Row in 1846 H is .

B a xter pr ints wer e produced i n a ma nner di ffer ent from tha t

whi ch Bax ter hi msel f used i nasmu ch as t he sui te of bl ocks
,

th a t i mpa rted the col ours to t h e steel or key pl a te i mpressi on

wer e of zinc or copper instea d of wood the l a tter bein g very ,

l i a bl e to wa rp . As ma ny pr oofs wer e pull ed fr om the key

pl a te as there were i nten d ed to b e col ou rs i n the pi ctur e an d ,

134
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

in a l ectur e del i ve red by their ma nager (Mr F W Seel ey) . . .

i n the Spri ng of 1908 of whi ch a fu ll repo rt a ppea red i n the

,

B ri ti sh a n d Col omal P ri n ter a n d S ta t i on er of Mar ch 12t h i n

'

tha t yea r The a rti stic va l ue of thei r prin ts va ri es c on si d

.

er a b l y, but i t must be borne i n mi nd tha t the p roducts of

col our p ri ntin g li ke those of an y other commerci al proces s
, ,

di ffer i n qua l ity a ccordi ng to the pri ce p a id for them tho u g h ,

this is a poi nt often ove rl ooked The man who buys a si x .

penny pa rt of some popul a r seri al wi th hal f a dozen thr ee col our ,

-

process pri n ts i n i t gets his si xpennyworth an d no mor e

, .

B ra dsha w 81 Bl a ckl ock foll o wed the exampl e of B axter

by publ i shing i n 1853 the P i c t on at Ca sket of Col ou r ed Gems
‘

whi ch conta i ned howeve r a b out three ti mes as ma ny col oured

, ,

prin ts (33 i n a ll ) as di d B a xter s P i c tor i al A lbu m an d was issued

'

in p a rts su ppli ed to su b scri bers onl y

, A mong the sep a ra te .

pri nts they p roduced were a nu mber of Scriptu re su bj ects ,

of no grea t meri t Of Vi ncen t Brooks col our pri nti n g from

’

r eli ef sur fa ces in the B a xter styl e har dl y a nythi ng h as b ee n ,

r eco r ded by the wr i te rs on B ax t ert yp e i t may be menti oned ,

however tha t he took over a part of L ei ghton s business a t

,
'

t h e t i me the l a tte r l eft R ed L i on Squ ar e for the Stra nd an d ,

for a t i me pr oduced pri nts a fte r hi s ma nner i n whi ch t he ,

a qu a ti nted pl a te for su rfa ce pr int i ng is sometim es i n eviden ce .

Several exam pl es ma y be seen i n tha t c hromog ra phi c a ll y

i nter es t in g i f ty pogra ph i c all y i n sign ific an t vol ume The Ci rc h n g
’

Yea r (R T S . . whi ch is qui te a spec i men book of t he

.
,
'
col our p ri nti ng p rocesses of tha t d ay Onl y one has B rooks .

irn pri n t but two if not th ree others are evi dentl y hi s pro
, ,

d u c t i on s ; the thr ee u ndoubted ones ar e a fte r design s by

John Gil ber t an d the styl e of the col ouri ng su ggest s tha t
,

t hey a re from some of Leighton s ol d bl ocks In an y ca se '

.
,

'
the general a ppea ra nce is somewha t l i ke tha t of L eighton s
e arli est Ill u st rated L ond on N ews pi ctur es .

In a ddi ti on to the regu l a r producers of col our pri nti ng ,

t here we re some others towa rds the mi ddl e of the l ast century
, ,

who i ndu lged i n work of this cha ra cte r in connect ion wi th

136
 C OLOU R P RI N TI N G

par ti cu l ar pur pose in the gen eral scheme the ti tl e pa ge repre ,

-

senti n g the too li ng of a sixteenth cen tury bindi ng of the i nter

—
l a ci ng stra p work type known as Groli er esque from i t s ,

fr equent occurrence on the books whi ch tha t wort hy ha d

bound for hi s own u se a n d that of hi s fri ends Thi s was .

r ep roduced by the Whi t t i n h am s fr om wood bl ocks i n fiv e

g
col ours red green bl a ck (for the out li nes) b l ue an d yell ow
, , , , ,

the a ctual wor di n g of the t i tl e bei ng in the cen t ral pa nel ,

in r ed gr een an d b l a ck
, A stil l b etter
.
— bei ng a pi ctori al
exampl e of chromo xyl ogr aphy is exh i bi ted by the r ep roduction
-

of a German ill ustra ti on of 1472 in bl a ck an d si x col ours , ,

thi s bei ng a work tha t wou l d do no disc redit to Ba xte r The .

vol ume al so contai ns a few two col our a qua ti nts in vari ous -

yell ow an d o range tones r epresenti n g ol d bookb i ndi ngs

, ,

til e pa tterns etc In a not her of Sha w s works The Dresses

, .
’

a n d Dec or a t i on s of the M i ddle A es the sep a r a te pl a t es

g
ar e a qua tint s of very fin e grai n mostl y t in ted by ha nd al though
, ,

a few , such as The Bl a ck Pri nce a r e p a rtl y p rinted i n ,

col ours in very good styl e but so fa r as col our pri nti ng is
,

concer ned the fea tur e of the book is i t s hu e seri es of woodcut

i ni ti al s pri n ted i n several ti nts wi th i n m a ny cases el a bo ra te
, , ,

marginal om a ment ex ten ding t he l ength of the p a ge In .

thi s b ra nch of col our work the Chiswi ck P ress proved i tsel f
equal to an y other firm in the sam e lin e Sha w s A l pha bets .
’

a n d N u mer a ts (P ickeri ng contai ns several pa ges of

,

i ni ti al l etters r epr oduced fr om ol d MSS i n four col ours some

, .
,

of the ill ustra ti ons being hei ghtened wi th gol d though a few ,

a r e ti nted by ha nd Thi s was pra cti cal l y the l ast of Shaw s

.
’

col our ill ustra ted book s as t he expense was found to be too
-
,

gr ea t to warra nt thei r conti nua nce an d hencefor wa rd Sha w ,

contented himsel f wi th h aving il l ust ra tions p ri nted i n a sepi a

tint A n exa mpl e of this kind of thi ng though not one of
.
,

Sh a w s wi l l be found i n Mrs Bra y s L i fe of Thoma s S t otha r d

’

, .
’

publi shed by John Murra y i n 185 1 the i l l ust ra tions i n thi s ,

case being wood cuts pri nted by Bra dbury 8: Evan s In

,
.

the be a utiful edi ti on of j u vena l a n d P er si us pri nted by the ,

138
MO RE CH I SW I CK P RESS B OO K S

Chi swi ck Press i n every page i s surr ounded by an om a

1845 ,

mental frame of combi na ti on bo r der char a cte r wi th a ,

m l e ea ch side the whol e bei ng worked i n red

,
Thi s was the .

vol ume for whi ch Charl es Whi tti ngh am a ppl ied to the Casl on
Foundry for a suppl y of ol d styl e r oma n type but as some
-
,

del a y took pl ace i n i t s pu b l ica tion the r evival of ol d styl e

,
-

was first ma de through the medium of L ady Wil l ou ghby s ’

Di a r y. War ren r eferri ng to the col our work of thi s pr ess

,

i n The Cha rles Whi tti n gha m (Grol ier Cl ub desc ri bes ,

the younger Charl es the nephew of the foun der as persona ll y

, ,

mi xi ng an d gri nding hi s col ours on a mar bl e sl a b an d ta king ,

i n fin i t e p ai ns to get them to the proper consi sten cy an d sh a de .

N o other est a bli shment I know oi sa ys Warr en ever”

, ,

’
p ri nted i n soli d col our i n the fashion of the pl a tes in Sh a w s
books . L i ke most other r ea ll y good work however the , ,

personal sa ti sfa cti on whi ch Whi tti ngha m a n d Sha w deri ved
from doi ng i t formed i t i s to be fear ed thei r onl y rewar d
, ,
.

Considered from the col our pri nter s poi nt of vi ew perh a ps ’

the most r emar ka bl e of the Chiswick P res s col our pri n ted -

vol u mes was Oli ver Byrne s edi ti on of Eu c hd s S i x B ooks of

'
’ ’

E l emen t s published by P ickeri ng i n 1847

, Byrne was sur veyor .

of Crown L a nds i n the Fal k l an d Isl an ds an d a ma thema t ici a n ,

to boot ; he conceived the id ea of provi din g students of

geomet ry with a short cut to memorisi ng the El ements ,

by i ssuing an editi on in whi ch col oured di agram s an d

symbol s a re u sed i nstea d of l ette rs for t h e gr ea te r ease of ,

l earners The vol ume i s dedica ted to Ea rl Fitz will i a m an d

.
,

i t s p ages wi th thei r very numerous geomet ri cal di agram s i n

,

col our ar e decidedl y picturesque ; four col ours wer e used

, ,

r ed, bl ue yell ow an d bl ack a ppli ed fla t an d often all of

, , ,

them occur i n a si ngl e di a gr am Instea d of . the a ngl e

A B C , etc the a uthor Spea ks of the red or the bl ue
an gl e (o r l i ne ) an d t a,l ks of m u l ti pl yi ng t hem by a ngl e
s or

l ines of other col ours a deci dedl y ori gi nal idea

, For the .

Exhi bi ti on of 185 1 the P res s produced Robin Goodfell ows ’

Chr istm as Ca r o pri nted i n red bl ue an d bl a ck Gothic l etter

,

139
 COLOU R P RI N T I N G

on a l arge foli o sheet a n d in t he yea r foll o wi ng a ppea red a

broa dsi de of the sa me si ze , The Fi rst or Grena di er Regi ment
"
of Foot Gu a rds i t s Origin an d Pri nc i pal S ervi ces in ol d
, ,

styl e roma n l etter , red

, b l ue a n d bl a ck with orna men t a l
,

ini t i al s i n col our a n d a r ed deco ra ti ve border surr ou ndi ng t he

,

whol e Thi s has no i mpri nt b u t is a l most cert a i nl y t he work

.
,

of Press
.

140
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

col ou r pri nti n g process to whi ch he ga ve the na me of ill u

-
,

min a t ed pri nti ng h i s obj ect bei ng t he econom i cal mul ti

,

pli ca t i on of col our ed pi ctur es ma ps dra wings etc an d the , , , .

,

sp ec ific a t i on r el a tes c hi efly to the pri nti ng methods an d

mech a nical processes he empl oyed A t first onl y fou r co l ou rs .

wer e contempl a ted a n d by some i n geni ous mecha n i sm he

,

contri ved tha t they shoul d all be a ppl i ed in the course of

a si ngl e passa ge of the sheet thr ough the p r ess which was ,

opera ted by ha nd Knight li ke Sa vage ha d a deci ded

.
, ,

pr eference for a p ress of the Ruthven type in which the ,

pl a ten was norma ll y a t the ba ck but was brought over the ,

forme by mea ns of two springs which ga ve to the pul l, ,

but r esumed thei r ordina ry positi on when the b a r was r el e ased .

Knight fit t ed the ma chi ne i n pl a ce of the usual bed with a , ,

pol ygonal r evol vi ng fra me or as he ca ll ed i t pri sm

, ,

(a tt a ched t o a ri si ng t a bl e ) e a ch fa ce of wh i ch ,c a r r yi ng a ,

col our bl ock was a ppli ed in su ccessi on to the sheet as the fra me
,

r evo l ved . In a n a l terna ti ve method the fra me wi th the bl ocks ,

on it revol ved on a sort of turn ta bl e p la ced on the bed of t he -

,

press whil st i n a t hi rd the tympa n with the sheet a tta ched

, , ,

was ca rri ed fr om bl ock to bl ock It will be r emembe red tha t .

thi s i dea of pri nting several col ou rs a t one ope ra ti on of the press
ha d been to some extent a ntici pa ted by L a ll eman a t Par is , ,

two centuries ea rl i e r The spec ific a t i on al so desc ri b es a n

.

a ppa ra tu s i n whi ch the col ou r bl ocks we re on beds h i nged to ,

the sides of a square t a bl e an d turned ba ckwa rd to b e i nked

,

by ha nd a n d do wn aga in for the ixn pressi on The process

, .

was i n reg ul a r ope ra ti on i n 1839 as the Qu a rterl y R evi ew for ,

D ecember i n th a t yea r conta i ns an a r tic l e he a ded The ,

"
Pri n ter s D evil i n whi ch i s a descript i on of Cl owes p ri nting
' '

esta bl ishment an d a fa irl y l engt hy reference to Kni ght s

,
'

col our pri nti ng method which the wri ter of the a rti cl e in ques
-
,

tion sa wa t wo rk in connecti on with the production of P a tent

,

Il l u mi na ted M aps H e descr i bes the prin ti ng a pp a ra tus

.

as r esembli ng a squ a re box e a ch of the four sides of which ,

ca rri ed a pri nting pl a te for bl ue yel l ow red a n d bl a ck

, , ,

142
KN IGHT S ’
I LL U MI N ATED P RI N TI N G

e p cti vel y which were a ppl i ed to the sheet i n the order n a med
r s e , ,

the l ast h a ving the l etterpress ma tter for the na mes of pl a ces ,

etc The tints being pa r tl y bl ended on the pa per thr ee mo re

.
,

wer e furn i shed i n tha t way i e the yell ow an d the red ga ve , . .

,

orange the yell ow a n d the bl u e green an d so on there bei ng

, , ,

thus seven col ours i n a ll .

A coupl e of ea rl y spec i men s of K n i ght s Ill u mi na ted ’

P ri nti ng a re i ncl uded in Cha tto 8c J a ckson s wor k on ’

wood engra vi ng a cir c u msta nce whi ch i s a ccounted

for by the fa ct tha t the book in question was publ ished by

Knight L i ke B a xter he was connected by m arriage with
.
,

a well known p rinting t r a de firm M essrs Cl o w

-
es 81 Sons hi s , .
,

da ughter h a v ing m a rr i ed George Cl owes an d hi s col o u r ,

prin ting was done for him by them the pictures b ein g pro ,

d u c ed fr om wood bl ocks col our ed by pl a tes of ste reo meta l , .

The four col our pa per covers of the vol umes i n

-
Knight s '

Industri al L i brary were pr oba bl y produced by the earl i es t

form of hi s p roc ess ; l a ter ou he i ncreas ed the number of ,

— —
col ours f om fou r to i n some cases as many as a dozen
r .

The best ex empli fic a t i on of this l a ter method i s to be found

in hi s Old E n gl a n d which was issued in about 100 par ts duri n g
,

1844 5 but Kni ght being a mo re modest man tha n B a xte r

-
, , ,

contented hi msel f wi th a very bri ef r eference to hi s pa tent

i n an all usi on to the method by whi ch the col ou red pi ctur es
were produced Ea ch col our was pri nted on top of the
.

preceding one whil st the l a tter was stil l wet the shee ts of ,

pa per rema i n i ng sta ti ona ry i n the press until al l the col ours
.

ha d been a ppl ied These l a tter by the wa y wer e sta ted

.
, ,

to be oil col ou rs as were Ba xter s One wonders whether ,

'
.

the l a tter ever remonstra ted wi th Knight for thus copyi ng t he

most di sti ncti ve fea ture of his own process In other respects .
,

however Kn i ght s method was j u st the opposi te of B a xter s

,
' ’

as the l a tte r col ou r ed by p ri nt i ng from wood bl ocks an i mpr es

si on from a meta l pl a te whereas Knight printed hi s col ours ,

first fr om metal pl a tes a n d then a dded a n imp ression from

a wood bl ock .
 C OLO U R P RI N TI N G

Old E”gl a nd i s in two foli o vol umes ea ch of whi ch conta i ns ,

a dozen col our ed pl a tes They exhi bi t chi ar oscu ro work

.

of a goo d type though l a cki ng the mi nuten ess of deta il an d

,

del ica cy of fin ish whi ch di sti ngu i sh Bax ter s producti ons ; ’

never thel ess there i s a bol dnes s an d ori gi nal i ty a bout some
,

of Knight s pictur es tha t forms a wel come chang e from t he

’

ra ther fin i c a l el a bo ra t i on of B ax ter Ma ny of them represent .

ar ch i tectu ral interi ors an d as a dra u ht smm w emp l oyed

, g as

who ha d an i ntelli gent grasp of Gothi c detai l the efiec t i s ,

often very good though i n some in stances e g the Tomb

, , . .
,

of Ma ry Queen of Scots an d Stra tford Church Door one wishes ,

tha t the li ttl e pa tches of bright col our ha d been omi tted ,

so as to l ea ve the pri nt in i t s ori gi nal ch i ar osc ur o sta te It .

i s nec essar y to poi nt out her e tha t these pictur es are seen
a t thei r best i n the first edition the ill umi na ted ti tl e page
,
-

of the first vol u me of whi ch i s da ted 1844 Some twenty .

years a fter t he work was republi shed (wi th the old da te on

,

the ti tl e) by San gster who empl oyed L eighton to do the

,

col our ed pl a tes ; he ch a nged the col our scheme m a teri al l y

i n ma ny cases an d his rep rin ts of Kni ght s p i ctur es a re mostl y
’

ra ther poo r . For some he seems to h ave engr a ved fr esh bl ocks ,

the ol d on es bei ng pe rha ps wa rp ed or da ma ged Thi s is .

evi den t i n the titl e p age of Vol ume I of San gst er s edi ti on
-
'

whi ch i s ea sil y known by i t s bri ght red an d gol d cover Knight - -

.

al so used his p rocess i n the p r oducti on of the col ou r ed pl a tes for

Old E n gl a nd s Wor thi es an d for some of hi s sm all er

’

books but the ill u stra ti ons in these a re not general l y so good
,

as those i n Old E ”gl a n d

For some r eason u nknown the pro c ess see ms to ha ve been

,

a ba ndoned a fte r onl y a few books ha d been ill u st ra ted by i t ,

'
an d thus we hn d th a t some other an d l a ter of Kni ght s seri al

publi ca ti ons li ke the P i c tori a l S ha kespea re an d the P i c tor i al

,

H i st or y of E n gl a nd conta i n no col our p ri nts both the method

, ,

an d the a pp a ra tu s though excell ent in theo ry be ing p r oba bl y

, ,

found sl ow an d cumbersome i n pra cti ce .

Kni ght ha d perh a ps no i ntention of rival li n g B ax te r i n a

, ,

144
 CO LO U R P RI N TI N G

copperpl a te but in 1797 the pl a tes wer e repl a ced by en g ra ved

,

cyli nders when the pl a ce was i n i t s pri me ya rds of ,

col our p rinted ma te rial were turned out per da y an d forty

-
,

ha nds consta nt ly empl oyed but i n 1843 the busi ness was ,

disconti nued .

A fter L eighton j oi n ed G reg o ry Coll i ns 81 Reynol ds a bout , ,

1847 hi s experi ence of B a x te r s methods soon l ed to a n i m

’

provement of their styl e The pa pe r cove r titl es o f some l ittl e .

-

books got out by C l a rke 8: Co in 1845 suc h a s J a ne A usten s .

,
’

P r i de a n d P r eyu di c e an d Co u ntess H a hn ha hn s UI ri c h show

'
’

much better work the l etteri ng with a ccompa nying fl ora l

, ,

orna ment being pri nted on a so li d ba ckground of col our or

,

go l d In A pril 1846 they ha d a specimen of seven col o ur

.
, ,
-

pri nti ng fr om wood bl ocks i nse r t ed in the A rt U mon t he ti nts

’

b e ing fl es h red yel l ow bl ue bro wn an d neutra l fol l owed

, , , , ,

by the bl a ck outli n e bl ock as i n Knight s pr ocess I n 1847 ,

’
.

they sent some spec imen col our prints to an exh i biti on hel d
a t the r ooms of the Soc i ety of A rts a n d a yea r o r so l a ter , ,

Mr Reyno l ds ha ving l eft the firm L eighton took hi s pl a ce

.
, .

A typ i cal exa mpl e of the wo rk done under his superi ntendence
is se en in t he ti tl e page a n d fr ontispi ece to the 1849 edi ti on of
-

P et er P a r tey s A n n u a l from a desig n by A bsol on t his i s good

’

chromo xyl ogra phy though the pl a tes used for the sky a re
-
,

a pp a r entl y a qua tinted an a i d to wood bl oc k co l o u r wo rk

,
-

whi ch L eighton often fa vo u red In J a nuary 185 1 a dra wi ng .

, ,

by L andseer The H a wki ng Pa rty r ep roduced i n col ours

, ,

from wood bl oc ks by L eighton a ppea r ed in the A rt j ou rn a l , ,

much to the disgu st of B a xter a l though L eighton poin ted out ,

tha t the pr ocesses used by hi m an d his ol d master wer e qu i te

different L eighton s work l ike B a xte r s was shown a t the
.
’

,
'

Exhibiti on of 185 1 in connecti on with the exhi bit of the

,

publi shing firm for whi ch he c hi efly worked Cunda l l 8c A dd ey ,

of Bond Str eet a n d earl y in t he fol l owin g yea r some of the

,

col ou r prints shown a t the Exhi biti on we re used as il l ustra

tions to the Vi ll a ge Qu een by Thomas Mil l er seve ra l of whose , ,

ea rli er books ha d been col our ill ustra te d by V izet e l l y These -

.

146
 G C . "
L E I G 1 TO N

"
Rp
e r od u cd
e b y pe l ‘

lll i v a l O fl t r o m t he I l l u st r a t ed L on d o n N ews ]
 COLOU R P RIN TIN G
t he work al th ou gh as hi s i mprin t was on t he pi ctur es it
, , ,

was u nn ecessa ry) wi shed to convey tha t the tone pl a tes were
etched by a modific a t i on of the a qua ti nt me t hod a da pted ,

to surfa ce printi ng From this ti me onwa r d the process was

.

gra dua ll y i mproved the col oured suppl ements a ppea ri ng

,

r egu l a rl y in the N ews down to the eighties when ch romo ,

l ithogra ph s took t heir pl a ce Some of the pr i nt s publ ished i n.

the sixti es were fin e ex ampl es of col our work Fr om 1857 .

to 1885 L ei ghton al so did the col our ed pa pe r covers an d

pl a tes for Ingram s I ll ustrat ed L on don A l ma n ac k which a r e
’

fai rl y representa ti ve ex am pl es of the c hea per cl ass of hi s

work .

In A ugust 1858 L eighton was appoi nted printer an d

, ,

pu blisher of the Iflu stmted L on don N ews an d from 1860 ,

conseq uent on the a cci den tal dea th of Ingr am he ha d al most ,

compl ete contr ol of the pa per durin g the sur v i vi ng sons '

mi nori ty H i s brother Stephen the other par tner in t he

.
,

firm of L ei ghton B rothers l ooked a fter t h e gen eral col our ,

prin ting busi ness of tha t concern a t M il for d House Stran d , ,

an d under hi s a cti ve super in tendence much good wor k w as

turned out al though l ike tha t of Kronheim an d other prin ters

, ,

in co l ours on an ex tensi ve scal e it vari ed in qua li ty a ccordin g ,

to cir cumsta nces .

Ah i nter esting ex am pl e is seen i n B arn ar d s L a nd sc a pe a n d

’

Water C olou r P a i n ti n g i n whi ch man y of the pl a t es

r ep r esent the va r i ous col our sta ges n ecessa ry in the p r oducti on

of a wa ter col our dr a wing A ra ther unpl easan t fea tur e of

-
.

some of L ei ghton s col ou r ed pictur es is t h e str ong h ar d outli ne

’

of the wood cut or bl a ck bl ock as seen in War d 8: L ock s ,

'

Fi eld s a n d Woodla n ds an d P i c tori al B ea ut i es 0 ] N a tu r e

as well a s i n E V Boyl e s B ea u ty a n d t he B ea st Much
’
. .

better wo rk occu rs i n some of the pl a tes for Gems o/ En gti sh

A rt of thi s Cen t u r y (Routl edge which conta i ns twenty ,

four full pa ge ill ustra tions r eproduced from pictures i n the

-

n a ti on a l coll ection all these we re p ri nted i n oi l col ours

from wood bl ocks an d several of them a re r ea ll y excel l en t
,

148
LEIGHTON S S P ECIME N BOO K
’

producti ons tha t wou l d pr oba bl y be

, coll ected if they
'
bore Ba xter s n a me i nstea d of L ei ghton s Some however
’
.
, ,

"
The Fisherma n s Home
'
l i ke I l Du etto or might ha ve ,

been omi tted wi thout l oss to the book J u dgi ng from the .

point ma r ks a t the si de of the pri nt Consta bl e s , Vall ey ’

Farm r eq u i r ed twel ve bl ocks for i t s reproduction .

Some ti me in the si xti es the firm publi shed a fol io vol ume
,

of S pec i men s of Col ou r P ri n t i n g contai ni ng twenty seven

,
-

pl a tes some ha vi n g sev eral su b j ects on them

, Thi s i s a rare .

book an d is of i mpo rtance as furnishi ng exampl es of pra cti call y

,

every phas e of Leighton Brothers col our work from reprod u c

’

ti ons of pictures i n the hi ghes t styl e of t heir art down to ,

purel y commer cial subj ects li ke til e pa tterns There are t wo .

or t hree p ri nts a fter p i ctu res by Bir ket Foster whose work ,

was mor e commonl y r eproduced in c ol our by Eva ns an d ,

severa l of b ir ds a n d an imals a fter H a rrison We i r whose A l pha bet ,

of A n i ma l s (1857) w as ill ust ra ted by t wenty four col our ed -

pl a tes of thi s chara cter .

L ei ghton va ca ted his post o f prin ter pu bl isher of the Ithes

-

tr ated L ond on N ew s i n 1884 a n d two or thr ee year s a fter war ds

,

cl osed u p hi s firm s col ou r pri n ti ng busin ess then l oc a ted i n

’

Dru ry L a ne H e ha d marri ed a ni ece of Fara d ay the fa mo us

.
,

p hil OS OP h
‘
el ,a n d d i ed a t H i ghga te i n

Roun d a bout the mi ddl e of the n i neteen th centu ry t he ,

wood bl ock proces ses were more popul a r than an y others

used for the pr oduct i on of col oured book i ll ust ra ti ons so tha t ,

the Leighton firm ha d qu i te a number of ri vals in t his respect ,

onl y a few of which ho wever need b e men ti oned here an d

, , ,

of these we will deal first wi th Henr y Vizet ell y (born

the son of a Lo ndon publ isher J ames Vizet ell y who ca me to
, .

gr i ef i n 1840 Henr y was a pprenti ced to a wood engraver

.
,

an d a fter h a vi ng se rved hi s time star ted busin e ss w

,
i t h hi s
brothers as engr a vers a n d pri nters i n one of the purl ieus of
Fl eet Street subsequentl y remov ing into tha t thoroughfa r e
, .

At the ti me hi s fa t her s fir m coll a psed i t was en gaged i n the

'

producti on of an el abora tel y decora ted edi ti o n of Lockhar t s

'

149
 CO LO U R PRIN TI N G

A nc i en t S pan i sh B all a ds, forJohn Murra y Owen Jones the ,

pi oneer of chromo li thogr a phy in Engl an d was r esponsibl e

-
,

for al l the orn am ental desi gns in the vol ume an d bei ng fresh ,

from hi s gr ea t wor k on the Al ha mbr a then i n proc ess of ,

pu bl i ca ti on was in a positi on to prepa re something of a

,

chara cter a ppropri a te to the book Much of the col our decora .

ti on i s i ndeed remi niscent of th a t of the Alh ambra par ticul a rl y

, , ,

the nu merous sepa ra te ti tl es whi ch wer e l ithogra phed in gol d

,

a n d col ours by Jones himsel f nea rl y all the r est of the work
was got out by the Vi zet ell ys an d so fa r as the col our printi ng
,

par t of i t i s concerned consi sts of om amen t al borders i niti al s

, , ,

an d hea d an d t a il pieces mostl y pri nted i n a sin gl e tint though

-
, ,

occ asi onall y in two r ed an d bl ue or bl ue an d yell ow It

,
.

i s a fin e ex a mpl e of l ett er pr es s col our wo rk even the end ,

pa pers bei ng printed i n gol d an d col ours an d the li st of con ,

tents in red an d bl ue wh il st the publi sher s li st of books at

,
’

the en d of t he vol ume is in a puce ti nt withi n borders Ther e , .

-

are a few sep ara te pl a tes woodcuts p rinted in bl a c k on a l emon

,

col ou r ed grou nd pi ctori al l etterpress work i n col ours being

,

as yet al most a monopol y of B a xte r s est a bli shment In ’

.

1856 Murra y r epubl ished the wor k Owen Jones suppl yin g
, ,

the decora ti ons a s befor e but on this occasi on the printers

,

were B ra dbury Eva ns who pr oduced a vol ume in eve ry

,

r espect wor thy to be pl a ced with the p r evious one The .

gr ea ter pa r t of the ornamental deta il was new incl udi ng a ,

bea utiful seri es of ti tl es in red an d bl ue the chr omo li th o -

gr a phed ti tl es wer e not so fr equent an d the Al ha mbra moti f ,

was repl a ced by a nothe r of a differ ent type The general styl e .

an d form a ti on of ea ch ed ition wer e the sa me an d i n an u ncut ,

st a te i n thei r o ri gin al gol d st am ped bin d ings these two

,
-
,

vol umes are am ongst the hu est of the ir ki nd .

The B a ll a d s was foll owed i n 1845 by an edi ti on of the B ook

of C ommon P r a y er on somewh a t si m il a r l ines thi s al so being ,

publi shed by Murra y an d decora ted with ini ti al s bo rde rs

, , ,

etc by Jones a ll of whi ch were speci al l y desi gned for t he

.
, ,

vol u me ; the ini ti al s wer e in two col ours thr ou ghout red ,

15 0
 COLOU R P RIN TI N G

an d engra vi n g a n d as such was shown to ma ny of t he

,

disti ngu i shed forei gners who were i n London a t tha t time .

As a co l our en gr a ver of pictori al subj ec ts for popul ar books ,

Vi zet elly though not a p rolific wor ke r i n tha t l i ne preceded

, ,

Eva ns by some yea rs an d excel l en t exa mpl es of thi s bra nch

,

of his wo rk wil l be fou nd in the fronti spi eces an d flo ral t i tl es

he produced in four ti nts for Thomas Mill er s B oys S pri n g ' ’

B ook an d t he thr ee compani on vol umes tha t ma de up the

,

cyc l e of the seasons (Cha pman 8: H al l Thes e ,

cha rmi ng l ittl e vol u mes provi de i n thei r wa y as good Speci mens
, ,

of col our work as di d Mu di e s four vol umes of E l emen ts '

ill ustra ted i n simi l a r styl e by Ba xter el even yea rs before .

An enti rel y di ffer ent cl ass of wo rk a ppe a rs in N oel Humphr ey s

'

ill umin a ted edi t i on of The B ook of R u t h publi shed by L ong ,

mans i n 1850 i ndeed were i t not for the presence of V izet ell y s
,
'

imprint a t the foot of the l ast page one woul d be in cli ned ,

to a tt ribute this dai nty li ttl e vol ume to O wen Jones so exa ctl y ,

does i t s styl e r esembl e tha t of the ch romo l ithogr a phed vol u mes -

he di d for the sa me publishi ng firm a t thi s period the l etteri n g

of the tit l e is in go l d tha t of the text i s in bl a ck l ette r w
, i th ,

rustic i ni ti a l s a n d flora l bo rde rs in col ours on a go l d gr o u nd

, .

In the year foll owin g H umphr eys published his S enti men ts
,

a n d S i mi l es of S ha kes p ea r e as an exa mpl e of book deco ra ti on

,

(h e tell s us i n the P r efa ce ) embody i ng the

, l a test r efin em en t s

in dec ora t i ve p ri nti ng the Sha kespea rea n sel ecti ons being
,

enshri ned as i t wer e i n a reli q u a ry as ri ch as a combi n a ti on

, ,

"
of t he typogra phi c a n d li tho chr omic a rts coul d form
-
It .

sa ys m u ch for the c r ed i t of V i zet ell y s pr ess th a t a wo rk of

’

such speci al me ri t w as ent rusted to hi m by i t s a uthor an d ,

wha tever may be tho ught of the work by the present da y -

'

pri nter ther e c an b e but l ittl e doubt tha t Humphr eys

,
’

cri ti cal eye was pl eased a n d sa t isfied The styl e a dopted i s .

qui te u nusual ea ch pa ge bei ng di vi ded up by fou r pl a i n

,

gol d ru l es cr ossi ng an d ru nni ng to the edges of the l ea f so as

, ,

to l ea ve a r ectangul ar sp ace in the centre for the text The .

li n es commence wi th c a pita ls on a gol d gr ou nd : ther e is a

152
V I ZE TE L L Y S
'
M ASTER P IECE
gol d ru l e between eve ry two l ines an d as the li n es of cou rse ,

vary i n l ength ea ch i s fill ed out wi th a n orna ment i n gol d Wi th

,
.

the r unn i n g a n d chapte r hea di ngs in gol d ca pi tal s an d the ,

l a rge decora ti ve i n i tial s a t the hea d of ea ch section i n gol d

on a bl a ck gro u nd th i s vol ume is a hu e pi ece of a r tisti c typo
,

gra phy tha t coul d not easil y b e ma tched The l ettering of

,
.

the ti tl e i s in red bl a ck a n d gol d but the pr incipa l a rti sti c

, ,

fea ture of the book is the first pag e of the text bea uti ful l y ,

pri nted in chromo l i thogra phy before the text was a dj usted
-
,

to i t It i s a very hu e piec e of col our printi ng a n d ful l y

.
,

meri ts Humph reys eu l ogi um of i t '

Recent progress in .

"
vari ou s k i nds of printi ng sa i d he has ena bl ed the p ress
, ,

to rival the a rt of the ill u mina tor hi msel f an d t he h igh ly en ,

r i ched bo r de ring r ound the first pa ge of th is book i s ent i re l y

the r esul t of this new a ppl ica ti on of a rt The whol e l a bour .

of the decora ti on has a fter the man ner of the l a ter a n d more
,

emi nent ill umi na tors been di rected to the first page i nstea d
, ,

of being spre a d ove r the whol e vol ume i n mul ti pl ied orn a ments
of a n i nferior qua li ty an unli mi ted n umber of sepa ra te prin ti ngs
,

ha ving been empl oyed with t he desire to ma ke i t one of the

,

most pe r fect works of an a r ti stic chara cter ever produced by

mere mecha n i ca l mea ns The decora ti on of thi s bor der
.

i s of a cha ra cter quite a ppropri a te to the El iza betha n age ,

an d i ncl udes a por t rai t of Sha kespear e tragic an d comi c ,

masks an hi storia ted i ni ti al wi th a scene from Ma cbeth an d

, ,

a gr e a t a mount of mi nute det a i l al l pri nted i n go l d a n d col ou rs

,
.

The bea uty of thi s page proba bl y l ed to i t s abstra cti on from

many copi es incl udi ng tha t a t the Bri ti sh Museum Thi s
, .

rem a r k a bl e vo l u me i s i n an equall y r emarkabl e bi ndi ng ,

the covers bei ng moul ded i n pa pi er mac hé in imi ta ti on of

ca rved ebony the design being of a si xteenth centu ry Ren a is
,

sa nce ch a r a cte r in h i gh r eli ef

, an d p i er ced to show a gol d
,

ba ckgr ound in the central panel of the upper cove r bei n g a

,

b ust portra i t of Sha k espea r e in ma te rial of a terra cotta tint

,
-
,

an d i n a si mil a r p a n e l on the l owe r cover i s hi s monogr a m ,

enci rcl ed by a wrea th .

 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

A nother i nte resti ng ex ampl e of col our wo rk by V i zet ell y

i s an octa vo edi ti on of Dea n Mil man s Hor ac e publ i shed by
'

Mu rr ay i n 1849 The L ife an d p reli mi n a ry por ti on of t he

.

vol ume has ea ch page surr ounded with a bor der of cl assi cal
design by O wen Jones pri nted in a si ngl e ti nt an d to ea ch
, ,

book of the text there i s a fin e titl e page pri n ted in col ours -
,

two of these ha vi n g l etterin g an d fl oral orn ament in r ed ,

yell ow an d gr een on a bl a ck ba ckgrou nd an d surroun ded

, ,

with a border pri nted i n brown O thers h a ve floral borders .

i n col ours with the whi te of the pa per for a b a ckgr ound two
, ,

or th r ee mor e h a vi ng col our ed l etteri ng on a yel l ow gr o u nd ,

or fl o ral desi gn s i n col ours on a bl a ck gr ound ; al together

this vol ume i s a fin e an d unusual exampl e of l etterpress pri ntin g

in col ou rs .

Edmu nd Evans comes next an d i s perha ps t he best known

,

of al l the wood engr a vers for col our wo rk except B a xter ,

.

Born i n Southwark i n Feb ru ary 1826 he was first put to work

, ,

in a pri nti ng offic e but when hi s a rti sti c in cl ina tions di spl a yed
,

themsel ves he a fter onl y si x months tenur e of the post of

,
’

r ea di ng boy w ,as a ppr en ti ced to L an dell s the wood engr a ver ,

.

When hi s time was u p i n May 1847 he commenced busi ness

, , ,

i n tha t li ne on hi s own a ccount ul ti m a tel y settli ng i n 185 1

, , ,

a t Ra cquet Cour t Fl eet St reet where he secur ed hi s first

, ,

or der for col our work from M essrs Ingr am Cooke 8: Co .

,
.
,

publi sher s of the N a ti onal Ill ustra ted L ibr ary of popul a r
books It was for one of the vol umes in th a t se ri es I da
.
,

P feiffer s Tr a vel s i n the H oly L a nd publ ished i n 1852 wi th

’

, ,

ei ght tinted ill ustra ti ons fr om dra wings by Bi r ket Foster .

It was deci ded tha t thes e shoul d be en gra ved for thr ee printi ngs ,

the key or ou tl i ne bl ock in dark brown the second in a buff ,

tint an d the thi r d in a greyish bl ue In a ll these pictur es

,
.

the sky i s very dar k an d hea vy an d i s r el i eved by stra ggl ing

,

li ttl e p a tch es of whi te cl oud gi vi ng the e ffect of a floc k of whi te

,

bi r ds on the wi ng but this pecul i a r ma n neri sm was a ba ndoned

,

(except in one c as e ) i n the next vo l ume of the s e ri es i e ,

. .
,

the sa me a uthor s Voya ge R ou n d the Wor ld al so issued in 1852

’

,
.

154
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

Hi therto we ha ve been consi deri ng b ook ill ust ra ti ons of a

,

mor e or l ess o r di na ry cha ra cter but i n the A rt Al bu m (Ken t ,

81 Co 186 1) we come to a work i n which the pi ctures a re the

prima ry fea tur e the tex t consi sting of li ttl e more tha n b ri ef
,

poetical effusi ons descri pti ve of the subj ects of t he pri nts
, .

Ther e wer e si xteen of th ese l a tter all separa te pl a tes engr a ved , ,

a n d p ri nted i n a number of col ours by Ev an s i n the styl e of the ,

B a xter pri nts whi ch were then b egi n ni ng to wa ne i n thei r

,

popul ar i ty This is perh a ps E v an s s best a r t work i n col ours

.
'

an d a few of the p i ctur es such as T S Coope r s Win ter a

,
"
. .
'

study of shee p i n tha t a r tist s well know

'
n styl e John Gil bert s'
-

Ma rri age of Grisel da a n d a fruit study a fter W Hunt a re

"
, .
,

rea ll y good but others a re ra t her medi oc r e some of them li ke

, , ,

”
The Bar on s Cha pel bei ng li ttl e better tha n tinted woodcuts
’

,
.

"
Here a n d ther e as in the bl ue pl a te for Lucy a qua t in ti n g
, ,

was used to pr oduce a bl oc k for sur fa ce print i n g A nothe r good .

co l our book of E v a n s s is Choi c e P i c tu r es a nd Choi c e P oems

'

( W a r d
, L ock 81 Co 186 7 ) though the twenty th r ee co l ou r ed -

pi ctures in this a re mostl y of the ti nted woodcut type an d ,

printed on the text pages ma ny of t hem wer e subseq uentl y

used a ga in in ba tches for some small er books The l etterpress .

po rti on of thi s parti c u l a r vol ume it ma y be men tioned was , ,

pri nted in brown in k a lso by Eva ns , .

A di sti nctl y novel cl ass of wo rk occurs in D u l c k en s B i bl e

'

A l bu m (War d 81 L ock Here ther e are fift y si x wood

,
-

cuts ma ny of them full page pri n ted i n tints by Ev a ns the

, ,

origi nal out li ne cuts a re evi dentl y of ea rl i er Germa n origin a n d ,

so me of them a re spl i t or othe r w i se damag ed Evans seems .

to ha ve been entru sted wi th the task of prepa ring ton e bl ocks

to a ccompany them pa rtl y per ha ps to hi de defects an d par tl y
, , , ,

to give a novel aspect to the work onl y a si ngl e tone bl ock

is used for ea ch pictur e the tints being most l y grey sepi a , , ,

or a l ight r eddi sh bro w n Eva ns engra ved his bl ocks somewha t

-
.

i n the chi ar oscuro m a nner so th a t i n ma ny cases the styl e of

,

the ol d Germ an m asters of tha t a rt was i n some degree r ecall ed .

The vol u me whi ch was ent irel y E v a ns s p roduction is

,
'
,

156
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

to the term yell ow ba cked as a ppl i ed to t he Ra i l wa y

-
,

a n d othe r ser ies of chea p popul a r novel s Thr ee co l our cove rs .

-

— p ri nted of course fr om wood bl ocks— we re fr equentl y

,
,

pr epa r ed for the Engl ish edi tion s of wor ks by Ma rk T wa i n

an d other A me r ic a n a uthors the outl i ne bl ock b eing wo rked ,

i n da rk br own or bl a ck an d the fl esh ti n ts eng ra ved on the r ed

,

tone bl ock whi ch was p ri nted first foll owed by a n other to n e

, ,

bl ock in bl ue or gr een .

Mr E v an s s na me will a l wa ys be assoc i a ted with the pr o

’
.

duction of chea p co l our ill ustra ted chil dren s books of whi c h-
’

hi s firm ha ve p ri nted eno rmo us nu mbe rs du ri n g near l y h a l f

a centu ry
-
The re was a sixpenny seri es issued by Routl edge
.

i n the sixties i n whi ch the pictu res were i n th r ee or fou r

,

col ours an d a shi lling se ri es in 1874 when fiv e co l ours were

, ,

used a n d i n this con necti on i t ma y be mentioned tha t tha t

,

cha rming l i ttl e b ook B a by s Oper a ill u stra ted by Wal t er

,
’

Cra ne was publ ished by Eva ns on his own a cc ount a n d was

, ,

so succ essful th a t an a mpli fied edi tio n of i t w a s p roduced u nde r ,

the titl e of B a by s B ou qu et foll owed i n 1887 by B a by s Own

’

,
’

E sop In thi s l as t photo mech a ni cal proces s bl ocks were

.
,
-

used for the out l i nes though the col ou rs were a ppl ied from
,

wood i n the ol d way The very numerous chil dr en s books

.
’

so qua i ntl y a n d d a int il y i ll ustr a ted i n col our by K a te Gr een

a wa y (a specimen pi ctu re from one of them a ppears in this

vol ume) wer e al so turned out from the R a cquet Cou rt

P ress as Mr
,
”
Eva ns termed hi s printin g esta bl ishmen t
.
,

from i t s l oca ti on i n tha t Fl eet Str eet all ey Thes e ar e so .

well known tha t it is not neces sa ry to do more tha n mention

t hem a n d the ch armi ng seri es of l it t l e a l m ana cs assoc i a ted
wi th the na me of thi s fa vour i te a r tist whi ch a re getti ng to ,

be incl uded a mongst coll ected items The l a te Ra ndo l ph .

Cal dec ott was a nother popul ar il l ustra to r of chil dr en s b ooks '

whose designs were r eproduced by Eva ns in col ours .

A fte r forty yea rs of wor k as an en gra ver a n d printer ,

Mr Evans reti red i n

. since whi ch da te hi s sons Edmund ,

Wil fred a n d Herbert Eva ns ha ve continued the busi ness , ,

158
T HE RACQ UET COU RT P RESS
which has been tr a nsfer red from i t s ol d City home to S wa n
Str eet in the Bo rough
,
Ed mund Eva ns di ed i n 1906 but
.
,

it is interesti ng to be a bl e to r ecord tha t the a r t of col our

pri nting fr om wood bl ocks of which he was one of the pi onee rs
,

nea rl y si xty years ago i s still continued by his sons who yet
, ,

hn d customers for this cl ass of wor k notwithsta ndi ng the oft ,

r epe a ted tal e t ha t wood engra vi ng i s de a d Mr H Fa m ha m . . .

Burke s magn ific en t H i st ori c a l R ec ord of the Cor ona ti on (1904 )

’

conta i ns several fin e pl a tes in whi ch an i mp ressi on fr om a hal f

tone key bl ock in bl a ck was col oured from severa l wood bl ocks ,

excell ent r egiste r bein g mai nt a ined though ther e i s a gr ea t deal ,

of in t ri ca te deta il in costumes etc More recentl y (O ctobe r , .

,

1908 to Februa ry
, Messrs Ed mund Eva ns L t d repro
, .
, .
,

d u c ed for t h e S t udi o h al f a dozen J a pa nese col our pri nts in ,

whi ch the col our i ng was a ppli ed entir el y from wood an d an ,

inter esting chromo xyl ogr a ph of a di ffer ent chara cter was
-

produced a t the sa me time for the firm s own Al ma na c from ’

a design by Mr Gra ham Robe rtson

. .

The Engl ish col our p ri nters dea l t wi th u p to the pr esent

a ll wo r ked in L ondon wher e t hey ha d the a dva nta ge of seein g
,

an d kno w ing wha t had been or was be i ng done i n tha t li ne

by their p redecessors or contemporaries We now howeve r .
, ,

come to a man who ca rried on his work i n a l it t l e coun t ry town ,

in a remote pa rt of Y o rkshi re an d seems to ha ve been a bsol ute l y

,

sel f ta ught Benj a mi n Fa wcett to w

-
, it Born at Bri dli ngton .
,

in 1808 he was a pprenti ced to a printer in tha t town an d

, ,

occupied hi msel f i n hi s l eisu re hours by pra ctisi ng dra wi ng

an d engra v i ng a r ts for which he ha d a na tu ra l bent
, In 1830 .

he sta r ted busi n ess as a p ri nter bookbin der a n d boo ksell e r ,

a t the a dj a cent tow n of Driffield Here some years l a ter .

, ,

he bega n to get out a series of picto ri al copy book covers the ,

designs on whi ch wer e dr a wn an d engra ved by hi msel f an d ,

subsequentl y some dra wi ng copy books a n d ill ust ra ted

chil dr en s b ooks for a L eeds publ ishin g firm
’

, .

The t u m i n g po int in his ca ree r da t es from the time (i n the

-

l a te for ti es) when he me t the Rev F O rpen Morri s Vi ca r of . .

,

159
 COLOU R P RI N TIN G

N a fferton ge nea r Drifli el d who was not onl y a zeal ous

, a v i ll a

Churchma n but an i ndefa ti ga bl e na tura l ist The fri endshi p

, .

be tween them gra dual l y l ed to a busi nes s connecti on bein g

formed whi ch l asted down to the ti me when it was sever ed by
,

Morri s s dea th i n
’
Whi ch of the twain first su ggested t h e
publ ica tion of a seri es of works on British na tura l hi story we
can n ot say but i t is certa i n tha t Morris u nder took to wri te ,
,

a n d Fa wcet t to ill ust ra te an d publish a H i story of B ri ti sh B i r ds, ,

which commenced t o a ppea r in shill i ng par ts i n the Spri ng of

1850 Th e 360 woodcuts i t contai ned wer e pri nted on a l emon
.

ti nted grou nd an d col our ed by hand A bout thi s ti me Fa wcett .

moved to new premi ses in Dri fli el d gi vi ng up hi s retail book ,

sel l ing an d sta ti one ry busi n ess i n or der to devote hi msel f to

pri nti n g an d publ ishi ng It was here a ccor ding to the

.
,

Memoi r of Morris tha t he brought to perfection a new

,

pr ocess i nvented by hi msel f for fin e pri nti ng i n col ou rs for

, , ,

whi ch hi s esta bl ish ment soon beca me famous in the tra de .

”

The ea rl ies t contemporary publi c refer ence to this is proba bl y

th a t which a ppear ed in Part I of the B i rds an nounci ng the ,

forthcomin g publi ca ti on of a compan i on work by Morri s on ,

the N a t u ra l H i story of the N ests a nd E ggs of B r i ti sh B i r ds ,

the ill ustra ti ons i n which wer e to be executed in an enti r el y

new manner The N ests was i ssued l i ke the B i r ds i n par ts
.
, , ,

whi ch commenced to a ppear a bout J a nua ry 1852 The ,

.

compl ete wor k (as well as the previ ous one an d many othe rs ,

of Fa wcett s) was publ i shed by the L ondon firm of Groom

’

bri dge 8: Sons an d contai ned seven ty eight full page pl a tes
,
- -
.

A s in the B i r ds there was a sol i d ba ckg r ound in thi s case

, ,

of a grey tin t on whic h the eggs an d n ests wer e r epresented

,

in their na tur al siz e an d col our ther e bein g genera l l y a brown

,

an d a bl a ck bl ock used to gi ve the m ar kin gs cha ra cte ri sti c

of the eggs of the di ffer ent species ; here an d there a l i tt l e

ha nd touchi ng is in evidence The work was dedi ca ted to a
-
.

l oca l ma gna te the Ea rl of Ca rl isl e whose p a tr on age togeth er

, , ,

with tha t of many ot her nobl emen an d gen t l emen was secur ed ,

by the Rev F 0 Morri s who was Cha pl a in to the Duke

. . .
,

160
 F A WCETT S P ROD UCTI ON S I N C OLOU R
’

of Cl evel a nd The dedi ca tory a ddress r eferr ed to

. these
vol umes in whi ch a new inven t i on has been a ppl i ed i n the
,

department of Ar t under whi ch they are ill ustr a ted N eve r .

t hel ess t h e r esul t was a ppa r en t l y consi der ed ra ther u n sa t i sfa c

,

tory as in the next work Morri s prepa red for Fa wcett on

, ,

B r i ti sh B u tterfli es most of the col ourin g was a ppli ed

by ha nd al though on some pl a tes there was two col our work
,
-

an d in a still l a ter publ ica ti on on B r i ti sh M oths ,the

ill ustra tions wer e h a nd col our ed l ithogra phs Wha tever the
-
.

r eason for thi s ma y ha ve been i t w as cer t ai nl y not t h e i n a bili ty

,

of Fa wcett to engra ve for first cl ass col our work as t he publi ca -

,

ti on of the Moths was contempora ry wi th the prepar a ti on of

a bea u ti ful vol ume of a popul a r chara cter il l u st ra ted i n co l ours ,

fr om wood bl ocks v i z : Gems fr om the P oets (Groombri dg e

, .

It conta i ned besi des t he ill umi na ted hal f t i tl e twenty

,
-
,

fou r full page pl a tes fin e exampl es of pur e chromo xyl ogra phy
-
,
-
,

whi ch were en gra ved by Fa wcett af ter dr a win gs by F A . .

L ydon a Driffiel d youth who ser ved hi s a ppr en t ices hi p wi th

,

Fa wcett an d rem ai ned wi th hi m until 1883 when he r emoved

, ,

to London wher e one of hi s sons still ca rri es on the busi ness

,

of a desi gner an d engra ver for col our work an d an other son i s ,

an etch e r of p r oce s s col ou r bl oc ks both h a vi ng hel ped thei r ,

fa ther i n hi s work for Fa wcett Bri l l i ant sky efiec t s are .

a fea tu r e of the l a ndsca pes Fa wcett pri nted i n col ours fr om

L ydon s designs though t h e ti nts in some of the pi ctu r es

’

ar e ra the r dry an d fla t ; ha nd presses wer e used an d -

,

t h e in ks wer e pr epar ed on the pr emi ses fr om d ry col ours .

Fa wcett ha ving an enormous ca pa ci ty for work superin tended ,

every depa rt ment of t he busi n ess pe rsonall y in fa ct hi s work ,

was hi s onl y hobby an d t h e Morris M emoi r descr ibes hi m as

,

somewh a t of a r ecl use in oth er respec t s so much so tha t m any ,

r esi dents in Dri fii el d never even set eyes on hi m Hi s gr ea t est .

ill ustra ted wo r k was Morri s s Cou n ty S eats of Gr ea t B r i ta i n

'

a nd Ir ela n d sta r ted i n hal f cr ow

,
n par ts by L on gman s in 1864
-
, .

Ea ch vol ume contai ns forty col our ed pl a tes mostl y prod uced ,

in eight tints an d the first two vol umes wer e i ssued by Bel l
,

16 1
11
 C OLO U R P RI N TI N G

8c B al dy who succeeded L on gmans M a cken zi e a nother

, .
,

London publisher ha d c ha rge of the other four the work

, ,

being fin all y issued u n til i t s compl eti on i n 1880 to subscri bers

, ,

on ly of whom ther e were a bout ten thousa nd The si x

, .

vol umes were publi shed a t ni ne gui neas an d there was an ,

a dditi on al vol u me of fa csimil e a utogra phs of subsc ribers ,

a cur i ous i dea Al though the r ece i pts from t he wo rk were

.

in the neighbourhood of i t was not a commercial

success These vol u mes con t a in much good col our pri nti ng
.
,

though some of the pictures a re a l ittl e ha rd i n a ppeara nce ,

a n d it is sa i d tha t a bout sepa ra te bl ocks were eng r a ved

for them Among othe r books for which Fa wcett pr oduced

.

col oured pl a tes may be menti oned H il b erd s R u sti c A dor n ment s '

wi th ill ustr a ti on s whi ch remind one somewha t of t hose

i n B a xter s Ca bi n et of P a i n ti n gs they being su rr o u nded by a
’

broa d pl ai n border i n the greyish tin t often seen i n Fa wcett s '

books L owe s B ea u ti fu l L ea v ed P la n t s
'
wi t h six ty
col oured pl a tes Houghton s B ri ti sh F r esh Wat er Fi shes wi th ’
-
,

forty eight fin e pl a tes (one of Fa wcett s b est na tura l histo ry

’
-

books) a n d Couch s H{story of t he Fi shes o/ the B ri ti sh I sta n ds

'

wi th 256 pl a t es From a pi ctori al point of vi ew one of the

.
,

ha ndsomest col our ill ustra ted works issued from t he Dri ffiel d
-

press was Ross s R u i n ed A bbeys of B ri ta i n (M a ckenzi e

’

whi ch is i n two foli o vol u mes ea ch containing si x reall y fin e ,

pl a tes which ma y ra nk a mongst the best wo rk of the ki nd

, .

Soon a fter i t s publi ca ti on Fa wcett s hea l th b ega n t o fa il an d

,
’

l a ter on he was compell ed to l ea ve the b u si nes s i n the c ha rge of

hi s sons who do not seem to h a ve i n heri ted all thei r fa ther s
’

energy an d tal ent the tra de gra duall y fel l off an d some ,

fin an c i al l osses prempi t a t ed a c rash i n when t h e busi ness

came to a n end Fa wcett h a d di ed a t the commencemen t of
.

the previ o us yea r an d was thus spa red the p ai n of seeing hi s

,

pl an t come to the hamme r as i t did i n J a nu a ry , Though ,

personall y al most u nknown outsi de t he li ttl e to wn in which he

li ved for si xty yea rs he was a r emar ka bl e ma n i n ma ny ways
, ,

an d the d a y ma y yet come when t he bea uti ful col ou r print s he

162
 CO LO U R P RIN TIN G

r epr oducti ons i n col ours fr om wood bl ocks of the stai ned
glass wi ndows of Strasburg Ca thedral engra ved to scal e ,
.

There was al so a li thogra phed map ti nted by l etterpres s ,

pri nti ng an d some ill ustra t ions of sol di ers pri nted i n oil
, ,

col ours an d moun ted on car dboa rd to serve as chil dr en s ’

toys Ma ny hundr eds of thousands of these wer e turned out

.

by Sil berman n I n 1872 a fter a car eer of fo rty yea rs as a

.
,

pri nter he dec i ded to r eti re from busi ness an d i n o rder to

, ,

mar k the occasi on issued an A lbu m d I mpressi on s Typo ’

g r a phi q u es en Caut eu r cont a i n i ng,fif t y t wo pl a tes The ti tl e -

.

from the former Al bum was re used an d ther e were ma ny -

,

other fin e col our pl a tes in a ddi ti on in c l udin g a ch roma ti c ,

sca l e con st ructed by M Chevreul compri sin g seven ty thr ee

.
,
-

sha des an d some r eprod uct i ons of decora t i ons fr om ill umi na ted
,

MSS Most of the pri nts however wer e in on l y t wo or thr ee

.
, ,

ti nts though Sil berman n s chi ef obj ect in the publ i ca ti on of t he

,
’

vol u me was to show other typogra phers the possi bili t i es of

l etterp ress pri nti ng i n col ours hi s own efiort s i n tha t di r ecti on
,

ha vi ng been so well a ppr eci a ted tha t they gai ned for hi m
el even prize medal s a t vari ous e xhibi ti ons H e di ed a t Pari s .

i n 1876 .

The most noteworthy l i v i ng exp onen ts of chr omo xyl ogra phy -

on t he Conti n ent are u ndoubtedl y t he Brothers Kn b fler of ,

Vi enn a who for mor e tha n a quar ter of a century h a ve been

, , ,

p roduci ng the bea uti fu l col our pri nts whi ch ma y b e seen i n
the wi ndows of ma ny London a rt dea l ers Thei r fa ther .
,

Hei nri ch Kn ofier (1824 pioneered this cl ass of work

i n A ust ri a H e was t he son of a carpen ter a t Schmoll n i n
.
,

Sax e Al tenberg but though origi n all y put to fol l ow the same
-
,

tra de was desti ned to do somethi ng better wi t h wood tha n

,

mer el y sh a pe i t wi th sa w an d pl a ne H is ar ti sti c tendenci es .

soon ma nifested themsel ves an d a fter a few l essons in oil ,

p ai n t i ng from a Dresden artist he st arted on the u sual pil gri m ,

age of the young German wo rkm an i n the course of w hi ch , ,

duri ng a sta y a t Mei ssen he fou n d mean s of obtai ni ng some

,

i nst r ucti on i n wa ter col ou r S t ill worki ng as a ca rpenter he

-
.
,

164
 1111111111 14 1 0 1?

E AR L Y I T A L I A N WOO D -
E N G R AV I N G
e
A d op t d t o O l d S t y le P i r n t ing

e
Pr in t d b y G e
or g e l
Fa k n e r 81 S o n s, 1 70 Du n st a n

c
M a n hest e r
 COLO U R P RIN TI N G

col ou r pri ntin g in red an d bl a c k wi th a seri es of two col our ,

-

i ni t i al s t he l etteri ng of t he titl e bei ng i n r ed bl ue an d gol d

, ,
.

The fronti spi ece was considered of su fi c i en t i nteres t an d

i mpor t an ce to b e ill ustra ted seventeen yea rs l a ter i n all i t s ,

sta ges of p r od ucti on in H von Wei ssen b a c h s Der Xyla

’
.
,

m
g p h i sc he F a r bem t m c h i ssued a t ,N u r embe r g i n 1878 i n a ,

very li mi ted edi ti on A copy of this ma y be seen i n the

.

Tec hn i c al L i bra ry of the S t Bri de Founda ti on but for some .

,

r eason or o t he r Kn ii fler s n a me w as not m enti oned an d

’

hi s impri nt was even cut off the bl ocks whi ch wer e pri nted ,

by Ludwig Lott of Vi enn a Another hu e exa mpl e of Kn b fler s

’
.
,

col our work was t he seri es of twel ve ill ustra tions to F von .

Seeb u rg s Der A egypti sc he J oseph publ i shed by F Pu stet

’
.
,

a t R a ti sbon i n 1878 w hi ch ar e excell ent specimens of ch romo

,

xyl ogra phy engra ved from pi ctur es speci all y pai nted by C
,
.

M a dj era an d E Fessl er . .

Hei nri ch the el der of t he two brothers who now car ry on the
,

busi ness (b orn i n commenced his trai ni ng as a woodcut

engra ver for col ou r work i n his fa ther s esta bli shment i n 1873 ’
,

an d two yea rs l a te r w as j oined by hi s brother Rudol f (born

They underwent a l ong peri od of pr ob a tion al though ,

thei r fa ther s incr easi ng in firmi t i es soon ca used them to ta ke

’

a mor e or l e s s a cti ve p a r t i n the busi n ess whi ch they took over ,

en ti rel y in 1884 Duri ng the fiv e foll owin g yea rs they worked

.

for vari ous A ustri an Ge rma n an d French publi shi ng firms

, ,

but for some twenty yea rs past h ave c hi efly c on fin ed them

sel ves to t he p r oducti on of col ou r pri nts for a Germ a n a r t

publ ishi ng house In the earl i er peri od they d i d ma ny pi ctures

.

fr om t he desi gns of Professo r J Kl ein i nc l udi ng a seri es of .

,

twenty formi ng a Rosa ry an d fourteen others ill ustra t i ng

,
”

The Way of the Cross Reli gi ous subj ects also form the
.
”

bulk of those deal t wi th i n the pri nts executed for t he Germ a n

firm an d i n most cases they ar e copi ed fr om pai nt i ngs by the
,

Ol d M asters i n vari ous It ali an Museums an d Art Gall eri es ,

as well as i n t he Royal G al l ery a t B ra den an d the N a t i on a l

Gall e ry i n L ondon They ar e reproduced ent i rel y from wood

.

166
 C OLO U R PRI N TI N G

in col ours As to col oured printing i nks the Jury thought tha t
. ,

most of the c r edi t for thei r r ecent i mprovement was due to

Mr De l a Rue though they were of opi ni on tha t the red in k
.
,

then i n use was not eq ual i n brill i ance to tha t of the fift een t h
a n d sixteenth centur i e s A Gl asgow pr inte r W Ma ckenz i e , . ,

ha d i nvented a method of pr inti ng in two co l ours from t he sa me

p age of type wi thout li ftin g from the press an d some speci men s
, ,

of work done by i t wer e shown Mr J S Hodson of Portu gal . . . .

,

Street L i ncol n s I n n Fi el ds exhi bi ted a n umber of exam pl es

,
’

of l etterpress printi ng i n colours a n d t he Exhi bi tion Ca tal ogu e

,

conta ined several speci mens of col our work i ncl udi ng a n ,

exampl e of Ty poc h roma t i c P ri nt i n g invented by Mr ,

.

F W Ro wney of the L ondon a rt publi shi ng house

. .
,
T he .

col ours wer e a ppli ed from wood or metal an d t he pi cture was ,

generall y ma de up from them as t he usua l o u tl ine bl oc k was

,

not used Rowney subsequen tl y publ ished some

. Wa ter
col our engra v in gs produced by this process i ncl udin g a ,

ser i e
s of R i ver Sketches by R P N obl e though both . .
,

design an d col ou ri ng were of a ra ther el ementa ry order .

L ei ghton s proces s was represented by the publi ca ti ons of the

'

fir m for which he pri nci pall y worked C u nda ll 8c Ad d ey , .

Oi t he numerous B ri tish firms who di d col our pri nti n g fro m

r eli ef su rfa ces du rin g the l a tte r par t of the l ast cent u r y sp a ce ,

will onl y all ow a reference to a few Messrs Cooper Cla y 81 . .

, .

Co of L ondon produced i n 1869 for S ampson L ow81 Co an

.
, , , .
,
'
edi ti on of Gra y s E l egy on a Cou n try Chu rc hya rd i n i mper i al
oc t avo ill ustra ted by si xteen ful l page pl a tes in col ours printed
,
-
,

i n a styl e wh i ch su ggests t ha t somethi ng ha d been bo rrowed

from both Lei ghton a n d Knight s methods The col our bl ocks ’
.

ha d a rough gra in an d the pictur es were compl eted by t he

,

pri ntin g of t he outline bl ock i n bl a ck Simil a r work is seen .

i n The Twel ve P a r abl es of Ou r Lord (M a cmil l an 1870) whi ch ,

conta i ns a titl e page an d frontispi ece sli ghtl y remi niscent of

-

Ba x ter s work as well as several other col our ed ill ustra ti on s

’

by the sam e firm .

S o fa r as i t s styl e an d ch ara cte r a re concerned on e of the ,

168
MISCEL LAN EOU S C OL OU R P RI N TE D B OO KS -

most ori ginal exa mpl es of col our work as a ppl ied to j uv en il e ,

books is the fa csimi l e reproducti on for Eyr e 81 Spott iswoode

, ,

in 1888 of Dick D oyl e s MS a ccoun t of j a c k the Gi a n t Ki ll er

,
’
. ,

c ompil ed by th a t fa mous ar tist i n 1842 There a re col oured .

ill ust ra ti o ns an d bo rders to every pa ge from wh i ch we c a n ,

ga ther th a t even i n his boyhood s da ys Dicky was an ’

a r ti st of no mea n powers an d w as bri mful of the humou r

,

tha t cha ra cteri sed most of his l a ter work The B rothers .

D al zi el a re not generall y kn own to h a ve engra ved for col our

pri nti ng but a t l east one work was ill ustra ted by them i n tha t
,

wa y an d pr inted a t their es tabli shment

, This i s Odes a n d .

S on n ets (Routl edge whi ch contai ns a number of

,

wood engra vi ngs a fter Birket Foster pri nted in brown an d , ,

col our ed from two tone bl ocks The vol ume a lso has a seri es .

of hea d a n d ta il pieces an d orna menta l i n i tials i n t hr ee co l ours

-
,

as wel l as a h a l f titl e frontispiece ti tl e a n d general titl e

-
, , ,

t hese bei ng p ri nted i n a bout h al f a dozen col ou rs from wood

bl ocks Most peopl e will prob a bly pr efer the ti nted i ll u stra
.

tions to the decora ti ve col ou r work which is not of a very high ,

order A titl e pa ge of si mil a r chara cter entirel y pri nted in

.
-

c ol ours from wood occu rs i n An n Tayl o r 5 My Mother (Par t

,

ri dge , 1867 ) but the fu ll page col oured woodcuts ar e of an

-

a l together di ffe r ent t pe from those i n t he Da lz i el vol ume

y
there bei ng no impri nt the wri ter ca nnot say by whom the
,

book was pr oduced Wal ter H ay a L ondon ma chine wood

.
,

e ngra ver has done a l ot of wonder fu ll y good co l our bl ock wo rk

,

by engra vi ng the ti nts on the wood engra ve rs rul i ng machine ’

.

Ol d provi nci a l exa mpl es of col our pri nti ng a re not very
pl enti ful al though t wo or thr ee firms seem to ha ve ma de a
,

sort of speci a li ty of thi s cl ass of w o rk a bout t he mi ddl e of t he

l ast century A mong them was Bi nns 8c G ood wi n of B a th
.
,

who produced B annister s Pi c tori a l Geogra phy of t he Hol y L a n d

’

i n 185 1 wi th every page surrounded by v a ri col oured ru l e

,
-

bor ders Books with col oured bo rders to the pages were ra ther
.

popul a r a t the t i me a n d a L i verpool typogra pher Da v i d

, ,

Ma rpl es ex cell ed i n th a t di recti on a good spec i men of his

,

169
 COLOU R P RIN TIN G

wor k is A B ri dal Gi ft i n whi ch t he bo rders a re r ea l l y

ar ti sti c exa mpl e s of pu re ch romo typogra phy This i s not mer e -
.

combi na ti on work but a seri es of well desi gned decora ti ve ,

-

orna ments in al most in fin i t e vari ety wi th col oured hea d a n d ,

ta il pi eces i ni ti al s etc They are frequentl y i n two col ours

-
, .
,

pri nted by su c c ess1v e opera ti on s an d the secti on al ti tl es a re i n ,

fiv e tints i ncl udi ng bl a ck a n d gol d ; t he l etterpress col our

,

pri nter of to d ay mi ght ga ther ma ny usefu l hi nts from thi s

-

cha rmi ng li ttl e vol ume Col our ed bo rder work of a very si mil ar .

c h ar a cte r pe rha ps i nsp i r ed by M a rpl es wo rk occu rs in Guess

'
, ,

i f Y ou Can (Bogu e whi c h was pri nted by Vizet ell y

, .

In Bern ar d s Comforts of Old A ge (6t h edi ti on L on gmans 1846)

’

, ,

every pa ge is surrounded wi th a broa d decora ti ve border

prin ted i n bl ue by E Rogers of Shenl ey pr esuma b l y t he Her ts
.
, ,

v ill age of th a t n ame A two c ol our ti tl e was ori gi n a ll y pr ovi ded

.
-

for thi s vol ume but the one ul tima tel y a dopted is in the sa me
,

styl e as the t ex t p ages A da ms Ori ent a l Text B ook a nd

’
.

L a n gua ge of F low ers (L ondon 184 has the t ext pri nted by ,

Dea n 81 Son i n vari ous col oured inks every p age ha vi ng ,

a br oa d fl ora l bo rder generall y i n one col ou r on a t i nted,

grou nd so tha t three pri nti ngs were neces sary but t he i n ks
, ,

u sed for the decora ti ve work a re pal e an d washy an d the ,

designs poor The cl oth covers a re pri nted i n gol d a n d col our
.
,

an ear l y ex a mpl e of the ki nd The onl y other speci mens .

of l etterpress work i n col our to whi ch spa ce will pe rmi t

men ti on ar e those got out i n the for t i es by M A Ri chardson . .
,

of N ewcastl e on Tyne A vol u me of P oems by the Rev

- -
. .

R C Coxe M A Vi car of N ewcastl e

. .
, . .
,
has the l ette ri ng
of the ti tl e i n r ed bl ue an d bl a ck wi thi n a woodcut border
, ,

i n fiv e col ou rs al though one or two of thes e ma y h a ve been

,

put i n by hand as was c ert aml y the case wi th the col ou ri ng

,

of some of the orna mental i nitial s a few of whi ch however , , ,

were pri nted i n three col ours ther e bei ng al so some hea d an d ,

ta il pi ec es in col our A ccordi n g to the Prefa ce t he wo rk was

-
.
,

p roduced in thi s manner from a desi re to encoura ge meri

t ori ou s l oc al t al ent an d for the cr edi t s sa k e of the Pr o v i ncial
’

170
 COLO U R P RIN TI N G

a ppea r ed in t he Gr a phi c Ma ny of them such as S i r J E

.
,
. .

"
M ill ai s Cherry Ri pe (1880) of whi ch ove r hal f a mil l i on
’
- -

copies were i ssu ed S i r F L ei ghton s Desdemona (1890)

.
’

L uke Fil d es por t ra i t of H M the Queen an d hi s Shep

’
.

herdess an d Lo rd L ei ghton s Fl a mi ng J une ’

will be famili ar to most r ea ders of this vol ume In the l a st .

named as i n some other pl a tes produced by this proc es s a wood

, ,

bl ock was used to gi ve a small pa r t of the ou t l i n es b u t most ,

of the pri nts wer e pure aqua ti nts so fa r as t he method of pro ,

d u c i n g the bl oc ks was conce rned the grounds be i ng p repared ,

a n d t he ton es etched i n t he u sual w ay an d c asts ta ken fr om ,

the pl a tes subsequentl y for reli ef pri nti ng There was a pl a te

, .

for ea ch col our fou r or fiv e being t he a verag e num be r u sed

, ,

though somet i mes as ma ny as ni ne wer e call ed for Compar ed .

wi th t he th ree c ol ou r proces s tha t has n owtak en i t s pl a ce i n t he

-

Gr a phi c Mr Hod son s method w as of course sl ow but w hether

'
.
, ,

i t i n an y way suffers by compa rison is a ma tte r th a t c an sa fel y

be l eft to the j udgment of t he ar t isti cal ly mi nded N obl e s
’
.

Col ou r P ri n t i n g (1881) con ta i ns a deta il ed a ccount of the

vari ous proces ses necessa ry for the producti on by thi s method , ,

of the col our ed pl a tes for the Chri stmas 1879 numb er of t he , ,

The age of col our ed book i ll ustra ti on i n Fra nc e di d not

b egi n u ntil t he ei ghti es but a coupl e of mi nor e xa mpl es of an
,

ea rli er pe ri od ma y b e menti oned An edi ti on of De S ac y s

'
.

tran sl a ti on of t he Four Gospel s (Les E va n gc les) publi shed

’

by Du b oc het et Cie a t P ari s i n 1838 wa s ill ustra ted wi t h

, ,

'
woodcuts an d decora ti ve bor ders i n the fashi on of Kni ght s
contempora ry edi ti on of t h e Book of Common Pra yer The .

l etteri ng of t he ha l f t i tl e i s in r ed an d bl a ck on a r eti c u l a ted

-
,

ba ckgr ound of combi na ti on cha ra cter pri nted i n bl ue ,

a n d arr anged i n the form of a cross su rr o u nded by a bo r der ,

a lso i n bl ue The . Sa inte Veroni ca frontispi ece is in

bl a ck red gol d an d l ight brown an d fa ced by a very el a b
, , ,

ora te orna mental ti tl e page pri nted i n red blue an d gol d

-
, , ,

proba bl y from wood bl ocks The vol u me al so contai ns .

17 2
FREN CH L ETTERP RESS WO RK IN C OLOU R

se veral oth er secti on al titl es i n red bl ue an d bl a ck An

, .

edi tion of De Gen ou d e s Fr ench transl a tion of The Imi ta ti on

’

of j esu s Chri st publi shed a t Pari s i n 1840 has the first ti tl e

, , ,

of pi ctori al design pri nted i n brown an d bl a ck an d a number

, ,

of woodcuts pri nted i n bl a ck an d surrounded wi th an emb l e

ma ti c border i n br own are sca ttered th rough the vol ume ,

whi ch i s concei ved much on the sa me l i nes as the Gospel s

j ust referred to .
 CH A PTER VII
CHRO M O -
L ITH OG RA P H Y

5 5 0 1 10 11 1
FR OM r u e I N V E N TION o r T HE A R T TO 1850

HEof li thogra phy i nvented by John

ar t ,

Al oysius Senefel der of M u nich in 1796 , , ,

depends upon a very simpl e pr i ncip l e ,

viz the a tt ra ction which ca l ca reo us

.
,

stone has for wa ter a n d gre asy su b

st a nce
s an d the wa nt of a ffin i t y between
,

the two l a tte r A sl a b of this stone .

h a vi ng been du l y polished an d pre

pa red i s wri tten or dra wn upon with for exa mpl e a
, , ,

cra yon in whi ch the col ouri ng med i um is mi xed wi th fa tty

or gr e asy m a teri al s ; a d arn p r oll er be ing t hen passed ove r

the stone the surfa ce of the l a tter a bsorbs the moisture

, ,

which i s however repell ed by t he greasy li nes of the design

, ,
.

A r oll er ch arged wi th a gr easy i n k being next p assed ove r the

stone , the i n k is repell ed from the damp surfa ce but ta ken ,

up by the l i nes of the des ign an d by them tra nsfe rred by ,

pr essu re to a sheet of pa per i n t he form of a copy of tha t

,

design The pri ncipl es whi ch govern the a rt of produci ng

.

pi ctur es by chromo li thogra phy a re the sa me as those whi ch

-

a ppl y in the case of ch r omo xyl ogra phy-

the compl ete design
,

bei ng first prepa red an d the numbe r of tints i n which i t sha ll

,

b e r epr oduced decided upon tha t po rt i on of i t whi ch i s to b e

,

i n a pa rt i cul a r col our i s d ra wn on the surfa ce of a l itho stone ,

an d so on w ith the other colours ea ch on a di fferent stone , ,

the pr i nt bei ng buil t up by the successi ve impressi ons fr om

the col ou r stones The u se of co l our ed in pl a ce of bl a ck , ,

i n k in li thogra phy da tes fr om t he ea rl y yea rs of the proc es s ,

which was i ntroduced i nto England i n 1800 by the i nventor

174
 C OLOU R P RIN TIN G

to pr oduce decora ti ve desi gns in several col ours was J A . .

B ar th of Bresl a u
, As earl y as 18 11 he issu ed some l i tho
.

gra phed ill ustrati ons col oured by ha nd an d i n 18 16 produced ,

the first edi ti on of a work entitl ed P ac t s Mon u men tu m

a pol ygl ot r eco rd of t he m ai n fa cts connected w i th the Pea ce
of 18 15 This is a foli o vol ume in whi ch man y pages of
.
,

the t ext are surrou nded by an orn amen tal border pri nted
in a si n gl e col our but mor e p roba bl y fr om wood or metal su r
,

fa ces tha n from stone A second edi ti on was publ ished in

.

18 18 an d on this occas i on the p ri nter r epla ced the bo rders i n

,

monochr ome by others li t hogra phed in several ti nts fiv e or ,

si x in so me c ases The col ours are l ai d on fl a t as usual in

.
,

earl y exa mpl es of chr omo li thogra phy an d the r egister is not
-
,

par ti cu l arl y good though the col ours are bri ght a c i rc ul ar
,

desi gn on t he titl e page is pri nted in br own on gr een wi th

-
,

four gol d stars a bove i t A ccordi ng to a passa ge i n t he Prefa ce

.
,

the col oured borders i n this vol u me exhi bi t the resul ts of an

a ttempt a t prin ti ng i n c ol ou rs en ti rel y fr om stone wi thout ,

an y subsequent r etouchi ng by ha nd (qu a li thogra ph s si n e al t o

m fig
'

p en i c i lh a d i a en t o u r e s c ol or at u s efli
’
c er et ) Some of the
pages ha ve hea d pi ec es onl y but stil l pri nted in col ours
-
, .

A r ti stica ll y consi dered the desi gn s ar e ra ther cr u de but

, ,

thei r positi on in r el a ti on to the history of col our pri nti n g

gi ves them a speci al i nter est Thi s a ppea rs to have been an
.

entir el y i ndependent effor t an d as such st a nds al one

, .

The common method of produci ng col our efi ec t i n li t ho

gra phy for t he first thi rt y years or so of t h e l as t cen tu ry was
, ,

proba bl y suggested by the ol d chi ar oscur o pri nts the outli nes ,

being pri nted i n bl a ck on a col oured gr ound whi ch had t he ,

li ghts sc ra ped out a l thou gh in some i nstances the gr ound was

,

sol id an d the li ghts i ndi ca ted on t he pr int by ha nd i n Ch i nese

whi te In thi s wa y a thr ee col our pi ctur e was pr oduced by two

.
-

pri nti ngs An earl y exa mpl e of wha t may thus b e termed the
.

chi ar oscuro l i thogra ph i s the por tra i t of Senefel der whi ch

a ppears i n hi s Campl et e Cc u r se of L i t hogr a phy publi shed i n ,

Germany an d Engl and (L ondon R A ckerman n ) i n 18 18 19 ,

.
-
.

176
EA RL Y COLOU R L ITH O GRA P HS

This is in bl a ck an d brown an d the sa me vol ume contain s a

,

fa csi mil e in r ed bl ue an d bl a ck of an initial i n one of the ea r l y

, , ,

Men tz Psal ters Sever al r efer ences to the possi bil ity of pri nt
.

ing pi ctur es i n col ours from stone i n i mi ta ti on of oil pai ntings , ,

were ma de by Senefel der in the work i n questi on but the i dea ,

does not seem to h a ve been ca rri ed out in pra ctice a t tha t peri od ,

t h e chi a r osc ur o effect bei ng pr eferr ed no doubt owi ng to i t s ,

sirn pli c i t y an d comp ar a tive chea pness Th e col our ed gr ound .

was most commonl y of a l emon t i nt though wh a t i s now often ,

ca ll ed a Rembrandtes que effect was obt a ined by usi ng a

pi nki sh tone Engel ma nn (1788 1839) di d thi s a t P aris i n the
.
-

earl y twenti es thr ee col our work was al so pra ctised as ea rl y

-

as 1820 a bl a ck pri n t on a toned gr ou nd bei ng sepi a ti nted

,
-

i n the sh a do ws from a thi r d stone Some of the fin est exampl es

.

of t i nt wor k in li t hogra phy are to be seen i n the seri es of

r epr oducti ons (Di e S a mmh m etc of p ctu the Mun i ch
g ) i r es,
i n .

Royal Gall eri es tha t was produced in thi rt y ei ght par ts

,
-

fr om 1820 onwar ds for a numb er of years under t he di r ecti on ,

of J N S t rix n er some of the pl a tes being li thogr a phed by

. .
,

himsel f though the pri nte r of most of them was B Bem er

, . .

I n these the ti nt do es not cover the whol e of t he ba ckground ,

but onl y where i t wil l pr odu ce a parti cul ar effect par ts of ,

the surfa ce bein g l eft uncol oured even i n some of the l a ter
pri nts of this seri es the high l ights are indica ted by hand wi th
a b r ush . Thes e methods of pr oduci ng col ou red or ra ther ,

ti nted pi ctures by pri nti ng li thogr a phi c designs on bl a c k

,

on a col oured ground wer e des cribed an d ill ustra ted by

,

C J H u ll man d el in hi s A r t 0 ] Dra w
. . i n g «42011 S ton e (London ,

1824) an d by Engel ma nn— i n whose stu di o H u ll man d el

had pe r fected hi s knowl edge— i n the Ma n uet da Dessi n a teu r
L i thogr a phe publ ished i n P ar is a bou t the same t ime
, .

Chromo l ithogr a phy properl y so ca ll ed as disti ngu i shed

-
,

from the bl a ck an d ti nt work just all uded to may be con

- -
,

si d ered to d a te fr om the issue of the P ac t s Mon u men tu m .

The next experimenter in this dir ecti on seems to ha ve been

Fra n z Weisha upt of Mun i ch who pr epar ed in 1822 a bout
, ,

177
12
 COLOU R PRI N TIN G

si xty botan i ca l pl a tes l ithogra phed in colours to il l ustra te

, ,

a wor k on B razil by M a r ti n s an d Spi x Hi ther to t he Ba vari a n .

,

c api ta l ha d carri ed off m ost of the honou rs i n connec ti on with

t he production of l ithogra phs i n col ours but proba bl y t he ,

fin est exemplific a t i on of pur e chr omo li thogra phy i n the -

t wenti es occu rs i n the pl a tes for the ear l y pa rts of Wilhel m

Za hn s spl endi d work on the remai ns of a nci ent pi ctor ial
’

a r t d i scover ed i n the bur i ed c i t i es of Ca mpa ni a Di e S c hd n st en ,

Or na men te a n d Mer kwii rdi gsten Gemald e a u s P ompei i H er ku ,

la n u m a n d S ta bi ce This i s a very l a rge foli o the p ages meas u r

.
,

in g a bout 24 x 30 inches an d the th ree vol umes of which ,

i t c onsists wer e over thir ty yea rs i n passin g t hrough the

pres s the first few par ts being published in
, an d the l ast

i n 1859 Al l the pl a tes a re not i n col ours but t he task of

.
,

prin tin g those tha t a re wa s a pparentl y di v i ded amongst

several li thogra phi c houses incl ud i ng J Storck C H il de
, .
, .

bra ndt C G Herwig a n d the Prussi a n Sta te Pri nt ing Offic e

, . .
,
.

They r eproduce in the col ours of the origina ls wal l pa inti ngs
, , ,

friezes mosa i cs etc four or fiv e ti nts bei ng usual l y empl oyed

, ,

the ti tl e of the first vol ume is pr i nted in red an d surrou nded ,

by a n orn amental border in col ours the i mpri nt bei ng I n ,

f a r ben ged m c kt i n d em L i t hogr I n sti t u t v an S t ar c

. h The .

sa me li thogra pher produced most of the pl a t in t he earl y

par ts as Hil deb randt s n am e does not a ppea r u ntil Pa rt 63
,
'

i s r ea ched Her e a n d ther e wher e sma ll or na rrow ,

pa tches of col our ha d to be a ppli ed we hn d some hand work ,

-
,

b u t spea ki ng general l y i t ma y b e sa i d tha t the col ou r pl a tes

, ,

a re genui ne chr omo li thogra phs The a rt of pri nti ng bl ended

-
.

or superimposed col ou rs fr om stone b el ongs to a l a ter peri od ,

an d hence we fin d tha t t hese Berl i n p i ctur es a re co l ou r ed by

pl ai n fl a t soli d tin ts incl udi ng bl a ck when necessa ry Sti ppl ed

, , .

l ithogra phs in col o u rs were a lso r a r e a t this t i me an d the re ,

is onl y one such i n t he first vo l ume of Za hn s wor k al though

’

there a re several in the second whi ch was compl eted i n 1842 , ,

one bei ng by H Delin san d a nother by Hil debra ndt The

.
,
.

l a tter was al so engaged in the production of the co l our pl a tes

178
 COLO U R P R I N T I N G

of li thogra phy Muni ch i n 1814 subseq uentl y putti ng tha t

at ,

knowl edge i nto pra ctice for a yea r or so a t Mulhouse befor e ,

goin g to P ari s As early as 1828 the Soci été d E n c ou ra gemen t

.
,
'

pour l I n d ust ri e N a ti onal e a t Par is ha d offered a prize of

’

francs for the i nventi on of a pra ctical meth od of pri nti ng

pi ctures i n col ours by me ans of li thogra phy but whether ,

c l a i med or not i t ha d not been a wa rded to anyone p ri or to

,

t he time when Engel ma nn sta r ted hi s experi ments in t ha t li ne

i n the thir ti es B y the l a tter pa r t of 1836 he ha d br ought
.

hi s pr ocess to a tol era bl e degr ee of perfec ti on an d pa tri oti ca l l y ,

decided to communi ca te the par ti cu l ars of hi s success to the

Soc iété Industri ell e du Mul house (whi ch is sti l l to the fr ont
i n encour agi ng ar t an d i ndustr y) of which he was a member
,
.

His l etter was r ea d a t a general meeti ng of t he Soci ety hel d

on D ecember 2 1st when severa l speci mens of his wor k wer e
,

exhibited an d on J anuary 15t h 1837 E ng el mann obtai n ed

, , ,

a Fr ench p a tent for t en year s for hi s i nventi on to whi ch he ,

ga ve i t s presen t name of chromo li thogra phy Ha vi ng

-
.

thus secured hi s ri ght to exc l usi vel y ope ra te t he process ,

th er e was no l onger an y da nger in m aking t he deta il s publi c ,

an d a ccor di n gl y some membe rs of the Soci é t é d E n c ou ra ge

’

men t con sti tutin g a commi ttee to exami ne t he meri ts of

,

hi s i nven ti on were permi tt ed to see his methods in Opera ti on

, ,

an d to pu ll a few i mp ressi ons themsel ves Thei r r epor t .

bei ng sa ti sfa ctory Engel man n was a warded the l ong stan d
,

i n g prize of In order tha t the val ue of hi s i nventi on

might be si mil ar l y r ecogni sed by t he Mul house Soci ety several ,

members of i t s Fine Art s Commi ttee wer e l i kewise all owed

to see his l i thogra phi c col our pri nti ng pr oc es s i n opera ti on .

The Commi ttee s r epor t on the su bj ec t was r ea d a t a meeti ng

’

of t he Soci ety hel d on March 29 t h 1837 an d must h ave been , ,

a ve ry sa t i sfa cto ry one from E n gel man n s poi nt of vi ew the

’

utili ty an d i mporta nce of the i nventi on bei ng strongl y dwel t

u pon by t hose w ho ha d ha d t he a dva nt age of seei ng i t a t
work The Soci ety however wa i ted u ntil June of t he foll ow
.
, ,

i n g year befor e givi n g e ffect to i t s Commi ttee s opi n i on so

’

180
 COLOU R P RI N TIN G

in col ours down to t he Vi ctori an era but i t mu st not ,

b e su pposed th a t the mul ti col our pri nt pr ompt l y di spl a ced

-

the ol d bl a ck an d tin t work or even the ordin a ry bl a ck an d

- -
,
-

white prin t On the contra ry the ma j ori ty of pr ess col ou r ed

.
,
-

l i thogra phs in the thi rties an d fort i es are of the bl a ck an d ti nt - -

type the l emon or salmon col ou r ed gr ound being al most a

,
-

di stin guishin g fea tu r e of thi s peri od H an d col our ed l i t hos .

-

a re even commoner still thi s meth od bei ng oft en empl oyed

,

on pri nts of t he bl a ck an d ti nt spec i es

-
The vari ous isol a ted
-
.

a ttempts to est a bli sh l ith ogr a phy on a fir m footi ng in En l a nd

g ,

th a t ha d been ma de fr om to 1815 by Senefel der André , ,

B an kes a n d others ha d a ll ended in fail u r e an d i t was of

, ,

course l eft to the ubiqui tous German A ckerma nn) to do

wha t the n a ti ve pra cti ti oners ha d not succeeded i n But .

a fter the first few yea rs A ckerma nn s publi shi ng i nter es ts

’

devel oped in other di recti ons most of hi s books bei ng ill u stra ted
not wi th l i thogra phs but wi t h a qua ti nts or steel engr a vi ngs
, .

B y the twen ti es however the commer ci al as well as t he

, ,

art isti c a dva nt ages of li t hogr a phy had come to b e al bei t —

somewha t ta rdil y — r ecogni sed i n Engl and an d so the ar t ,

was bei ng pra ct i sed as a bu si ness though onl y on a smal l ,

scal e by seve ral firms

,
The ea rl i est of these seems to h ave
.

been tha t founded by Charl es Joseph H u llman d el (l 7& l 850) -

,

t he first Engli sh b om l i thogra pher who a tt ai ned to an y

-

degr ee of note i n tha t tra de He l ea rned the detai ls of the .

art i n Germa ny an d st a r ted wo r k on hi s ow a ccount i n

, n
L ondon as ear l y as 18 18 The a r ti stic side of li thogra phy
.

a ppea l ed mo re to H u ll man d el s in sti ncts than the u tili t ari a n

’

t he l a tter being h a ndl ed by an ex l a w wri ter Wil li am Da y -

, ,

who commenced busin ess i n Grea t Queen Str eet L i ncol n s ,

’

Inn Fiel ds a bout 1823 a fterwards r emovi ng to Ga te Street

, , ,

har d b y Chr omo li t hogr a phy wa s still in t he womb of the

.
-

fu tur e a t this peri od so far as Engl an d was concerned a t an y

,

ra te an d nei ther Da y or H u l l man d el seem to h a ve ma de an y

,

seri ou s es sa ys in tha t di r ec ti on i t bei ng l eft to two outsiders ,

to l ea d the way The first of thes e was Thomas De l a Rue

.
,

182
 C OLOU R P RI N T I N G

at Ba tal ha t e prep a re an a bsol utel y exhausti ve ill ustra ted

, . .
,

monogr a ph upon i t In his A r a bi a n A nti qu i ti es 0 / S pa i n

. ,

Murphy ha d also trea ted of the Al hambra b u t the bl aze ,

of col our on i t s walls a n d ceil ings coul d i n no wi se be r eali sed

from the l ine engra vi ngs wi th whi ch tha t work was il l ustra ted .

S o Jones set to work wi th penci l an d b rush an d copi ed mos t ,

of the fin est deta il i n the size an d col our of the origi nal
whilst so engaged his fri end Goury di ed of chol era a n d
, ,

though hi s wo rk was still u n fin ished the untowa rd event so ,

distur bed Jones t ha t he a ba ndoned his pai nti ng a n d sketch

i n g an d r etu r ned to Engl a nd Arrived ther e he se t a bou t
.
,

a rra nging hi s dr a wi ngs with a vi ew to p repari ng the pl a tes

for hi s pr oposed gr e a t work Wha t l ed him to choose l itho

.

gra phy as hi s producti ve met hod ca nnot n ow be cert ai nl y

known ; possi bl y he ha d hea rd of or seen wh a t was bei ng , ,

done on the Conti nent by tha t a rt in the way of col our work ,

al though i t must n ot be fo rgotten tha t i n 1835 ther e was ,

except B a xter (then compara ti vel y u nknown ) no col ou r

pri nter i n L ondon sa ve De l a R u e Jones m ade p ropo sal s .

to the few l ithogra phers there b u t wi th the except i on of Da y ,

the i ntri ca cy an d ma gn i tude of the task a ppal l ed them a n d ,

they profes sed themse l ves u na bl e to do the work Some ye ars .

pr evi ousl y D a y ha d ha d t he a dva ntage of secu ri ng the ser v i ces

,

of a youn g Bel gi a n a rtist Louis Haghe , who speedi l y

ma de a na me for hi msel f not mer el y in the t ra de but i n the
,

worl d of a rt by his spiri ted renderi ngs on the stone of pi ct ures

,

of Contin en tal li fe an d a r chi tecture B u t as Da y s firm was .

'

proba bl y not i n a posi t i on to do t he whol e of the work requir ed ,

Jones r esol ved to set up a li thogra phi c pri nti ng estab li shment
on hi s own a ccou nt a t his resi dence i n John Street A del phi
, ,
.

H e pur ch ased pr esses stones i nks an d all t he other neces sa ry

, ,

ma teri als an d engaged a st a fi of competent wor kmen These .

prel imi na ri es bei ng settl ed the work was put i n ha nd a n d by

, ,

Ma r ch 1836 nea rl y a yea r befor e E n gehn an n t he sel f styl ed

, , ,
-

i n ventor of ch ro mo li thogr a phy took out hi s p a tent th a t

-
, ,

a rt h a d m a de i t s deb u t i n Engl a nd thr ou gh the med i um of ,

184
THE FIRST EN GL ISH CHRO M O -
L ITH O GRA P H Y

ome of the Jones s P la n s E l eva ti on s S ec ti on s

ill ustra ti ons for
’

s , ,

a nd D et a i l s of the A l ha mbr a Though concei ved an d ca rried

.

out on a magn i fic en t scal e (ma ny of t he pl a tes a re 28 x 16

inches ) it c an h a rdl y be sai d tha t t his is a n in teresti ng work
f rom a n a rtistic po int of vi ew The incl usion of a few in teri or
.

an d exteri o r vi ew s in col our perspective woul d probabl y

, ,

h a ve grea t l y assisted the sa l e of the book but as i t wa s i t ,

tu rned out a compara tive fa il ur e Many of the ill ustra t i on s

.

are l ine eng ra vi n gs but much of the col our det a i l w

, as r epr e

sented i n fa csimil e by chr o mo l i thogr a phy si x or seven tints

-
,

bei ng used as a r u l e ; except i n the sha dows the col ouri n g ,

was usual l y a ppl ied fl a t as the na tur e of the work di d not

,

ca ll for an y other mode of trea tment M u ch of the mura l .

decora tion of the Al ha m b ra is el a bora tel y gil ded but this ,

i n no wise disconcerted Jones or Da y who pri nted gol d ,

by l i thogr a phi c methods wi th the sa me fa c ili ty as other

li thogra phers pr inted bl a ck .

This was al most a new b ra nch of the printing a rt i n Engl a nd ,

as har dl y an ything of the ki nd ha d b een done befor e by a n y

method an d so ca ll s for some a ttention here A l ittl e vol ume

, .

published in the Spri ng of 1818 in connection with the dea th

of the P ri ncess Charl otte (The B ea u ti es of S i n c en ty) ha d four
’

l i nes on i t s t i tl e page p ri nted i n gol d a ci rcumsta nce

-
hich
, w
was thou ght of such impo rt a nce as to warra nt it bei ng specia ll y
mentioned on the l a bel on the front cover tha t The prominent
, ,

"
pa rts of the Ti tl e of this Vol ume a re pri nted in Gol d The .

p ri nter was W Cl owes now a fam ili ar na me in t he t ra de but

.
, ,

a gr ea ter th a n he— i h the exposi t i on of the a r t of p ri nti n g i n

—
gol d ar ose in the pers on of John Whi ttaker a Wes tmi nster ,

bookbi nder who m ade use of the proces s of ster eotypi ng

, ,

which ha d not l ong befor e b een i n t rod u ced by Ea rl

—
S ta nhope the inventor of the p ress wh i ch bea rs hi s na me
i n conj unction with A ndr e w Wil son Whi tta ker was ra ther a
.

gol d bl ocker tha n a pri nter as he used hea ted ster eo pl a tes
,

to a pply his gol d to the sheet b u t his work is of too remarka bl e

,

a chara cter to be p assed ove r her e It hu ds i t s ea rli es t p u bli c

.

185
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

ex pr essi on in a spl en di d repri nt of the text of Magn a C har t a ,

i ssu ed a bout 1816 George I I I s copy i s i n the B ri tish Museu m

.
'

a go rgeousl y p r oduced fol i o in whi ch the text i s p ri nted i n ,

gol d on sheets of extra o rdi na ri l y thi ck vell um wh i ch a re , ,

however hea v il y embosse d on the ba ck

, A good deal of .

deco ra t i r a n s —
ve o n me t s uppl i ed by han d the ha nd of John
i
H a rri s whose skill in i mi ta ti ng an ci ent l etterin g an d m ini a tur e
,

pa i nti ng was al most u n ri val l ed The Soc i ety of A r ts was so .

i mp ressed wi th Whi tt aker s wor k tha t the Sec retary i nformed

’

hi m tha t a premi um woul d be a war ded for i t subj ect to the ,

usua l condi ti on v i z tha t par ti cu l ars of t he modu s opera nd i

, .
,

wer e commun i ca ted Thi s however Whitta ker dec l in ed to do

.
, , ,

pr eferri ng instea d to keep hi s methods secr et an d it was ,

not until a fter his dea th t ha t hi s fai t hful hel per Harris dis , ,

cl osed the detail s Whi ttak er s art has i t s best exemplific a t i on

.
’

i n tha t magn i fic en t vol ume The Cer emom at o/ the Cor on at i on

'

of H i s Most S ac r ed M a est K p b he
j y i n g Geor ge t he F ou r t h , u l i s d ,

i n 1822 .So far as Whi tt aker was concer ned it ma y be ,

desc ri bed as a la rge pa per edi ti on of his own gol d l etterpr ess
work t he ampl e margi ns of the huge fol i o pages bei ng fill ed
,

wi th pi ctur es il l ustra ti ng the person ages an d costu mes seen a t

t he Cor ona ti on In the wri ter s copy these a re mi ssi ng but
.
’

Whi tta ker s work i s i nta ct Ou tha t par t of t h e l ea f whi ch

’
.

was in tended to recei ve the imp ression i n gol d (the text is

mai nl y a list of persons who wal ked in the processi on) a so li d
gr ou nd ti nt u sua ll y crea m scarl et or da rk bl ue was first
, , ,

l ai d down an d then a pp ar entl y t r ea ted wi th some gl ai ré

,

mi xtur e i n order to
, fix the gol d Grea t pressur e was .

used i n a ppl yi ng thi s l a tter as notwi thstandi ng tha t t he ,

ma teri al of the l ea ves i s stout ca rdboa r d the ba ck i s str ongl y ,

embossed E a ch l ea f i s en signed by the Cr own an d other

.

r egal embl ems a l so bl ocked in gol d

, occasi ona ll y a ga i nst a ,

fa intl y ti nted ba ckgr ound an d there i s a gol d l i ne bo rder

,
-

r ound ea ch page wi th floral o r n amen t in the uppe r com ers

, ,

l ikewi se i n gol d In spite of the gorgeou sness of their get

.

up ,
few of the pa ges are r eal l y efi ec t i v e i n a ppea ra nce owi ng ,

186
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

siz se of pa per we re used v iz Grande A i gl e

,
an d Col om
bi er Vol ume II Det a i l s of Or n a men ts fin i shed i n 1845 was
.
, , ,

i n two par ts issued a t from £3 35 to £5 55 ea ch a cco rdi ng t o

,
. .
,

si ze. For the ma teri al of ma ny of the p ri nts i t cont ained ,

Jones ha d to m a ke a second j ourney to Gra na da in 1837 i n ,

o rder to compl ete the task whi ch Gou ry s dea th ha d ca used

’

hi m to l ea ve u n fin ished .

Engel ma nn was a ll owed to rema i n i n possessi on of his

p ropri eta ry na me of Chromo l i thog ra phy as de
-
s ign a t i ng ,

the process of pri nt i ng in col ou rs by a pl a nogra phi c method ,

both Jones a n d Da y simpl y sa yi ng t ha t the pictu res i n t he

A l ha mbra we re P ri nted in col ours by Day a n d K agb e
or by O wen Jon es as the case m i ght b e the l a tter usu all y p r e
, ,

fix i n g Dr a wn li thogr a phed an d publi shed b y

,
A point .

of speci al i nte rest a bout the wor k is t he fa ct tha t Jones pri nted
ma ny of his col oured li thogra phs from zi nc The empl oyment .

of pl a tes of th is or some other metal in pl a ce of stone ha d , ,

been su ggested by Senefel der himsel f as ea rl y as i n his

English Pa tent S pec ific a t i on a n d some th irt y years l a ter this
,

ol d i de a was t e pa tented an d the p r oce

-
s s ope ra ted by Ch a pm a n
,

8: Co of Cor nhil l an exa mpl e of wh ose li thogra phy fr om zi nc

.
, ,

will be found in t he first vol ume of the R a i l wa y Ma ga zi n e

In 1840 an other London firm Da vis 8: Hill s
, , ,

p roduced by zi ncogr a phy a seri es of pri nts of the ca ri ca tu re

order for Tregear a Chea psi de pu blisher
, , .

Chromo li thogra phy ha vin g thus been su ccessfully ina u

-

g u ra t ed in Eng l a nd by Jone
s he cont i nued to, ope ra te hi s

li thogra phi c p ri nting est a bli shment i n the Adel phi (l a ter on
he moved to A rgyll P l a ce Regent Street) for ma ny yea rs
,

a fter the Al ha mbr a pl a t es ha d been compl eted a n d pr od u ced ,

col oured li thogra phi c ill ustra tions a n d somet imes compl ete ,

books for va ri ou s L ondon publ ishers His spec i a l li ne wa s

, .

—
wha t was an d still i s known as the
— ill umi n a ted b ook ,

from the res embl a nce of the decora t i ve par ts to (m a ny of the

detai l s we re in fa ct often ta ken fr om) those so often seen i n
a nci ent MSS m whi ch as wel l as i n these modern i mi ta t i ons
, ,

188
EA RL Y EN GL ISH CHROM O -
L ITH OGRA P H Y

gol d an d col ou r wer e profusel y used L on gman s were very .

good cu stomers of Jones for this sort of thing an d a few ex ,

a mpl es ma y be men t i oned One of the first was The P ri sm .

of I ma gi n a ti on a coll ecti on of t al es i n whi c h ever y ,

page was sur rou nded by an orna menta l border pri nted i n col ou r
or i n gol d Ther e were separ a te ti tl es to ea ch tal e printed
.
,

i n gol d an d col ours a s was al so the openi ng p age of the t al e

,

the i ll ustra ti ons wer e i n bl a ck a n d ti nt al thoug h one The - -

, ,

Min i a tur e ,
was in bl u e bl a ck an d brown withi n a bo rder , ,

pa rt l y prin ted in gol d A mor e fin i shed styl e of work i s seen

.

in the ei ght separa te ti tl e p ages J ones di d for Mu rr a y s 1845

’
-

edi ti on of the Book of Common Pra yer pri nted by V i zet ell y ,

as al r ea dy menti oned an d the ill um i n a ted books p r oper ma y

,

be d a ted from t h e sa me peri od One of the best i f not indeed .

,

the bes t i s H N oel Humph reys IHu mi na ted B ooks of the

’

, .

Mi ddle A ges (L on gman s) the production of the pl a tes for

which ex tended from 1844 to 1849 They are ma gn ific en t .

pieces of col our pri nti ng r epr esenting spec i men p ages of MSS , .

fr om the fou rth to t h e seventeenth centuries an d a ccordi ng ,

to the ti t l e page were -

executed on stone an d pri nted in
"
, ,

go l
, d sil ve r an d ] co l ou rs by O w en Jone s T hi s howeve r .
, ,

i s not stri ctl y corr ect as some of the pl a tes we re

, prin ted
in col ours by C Gra f Thi s was proba bl y the man who
. .
,

wi th M Coindet repr esented Engel ma nn in L ondon from

.
,

1826 to 1830 Al though Engel ma nn thought him a poo r

.

busi nes s man he seems to ha ve been a very good col our

,

l i thogra pher an d imi ta ted Jones i n pr oduci ng work of the

,

ill umin a ted ch ara cter wi th much gol d gothi c l etteri n g , , ,

an d fl oral o rn a ment in col ours One pl a te i n Hu mphreys

’
.

book repr es entin g a page from a MS Chr oni cl e executed for

, .

Edward IV was prin ted by Qu in et s chr omo li thogra phy

,
" ’
-
,

though i t al so bore t he i mpri nt of Da y 81 H aghe l i tho ,

g pr a hers to the Q ueen Some of the p a ges in

. thi s g r a nd
vol u me ar e of except i onal bea uty such for exampl e as t he , , ,

r ep r oducti on of a pa ge fr om the Hou r s oi the Du c de Berri ,

a veri t a bl e t ri umph of t h e col our pri nte r s ar t Two ot her ’

.

189
 COL OU I P RI N TI N G
E
wor ks il l ustra ted b y Da y 81 Kagb e a t this peri od t hou gh
, ,

on a mor e modest scal e ma y a lso be r eferr ed to The first

, .

i s Essex s IIl u stra ti on s o/ t he Templ e Chu r c h L on don

’

, ,

publ ished by Wea l e i n 1845 in which t here is a numbe r of ,

pl a tes depi ct ing the mural decora tions in the col ours of the
ori gi nal s an d al so one of the a l ta r piece in gol d an d col ours
,
-
,

this l a tter being li thogra phed a t Jones s es t a bl ishment i n ’

A rgyll Pl a ce Fo r L ieutena nt Co l onel S l eeman s R a mbl es

’
-
.

a mt R ec oll ec ti on s of a n In dza n Ofia al (L ondon

' '

Da y ,

81 H aghe did a consi de ra bl e number of chromo l ithogr a phic -

pl a tes incl udi ng severa l repr oducti ons of mi nia tures a n i nc h

, ,

or l ess i n di a meter but al l p ri nted i n col ou rs

, .

Oi the smal l e r il l u mi na ted books The S er mon on the Mau n t ,

( 1 845 ) i s a good spec i men the text i s in b l a ck l ette r w i th ,

col oured i nitial s the l a rger of which a re on a gol d ground

, .

Ea ch page of text is wi thin a floral border of va ryi ng des i gn ,

pri nted i n col ours often aga i nst a sol i d gol d ba ckgrou nd
, .

Ou the first page ther e a re onl y a few words of l etterp r ess the ,

r est of the S pa ce wi thi n the bor der be i ng occupi ed by a n

il l ustr a tion which was col our ed by ha nd in tin t s to har monise

,

with the pres swo rk From 1845 onwa rds for several yea rs
.
, ,

L on gma n s i ssued a n Ill umina ted Ca l endar t he decora ti ve ,

el emen t s of whi ch wer e copied from some nota bl e medi e va l

MS . The Hou r s of Anne of Bri tta ny furnished those of
the Cal endar for 1845 i n whi ch t he floral borders wer e l itho
,

gra phed i n col ours by Jones but the min ia t ures ha d on l y ,

t he outl i nes pri nted an d we r e then col our ed b y ha nd

, In .

the Cal enda r for 1846 however thes e l a tter were li thogra phed
, ,

i n col ours The Cal enda r for 1848 in whi ch the il l umi na ti ons
.
,

were based on those i n the four teenth centu r y Hou r s of the

Duke of Anj ou in the Roya l L ibra ry a t P a ris is a be a uti ful
, ,

exa mpl e of col our pri nting i n several respects , N oel .

Humphreys wrote a pr eface an d i ntr oduc t i on an d this pa r t ,

of the vol ume is pri nted in l a rge gothic type in red an d bl a ck , ,

t he cal endar foll owi ng bei ng in the same styl e but set in sma l l e r ,

type The a ppea ra nce of this pa rt of t he work suggests t ha t

.

19 0
 C OLO U R P RI N TI N G

by whi ch the i nner edg es of the l ea ves were un i ted to t he

flex i b l e ba c k of the vol ume Judgi ng fr om the mu l ti tude
of books from the K eepsake of 18& onw
.

, ar ds tha t were ,

boun d by this mea ns the method was a success for the

,

time bei ng but as yea rs r oll ed on the moistur e in the sol uti on
,

eva pora ted l ea vin g the resi duum of ca outchouc in the form
,

of a d ry powder so tha t the l ea ves become deta ched almost

,

a t a touch Hence ma ny of the i ll u mi na ted col o ur books

.

of the forti es an d hi ti as a re foun d wi th the l ea ves l oose an d ,

t hei r ed ges di rty an d fra yed i n consequen ce .

In 1849 Jones p rod uced for L on gma n s a char mi ng li ttl e

,

edi ti on of the M a tri monia l Oth ee in the Book of Common

Pra yer wi th the tex t i n gothi c type as usual p ri nted i n r ed
, ,

an d bl a ck w i thi n deco ra ti ve borders i n gol d an d col ours .

In i t s ori gi nal bindin g of cr ea m col our ed l ea ther embossed -

,

i n gol d wi th a des i gn of the A l ha mbr a type this is one of the ,

most bea uti ful l i ttl e vol umes of i t s ki nd In the sa me yea r .

a ppear ed a n il lumi na ted edi tion of E c c l esia stes or t he ,

P r ea c her a foli o vol ume i n whic h t he text stil l i n r ed an d

, ,

bl a ck gothi c type was of a much bol der cas t the border being
, ,

in m a ny pa ges r el ega ted to second pl a ce a mongst the deco ra ti ve

el ements of t h e book Ma teri al for these l a tter was often
.

provi ded by a ncient MSS in Jon es s own possessi on the .

’

pages of pra ctical l y all hi s bl a ck l etter books being designed -

on the old l i nes Thi s par ticul ar vol ume was encl osed in
.

massi ve wooden covers stai n ed bl a ck an d ca rved in high

, ,

r eli ef with a l ea f p a tte rn ea ch of t hese covers is } i nch thi ck 4

,

an d the p rinted p a r t of the book bei n g o n l y a bout 1 i nch ,

fu rn i shed li ttl e more tha n a fift h of the bul k of the vol ume .

This was essen t i a ll y the age of the decora ti ve publisher s

’

bi ndi ng as di st i ngu ished from the hand tool ed va ri ety whi ch

,
-

i s coll ected an d m a ny of the w orks Jones di d for Lon gman s

”

ar e enc l osed i n such In 1846 Jones ha d produced for

.

L on gman s an i ll umi na ted edi ti on of Gra y s El egy in whi ch

’

, ,

as the text i s sho rt the gr ea ter par t of the p age

,
s w as t a ken

up wi th border decora ti on It was bound in yell owish brown.

-

192
S O ME EN GL ISH COLOU RE D B OO K S

l ea the r , mbossed i n hi gh r eli ef with a floral des i gn an d i s

e ,

i n all r espects a ver y ha ndsome vol u me F tower s a n d thei r .

Ki n d r ed Thou ght s (1848) an d the compa ni on vol ume F m i ts ,

fr om the Ga rden a n d F i eld are un i forml y bound i n

thick bevell ed boards covered wi th light oa k col our ed l ea ther

,
-
,

st a mped in bli nd wi th the ti tl e surr oun ded by a n a ppr o ,

p r i a t e fl or a l des i gn In both vo l.u mes the t e x t i s i n l a rge

gothi c l ettering pri nted i n gol d an d the col oured pl a tes whi ch
, ,

—
al te rn a te with the text p ag es show pur e chr omo li thogr a phy ,

the bl ending of the col ours to simul a te the ti nts of na tur e

bei ng skil full y carri ed out Wi th thei r pr oducti on the first
.
,

—
cha pter in t he history of Engl ish chromo l i thogr a phy so far ,

a s Jon es w a s concerned ma y be consi der ed cl osed as the

, ,

importa nt part of decora ti ve artist which he was ca ll ed upon

to pl a y first for the Grea t Exhi bi ti on buil di ng of 185 1 an d
,

a fter war ds for i t s p a r tl y tr a nspl a nted successor a t Sydenh am

in 1854 took up most of hi s t ime for the nex t few ye ars

, .

But even if we consi der him as fac il e {m neej zs in the i ntro

’

ducti on of the art other l ithogr a phers foll owed hi m up

,

pr etty c l osel y a t l east from t he forti es

, A t a sti ll ear l i er .

period the ordi nary bl a ck an d whi te li thogra phi c print was

,

someti me entirel y overl a id wi th ha nd c ol ou n n g as di s

'

s -
,

t i n gu i shc d from the mer e tinti ng of an or di nary bla ck an d tin t - -

pi ctur e Ther e are some good exa mpl es of thi s in The S ac r ed

.

A n n ua l for 1834 whi ch i s other wi se i nter es ti ng fr om the

,

col our p ri nter s poi nt of vi ew the il l umi na ted ti tl e page bei ng

’

,
-

prin ted i n red bl ue an d gol d from r eli ef su rfa ces a t iny c i r cul ar
, ,

p anel i n the centr e encl osing a hand pa i nted hea d of Christ -

.

The sheets of tissu e tha t protect the col our ed pi ct u r es ha ve

printed on them wi thin a fl ora l wrea th an d i n brown or yell ow
, ,

i n k the pa r ti cul ar p assa ge of t he text which i s il l ustra ted

, .

H ul lman d el was never a gr ea t wor ker i n the hel d of col our

li thogr a phy though hi s prin ts i n vol umes l ike Ha rdi h g s
’

P or tfol i o (1837 ) show t ha t he coul d on occasi on i mpr ove

upon the ordi nary bl a ck an d ti nt styl e of the d a y But a - -
.

better d ra ughtsma n th a n Har di ng was des tined to give hi m

193
13
 COLOU R P RI N TIN G

his chance Thomas S hotter Boys to wi t whose seri es of

, ,

ar c hi tectural an d other studi es a re not nea rl y so wel l kn o w n

as they deser v e to b e One of the best of t hem i s t he fol i o
.

vol ume of P i c tu r esque A rc hi tec tu r e 113 P a ri s Ghent A nt wer p

°

, ,

R ou en etc
, . In t he Desc ri ptive N otice pr e fi x ed
to thi s i t was sta ted tha t the present work bei ng un ique
,

of i t s ki nd a n d the pr ocess by whi ch i t is produced being

,

enti r el y new to the publi c some a ccount of the me a ns em ,

pl oyed was fel t des i ra bl e Accordingl y the publisher pointed .

out tha t the whol e of the dra wings composi n g t hi s vol ume
ar e p r oduced enti r el y by mea ns of li thogra phy they a re p rinted ,

in oil col ours an d come from the press pr ecisel y as they now
,

a ppea r . It was expressl y sti pul a ted t ha t not a touch

shoul d be a dded a fter wa r ds a n d thi s i njun ct i on has been ,

stri c t l y a dher ed to They a re pi ctur es dra wn on stone an d

.

r ep r oduced by pri nt i ng in co l ou rs every touc h i s the wor k ,

of the ar tist a n d every impr essi on the product of the press

, .

This i s the first a n d as yet the onl y a ttempt to i mit a te pi ctori al

,

efi ec t s of l a ndsc a pe a r ch i tectu r e in c hr omo li thogra p hy an d -

,

i n i t s a ppl i ca ti on to thi s cl ass of subj ects i t has been ca rr ied ,

so fa r beyond wha t w as requi r ed in copyi ng pol yc hr ome

ar chi tectur e hi er ogl yphi cs a ra besque

,
s etc tha t i t has b e , , .
,

c ome al most a new a rt This l a tter p aragr a ph was evi dentl y

.
”

ai med a t Jones s methods an d the pub l isher w a s a t the pa i ns

’

to expl ai n wher ei n l a y the di fference between them a n d those

of H u ll man d el In mere decora ti ve subj ec t s
. he sa id , ,

the col ours ar e positi ve an d opa que the ti nts fla t a n d t he , ,

severa l hue s of equal i ntensity throughout wher eas in t hes e ,

vi ews the va ri ous effects of l ight an d sha de of l oc a l col our ,

”
an d general tone r e s ul t fr om t ra nspa r ent a n d gr a dua t ed t i n t s
,
.

Thi s gives such an excell ent a ccount of the di fference be tween

the ol d an d the new p rocesses of l ithogra phi n g i n col ours ,

tha t we need a d d nothi ng to i t The vol ume under noti ce .

,

therefor e ma y be t a ken as the first published in Engl and

,

cont ai nin g chr omo l ithogr a phi c pictures i n a ny t hi n g l ike the

-

modern sense of the term Thus H u ll man del ma y be l ooked .

194
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

at the f ct tha t twenty i x prin ts equal in efiec t to wa ter c ol our

a -s
,
-

pa i nt i ngs coul d be bought for so sma l l a su m as ei ght

,

g ui ne as
.

A few years l a ter a fter H ull man d el ha d ta ken Wal ton i nto
,

pa r tn ershi p the new firm pu bli shed a l arge foli o

, Specimen
of Pri nti ng i n Col ours This was a r epresent a ti on of a gr oup
.
”

of fl owers on a pedestal in r ed green an d bl ue the l ett eri ng , , ,

bei ng i n a central spa ce on a soli d gol d gr ou nd The whol e .

was su rr ou nded wi th a border in bl ue an d whi te but the work ,

ha d nothing r emar ka bl e a bout i t bei ng ra ther on the li nes ,

of E n gel man n s earl y effo r ts

’
.

The art of pri nti n g pi ctur es in col ou rs by li t hogra phi c

methods not bei ng res tri cted i n En gla nd by an y p a tent soon
, ,

sp r ea d from the gr ea t ex ponents to the l ittl e one s wi th t he ,

r esul t th a t i n t he l a te for t i e
s exa mpl es of chr omo l i t h ogra phy -

—
of a sort bec am e fai rl y common The A rt Ua i ms for Febru ary .
,

1846 i nt r o
, duced the proc ess to i t s r ea ders thr ough the medi u m
of a speci men p u nt p rep ar ed by one G Lee b u t i t w as not a
'

.
,

very noteworthy exa mpl e .

Al though Engel ma nn ha d a bran ch es ta bli shment in L ondon

as ea rl y a s 1826 i t w a s di sc ontinued i n 1830 befor e hi s c ol our
, ,

experi men ts began as t he concer n fail ed to pay The pra cti c al

, .

ma nager Mi cha el H an ha rt th en star ted bu si n ess on hi s own

, ,

a ccount ; as a fell ow townsm a n an d pupil of E n gelmann s

’

he was no doubt full y conversant wi th hi s ol d em oyer s m ’

col ou r work an d wi th the exa m os of Jones an d

, m
Hu llman d el be for e hi m r esol ved to enter the col our pri nti ng
,

branch of l ithogra phy Hi s sons wer e ta ken i nto pa r tner

.

shi p w i th hi m an d the i mp ri nt of M 81 W H a nha rt i s

, . .

more famil i a r to the student of ea rl y col our li thogr a phy t han

al most an y other as the firm w , as i n exi stence until as re

c en t l y as 1903 Thei r earl y work was in t he usual fla t ti nts

.
,

an d a good ex a mpl e of the u se of th ese i n conj u ncti on wi t h

gol d will be foun d on the ti tl e page of t he Chu rc hma n s -

’

A l ma na c for 1845 Soon a fterwa rds the firm i mproved i t s

.

methods to the ex tent of prin ti ng t he col ours over ea ch oth er ,

196
 COLOU R P RIN T I N G

l a ndsc a pe vi ews col ou rs by t he Han ha r t s an d

li t hogra phed i n
by Day 81 Son t hou gh the pr eci se sha re of t he t wo firms
,

i s not d efin ed In these cases t he prin t s wer e t ri mmed

.
,

cl osel y an d moun ted on the text pages an unusual styl e , ,

whi ch gi ves an a ddi ti onal charm to the book The same

.

course was foll owed in Fea thered Fa vorm tes i n whi c h

'

the pri nts were ci rcul ar an d mou nted wi thi n floral borders
,

prin ted i n gol d ; ther e is no imt on thes e pi ctures so ,

i t ca nnot be sta ted by w h om they were pr oduc ed A nother .

va ri a ti on from t he usual pra cti ce occu rs in Pyn e s Mou n tmns

’
’

a n d L a kes of S w i tzerl a nd a nd I ta l y (Bell 81 B al dy ,

i n whi ch the si x ty four chr omo li t hogra phi c ill ustra ti on s

- -
,

pr oba bl y by the H an h ar ts are pri nted di rec tl y on t he tex t

,

pages Du ri ng the fift i es an d l a ter t he same firm produced a

.
,

g r ea t n u m ber of ch r om o li thogra ph-

i c t i tl e p ag es for
-
m usi c al
pu bl i c a ti ons a bra nch of col ou r wor k whi c h even Baxter
,

d es cen ded to Ma ny of t hes e are very good t hou gh of c ou rse

.
, , ,

n ot ela bora te spec i men s of

 CH APTE R VIII
—
CHRO M O L ITH OGRA P HY
SECTION 11

FR OM 1 111: a x mn m ou or 185 1 1 0 T HE P R E SE N T DA Y

H E Gre a t
Exhibi ti on of 185 1 formed a
sor t of general r endezvous for the
li thogr a phic co l ou r p ri nters of the da y .

L i ttl e wa s sa i d by the Jurors a bout

chromo l ithography beyond the ra ther
-
,

ha ckneyed sta tement tha t by i mpres

si ons from successi ve stones r esul t s were

obta ined equal i n effect to a good

pai nti ng Th e exhi bi tors i ncl uded En gel man n an d Gra f
.
,

Di ckes O wen Jones an d N oel Humphr eys ; the H a nhar ts

,

—
ha d a st and with a good di spl a y of thei r ch romo li thogr a phi c
”
product i ons one of whi ch The Engl i sh Squi re by B ran d ar d
, , ,

a fter F r ed Ta yl o r w.as shown in al l i t s p rogr essi ve st ag es

,
The .

Jur y wer e so impressed wi t h the novel ty of the firm s ch romo ’

li thogra phi c p rocess of col our bl endin g tha t they a wa rded -

i t a medal t hough they consi dered tha t t he a ctual inventor

,

of the method was Hu llman d el who ha d di ed the year befor e ,

.

Da y di ed i n 1845 but the busi ness was conti nued by hi s thr ee

,

sons who got out for Ackerm a nn an d oth er publi shi n g houses
, ,

in 185 1 2 a se ri es of ch romo l ithogra phi c ill u st ra t i ons of the

-
,
-

Exh ibi ti on several of whi ch (got r ea dy even before the show

,

opened ) wer e of grea t siz e 35} x 27 inches Some bea uti ful
, .

work i s seen i n the seri es of pl a tes this firm produced depi cti ng ,

in the col ours of the origi n al s a l a r ge number of the fin e art

obj ects exhibi ted A few good ex amfl es on a smal l e r scal e
.

may be seen i n the pl a tes of textil e fa bri cs etc they pr epar ed ,

for the Exhibi ti on c a ta l ogue P erha ps t h e most r emar ka bl e

.

pi cto ri a l reco rd of thi s worl d famous show was Di ck inson s-

’

Compr ehen si ve P i c tu res of the Grea t E xhi bi ti on the vi ews i n ,

199
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

whi ch were li thogra phed from pi ctures i n wa ter col our pa i nted -

for the Pri nce Consort to whom the wor k was dedi ca ted by , ,

N as h H a ghe an d Roberts an d i ssued i n two huge fo li os b y

, ,

Di ckin son B rothers publ ishers to the Queen i n 1854 th ree

, , ,

years ha vi n g t hus b een occupi ed by the prepara ti on of the

vol umes Owi ng to t he l arge si ze of the pictures 19} x 14} ,

i nch es this is perh a ps the most rea li sti c seri es of p ri nts of the
,

Exh i bi ti on a vail a bl e i n b ook form b u t the col ours were stil l ,

a ppl i ed to ti nt i ng d ra w i ngs i n b l a ck outl i ne an d stippl e A l ittl e .

hand tou c hi ng i s vi sibl e here an d ther e but c hi efly ta kes the

-
,

form of small p a tches of var nish to deepen the sha dows a tri ck ,

which was then common an d was the pred eces sor of the moder n ,

p ra cti ce of va rn i shi ng the entir e surfa ce of a pictur e by a

ma chi ne Ther e is more evi dence of bl en din g of ti nts tha n
.

was often the c ase wi th l arge pri nts of this chara cter an d the ,

col ouri ng is genera ll y bright an d good Ah ea rli er exampl e .

of Dicki nson s c hr omo l ithogra phi c wor k i s A S pa n i sh Lad ye s

’
-
’

L ove a fol i o vol um e w hi ch has an i ll u mi na ted ti t l e ,

an d a number of full pa ge li thogra phs i n bl a ck an d whi te

-
.

The text is i n the upper r ight ha nd cor ner of ea ch of these -

,

in gothi c l etter pri nted in red a n d bl ue with o rna men t a l

, ,

i n i tia ls i n t he styl e of the ol d MSS .

Two of the L ondon musi c publishi ng firm s J u ll i en 81 Co ,

.

an d Cha ppell 81 Co ha d a good show of musi ca l publi ca ti ons

.
,

wi th ti t l e page pi ctures pri nted i n col ours Some of the

-
.

first named firm s were done by Ba xter the others bei ng

’
-
,

chr omo li thogra phed At Hu llma n d el 8c Wal ton s st a nd

'
-
.

were a coupl e of pri nts i n col ours by the former s pa tent ’

L i tho t i nt process whi ch was rar el y used for col ou r wo rk

, ,

al t hou gh a r ea ll y fin e p ri nt of th is ch a ra cter often chal l enged

compa rison wi t h a mezzoti nt Da y 81 Son showed Speci me n s .

”
of ti nted an d col our ed l i thogra phy or chromo l i thogr a phy -
,

an d one Thomas U nderwood a Birmi ngh a m l i thogra phic ,

pri nter (the on l y provi nci al wo rker in tha t li ne who ex hi bi ted)

ha d exa mpl es of A n ew pr ocess of pr oduci ng i mi ta tions
of wa ter col our dra wi ngs an d oil pai nti ngs
-
t he novel ty ,

200
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

The decora t i ve art aspect of the Exhi bi t i on formed the

su bj ect of a fin e publ i ca ti on by M Di gby Wya tt w ho l i ke .
, ,

O wen Jones was an a rchitect , Thi s was enti tl ed The .

I n d u stri a l A rts of the N i n eteen th Cen t u ry an d was i ssued i n ,

forty par t s ea ch contai ni ng four pl a tes between O ctober

, , ,

185 1 an d M ar ch 1853
, The pl a t es wer e chromo—
, . l ith ogra phed
by Da y 8: Son from t he dra wings of a bo u t a score of artists
,

spec i al l y empl oyed for t he pu r pose This work was sa i d t o .

be t he most impo rt a nt a ppl i ca t i on of chromo li thogr a phy -

,

to a ssi st the connec ti on which shoul d subsi st between a rt an d

i ndustry whi ch has yet a ppea red
, L i ke near l y a ll the .

chromo li thogra phs of thi s pe ri od the out li nes ar e pri nted

-
,

i n b l a ck b u t the col our wo rk i s often of a very el a bora te

,

d es cri pti on as ma ny as fou r teen stones bei ng r equi red for

,

some of the pi ctures though the a verage i s seven,

In al l .

t h er e wer e stone s wei ghing so me twenty fiv e tons an d

,
-
,

as the edi ti on con si sted of 12 1 0 copi es no l ess tha n ,

sep ara te i mp r essi ons ha d to be tak en fr om the ston es an d ,

when i t i s r emembered th a t i n those days the stone ha d to be

cl ean ed an d the pa per a dj usted a fter every one of t hem the ,

magn i tude of t he task will b e r eal ised As ex a mpl es of .

chr omo li thogra phy some of these pi ctures are part i cul a rl y
-
,

fin e . Am ongst them ma y be menti oned Pl a te 28 a cashmere ,

sca r f end ; 4 1 a gr oup of Chu r ch pl a te ; 44 por ti eres of p ri nted

, ,

mohai r ; 116 a chi ntz pa ttern ; 148 an Axmi nster ca rpet ;

, ,

152 a gr oup of In di a n obj ect s an d 157 an i vory thr one an d

, ,

footst ool .

Everybody who ma de some sli ght improvement in ma chinery

or methods for th w i th a dver t i sed t ha t he p r oduced his pri nts
n ew li thogra phi c p r oc ess Thomas Mc Lea n t he ”
by a .
,

H a yma r ket pu bl isher used such a one for t he il l ust ra ti on of

,

hi s S ket c hes and N otes f

o a Cru i se i n S c otc h Waters
but wha tever novel ty ther e may ha ve been in i t ther e i s not h ,

i n g to be ga ther ed fr om the pi ctures themsel ves whi ch are ,

of qui te or din ary char a cter A reall y novel pr oc ess .

,

however for t ha t pe ri od was opera ted by Messrs Thomas

, ,
.

202
N E LS ON S COLOU R WO RK
’

N el son 8: Sons the Edi nburgh publ ish in g firm

, , who ha d ha d
l ea n in gs towar ds col ou r work for some y ea rs but hi therto
w
,

of pur el y l etterpress cha ra cter E xam es . ma y be seen

in The Gi ft B ook of B i ogr a phy for You n g L a di es t he
text of whi ch was printed in bl ue in k wi thi n red ornamental
borders an d on a mor e el a bora te scal e i n The P oet ry of Home
a qua r to vol ume in whi ch the tex t al so i n bl ue i n k ,

wi th occa si onal hea di ngs in red was surrounded with doubl e ,

concentri c bor ders in red an d bl ue Ea ch of thos e books .

was pr ovi ded with a chrom o li thogra phi c fr ontispi ece in gol d -

an d col ou rs by Schenck of Edi nbu rgh

, It was a bout this , .

ti me tha t G J Cox of the Pol yt ec hni c Insti tuti on L ondon

. .
, , ,

in ven ted a pr oces s of tra nsferri ng steel an d copperpl a te

en gra vi ngs to stone gu ara nteeing them equal to a ru n of
,

i rn pr es si on s not a gr ea t one i t must be a dmi tted

, ,
.

Transfer li thogra phy was pra cti sed by Sil berman n of Stras ,

burg ten yea rs before in connecti on wi th t he producti on of

, ,

P la n t s f o t he B i le which b the t ra n sferr ed stee l pl

in a te -

i mpressi ons pri nted on stout coa ted pa per are li ghtl y ti nted
, ,

from other stones These pla tes a re ra ther rudi menta ry b u t

.
,

si mil ar wor k of a mor e a dva nced ty e a ppe ars in those of

p
S Moody s P al m Tr ee (1864) whi ch are fai rl y good exa mpl es
’
.

of col ou ri ng though onl y thr ee or fou r ti nts were empl oyed

, .

The pr oces s r es embl ed tha t of Ba xter i n tha t the col ours wer e
a ppli ed to a steel pl a te en r a vi n g i n f a ct the Edi nbu rgh
g
-
, ,

firm ter med thei r method

”
Pri ntin g i n oil col ours but ,

whereas Bax ter used wood bl oc ks for hi s tone work N el sons ,

preferr ed stones They u sed this pr ocess l argel y for the produc
.

ti on of vi ew a n d gu i de books of whi ch one of the ea rli est is tha t,

to Wi ndsor an d Eton an d pe rha ps the best th a t of the

I sl e of Wight wi th twenty seven pretty li ttl e col oured pi ctures

,
-
,

printed as u sual on a
, dull hea vil y coa ted pa per The
,
-
.

sk y efl ec t s wer e gener all y r ul ed an d ar e noticea bl e for ,

their brill i an t bl ues whi ch seem cha ra cteri stic of this

,

203
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

stee l cum stone wor k by N el sons Besides books they also

- -
.
,

produced gr ea t numbers of col oured pi cture ca rds sin gl y an d ,

in sets such as S on gs by the Wa y

, The a ppea ra nce
of the pi ctur es i n such wor ks as the P i c tu r e P ri mer S er i es ,

wher e they a re pri nted in col ou rs on the text pa ges suggests ,

tha t woodcuts as well as steel engr a vings were often empl oyed ,

an d tha t the t i nti ng w as not al wa ys done from stone A nother .

Edi nburgh publi shi ng firm Gall 81 Ingl is issued many books
, ,

il l ust ra ted wi th pi ctur es pri nted i n Ba xter s oil col ours ’

by K r onhei m i ndeed the fr equency wi th whi ch the term

,

pri nted in oil col ours a ppea rs in connecti on wi th ill ustra ted
books publ ished fr om the fift i es to the eighties a fi ords evidence
of the popul a ri ty of B a xter s proces s Among other L ondon
'
.

firms who used mod i fied forms of i t were Ben George of ,

'
H a tton Gar den as in the ti nted woodcut s in P eter P a rl ey s
,

A n n u al s for 1869 70 ; an d Rea d 81 Co of Johnson s Cour t

'
-
.
,

Fl eet Str eet The l a tter publi shed a seri es of Old a nd N ew

.

T esta men t S tori es ea ch cont a i n i ng four fu ll pa ge woodc u ts

,
-

i n bl a ck col our ed in pa r ti cul a rl y gl ari ng ti n t s fr om ra ther

,

coars el y engra ved bl ocks

A notewor thy firm of Fr ench ch romo li thogra phers i n the -

fift i es who exh i b i ted a t the gr ea t show of 185 1 was t ha t

, ,

of L emerci er (a fter wa rds Lemerc i er 8c Cl a ye) Paris O ne .

of t heir most i mportant p roducti ons was an edi ti on of

A Kempi s Imi tati on of Chri st publi shed by Cu rmer i n t wo
’ ’

i mpe r i al octa vo vol u mes i n 1856 7 the second of whi ch -

,

consists c hi efly of remar ks u pon the MSS l a id u nder c on t ri b u .

ti on for the suppl y of the decora ti ve deta il on the pages of

the first This l a tter conta in s sixteen pages of ta bl es a
. ,

Cal endar extendi ng to twel ve pages a n d 400 pages of tex t , ,

wi th eight sepa ra te secti onal ti tl es Every page i s surroun ded

.

by a wea l th of col oured o rna ment to obta i n whi ch the grea t

,

li br a ri es of the Conti nent we r e ra nsa cked MSS fr o m the , .

eighth to the seventeenth cent u ri es being deal t wi th al thou gh ,

French ones of t h e four teenth an d fift een t h centu ri es furni shed

the bul k of the deta il copi ed There a re severa l full page
.
-

204
 COLOU R P RIN TI N G

an d phistori c are all represen t ed i n mi n ute deta il Com

r e -
, .

men c i n g with the ru de orna ment of the u nta u ght sa vage ,

t he bea ut i ful ser i es of col our ed pl a tes i n the Gr a mma r con duct
the ar tist v i a Egy pt Ba byl onia Persi a Pompe u Rome an d
, , , ,

Byza nti um to the Ara bi c Moo rish Tur kish an d Chi nes e styl es
, ,

of dec ora tion Then we ha ve the a nc i ent Cel ti c the medie val
.
, ,

an d the Ren a i ssan ce pe ri ods the wor k cl osi ng wi t h some

,

modern des ign s of conventional st al k an d l ea f chara cter - -

.

This trul y monu menta l pr odu ction was publ ished in 1856 ,

a ll t he col o u r wor k it con t a i n s b ei ng execu t ed by D a y 8: Son ,

whose reputa tion even ha d they never done a nythin g else

, ,

i t wo ul d most cer ta inl y ha ve ma de N eedl es s to sa y i t was a .

,

very expensi ve work : the Bri tish Museum copy i n a fin e ,

a ppr op r i a te bi ndi ng i s r eco rded to ha ve cost

,
19 125 a seco n d .

editi on with some a ddi ti onal pl a tes was i ssued in 1865 Jones
, ,
.

died in London ni n e years l a ter but h is Gr a mma r was r epri nted ,

as recentl y as 1904 by Me s srs Vi ncent B r oo ks Da y 81 Son

.
, ,

L t d who succeeded to the busi nes s of the ol d fir m i n 1867

.
, .

In 1852 Da y 8: Son published a chromo li th ogra phi c r epro

,
-

duct i on by Rober t Carri ck of Turner s pictur e A Vessel

’

, , ,

Burni ng Bl ue L ights Turner is not an easy a r tist to imi ta te

.
,

b u t Ga r ri ck a cquitted hi msel f well by pr oducin g an ex cell ent

render i ng of the o rigi na l The prin t measu res 27 x 2 14
.

i nches an d was pr i nted from twel ve col our stones

, It is on e
of the ea rl i est e xa mpl es of the mode rn type of li thogra phic
col our work in whi ch the bl a ck o u tl in e of former da ys is
,

a l together di spe nsed with the pi cture bein g the product

,

of the col ou rs al one In the sa me yea r Da y 8: Son pr od u ced

.

for John Wya tt Pa pwo r t h a pri va te pl a te represent in g in ,

the col ours of the origi nal the L a di es C a r pet

, whi ch '

ha d be en presented to the Q ueen a shor t ti me be fore Col our .

work of qui te a di fferent chara cter is seen i n the Ta bl e of

Wr ought I ron pr epa red for the Exhi bit i on of 185 1 i t is a
l a rge foli o sheet di vi ded by r ul e work pri nted in gr een i n to
, , ,

a bout sma ll obl ong spa c es i n ea ch of whi ch a re several ,

n u meral s in red or gr een in a l terna te col ours The whol e is .

206
C HRO MO L I THOGRA P H I A N A
-

su rr ounded by a ra ther in a ppropri a te border of hol l y prin t ed ,

in red an d gr een The ta bl e work was proba bly first set in type
.
,

an d pr oofs tra nsferr ed to the stone Frorn the same peri od .

da tes The Star of B ri mswi c k a l a rge ci r cul a r desi gn i n

,

the st yl e of a Gothi c wheel window a bout two feet in di amete r , ,

ea ch of the forty secti ons bei ng divi ded by rul e work i nto
t hi rty si x sma ll er spa ces containing numeral s in red an d
-
,

bl a ck Thi s was li thogr a phed by Ca rt wr ight O ne othe r

. .

contemporary prod u ction of this ki nd may be mentioned ,

though i t was not l ithogra phed v i z The N ewspa per a n d , .

P arl i a men ta ry L i st publi shed by the L ondon firm of Da wso n

,

8: Sons This was a l so a l a rge fol i o sheet the l engt hy li st

.
,

of periodi cal publi ca ti ons bei ng pri nted fr om type i n red ,

bl ue an d bl a ck denoting res pectivel y the L iberal Conser v a t ive

, ,

or N eut ral tendency of the pol itica l opi n i ons of the jour n al s

en umera ted .

Thr ee col our work from st one has been referred to al rea dy
-
,

an d w as l ong consi der ed to ra n k a mong the possi b ili ti e s tha t

were doomed not to su cceed but i t was tri ed agai n in 1856 ,

by J Ares ti (who hel d the post of chromo li thogra pher to the

.
-

Q ueen ) i n a r ep r od u c t i on of a fr e
s co by Mich a el A nge l o ,

i n the th r ee pri ma ry col ours pri nted over ea ch other i n ,

su bdu ed tones The ti nti n g fr om stone i n red yell ow an d

.
, ,

bl ue of li thogra phed des ign s in bl a ck was being ca rried

, ,

on even i n unprogressi ve Egy pt by 1855 a t the esta bl ish ,

ment of Ca rl o Go t t wa an I t a li a n who ha d settl ed i n ,

Al exa ndri a an d c hroma li t hogr a phyed

, ( )
si c a mong othe r ,

thi ngs a seri es of p i ctures i ll ustra ti ng Egypti an Costumes

,

Earl y in the sixties Day 81 Son L t d (the firm was amongst

, , .

the first to ta ke a dva nta ge of the Compa ni es Ac t of ’

got out severa l fin e wo rks by Jones incl u ding a cou pl e of ,

pi ctori al vol u mes j oseph a n d Hi s B rethren (1865) a n d S c enes

,

from the Wi n ter s Ta l e '

—
These were i n the fla t tint styl e
of the ea rli es t chr omo li thogr a phic peri od the pi ctures bei ng
-
,

prin ted aga in st a sol id gol d ba ckgr ou nd an d surroun ded ,

wi th a decora tive border whi ch i n the Wi nt er s Tal e was of ,

'

207
 C OLOU R P RIN TI N G

an a ppr opri a te Gr eek key pa ttern the text bei ng on opposite ,

pages in pl ai n bl a ck l etteri ng al so on a gol d ba ckgrou nd with ,

bor der An edi ti on of Tom Moor e s P a r adi se a nd the P eri

.
’

a li ttl e ea rli er in poin t of da te was ill umina ted i n si mil ar

styl e . In 1864 Jones s On e Thau sa mt a nd On e I n i ti a l L etters
,
’

was publi shed this bei ng a vol ume m ai nl y in tended for the u se
,

of the art ist an d des i gner Thou gh el a bora te in deta il i t was .

,

simpl e i n col ou ri ng red bl ue a n d gol d bei ng the chi ef com

, ,

ponent ti nts Simpli ci ty i n col ouri ng an d to a l arge extent

.
,

in decora ti ve detail al so cha ra cteri sed t he Vi c tor i a P sa l t er ,

( so c al l ed o wi ng to i t s bei n g dedi ca ted to the Q ueen ) ill u ,

mi n a t ed fr om Jones s desi gns an d publi sh ed in 1861

’
Thi s , .

was a very l a rge foli o the l ea ves of stout boa rd measuri ng , , ,

15 x 12 i nches an d ea ch p age of tex t was surrounded by

,

an o rna ment al border Ther e was in a ddi ti on a gr ea t number

.

of ini ti al s i n col ours,whi ch wer e subsequentl y pressed in to the

ser vi ce of t he On e Thou sa n d a nd On e seri e s j ust all uded to .

The first few pages a re fin el y decora ted wi th a weal t h of in t ri

ca te l ea f ornament an d the vol ume was enc l osed i n a speci al
,

bin di ng of br own l ea ther embossed in bol d r eli ef in imi t a ti on ,

of oa k ca r v i ng The col ou rin g i n the body of the work is

.

not however near l y so el abora te as in some of the other books

, ,

just menti oned Da y s got out a fin e vol ume of col our prin ti n g
.
’

i n con necti on with the marri a ge of t he Pri nce of Wal es to

Pri ncess (now the Queen Mother) Al ex a ndra in 1863 .

A few yea rs before Mr Vin cen t Br ooks seni or (who di ed i n .

,

1885 ) took over the li thogra phi c busines s of Da y 8: Son he ,

pr oduced the pl a tes for a ha ndsomely ill ustra ted vol ume of
S ha kespea r e s S on gs a n d S on n ets (Sam pson L ow 81 Co
’
.
,

which cont a i ns t en fin e chr omo li thogra phs a fter designs by -

John Gil bert These a re excell en t exampl es of li thogra phy i n

.

bl en ded t i nts an d repr odu ce perfectl y the chara cteristic Gil

,

b er ti an touch an d col ou ri ng On e c an ga ther fr om th ese bea u ti .

fu l p ri nts th a t Mr B r ooks who ha d been i n the li thogra phi c

.
,

tra de sin ce 1848 was well q u alified to carry on the ar ti sti c

,

tra di ti ons of t he ol der house of Da y The vol ume al so conta i ns .

208
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

connect i on wi th ch omo li thogra phy for some twen t y yea rs In

r -
.

1882 they publi shed a fin e fo li o on P olyehr oma ti e D ec ora ti on

a s a ppl i ed to B u i ldi n gs i n the Med i eeval S tyl es (S ot heran
81 whi ch contai ns thir ty si x pl a tes li thogra ph ed i n gol d
-

an d col ours an d w as a cco mp a ni ed by t he sa me a utho rs

’

Orn a men t al A rt s of j a pa n ill ust ra ted in sim il a r fashi on Th i s

, .

was foll owed the next year by wha t was desc ribed as a popu
l ar a ccount of the a r t of printing pictu r es by the ch romo

l i thogra phi c pr ocess though on e c a n sca rce l y i ma gi ne such an

,

expensive work becomi ng popul a r in the ordi nary sen se of

the term The text was el u ci da ted by fo rty fo u r pl a tes in
.
-

col our but al though some a ccount of the rise a n d progr ess
,

of li thogra phy was gi ven ther e was not even an a ttempt

,

a t pr esen tin g a h isto ry of tha t bra nch of the art wi th whi ch

the book dea l t "To trea t the subj ec t a dequa tel y woul d ,

i t is tr ue requ i r e a vo l ume of no mea n dimensi ons an d a

“

, ,

grea t deal of resea rch whi ch fa cts ha ve perha ps deterr ed

,

the army of wri ters on li thogra phi c subj ec t s fr om ven turi ng

to ta ckl e i t There is a good techni ca l work on col ou r li tho
.

gra phy in Wyma n s Techni ca l Series v iz : R i chmond s

’

, .
'

C 0 10 147 an d C ol ou r P ri n ti n g a s A fi tt ed to L i thogra phy Ther e .

i s a lso one publi shed i n Germ an by W Kna pp of H a ll e (F .

,

Hes se Der C hromo Li t hogra phi e

, From the general ,
'
r ea der s po i nt of v i ew the ar ti cl e on chr omo l ithogra phy in
,
-

the S trand Ma gazi n e for J a nua ry 1904 shou l d be of interest , , .

The proc ess has gi ven i t s na me to a t l east one per iodi c al

publi ca ti on The Chr omo L i thogr a ph a j ou r na l o f a r t an d
,

decora ti on star ted i n 1867 an d conti nued unt il 1869 whi ch

, ,

was publi shed by Day 81 Son but t he col our pri nts tha t ,

ill ustra ted it wer e ra ther poo r exa mpl es of the ar t It i n .

c orpora t ed a n earli e r per i odi ca l N at u re a nd A rt wh i ch ran

, ,

for a few months in 1866 7 a n d a lso conta i n ed some chr omo

-
,

li th ogra phs Wha t was cl a i med to be the first Bri ti sh pe ri od

.

ical produced by chromo l ithogra phy was The L i ttl e On e s

-
'

0 1m C ol ou r ed P i c tu r e P a p er sta r ted by t he L o n don firm

,

of Dea n 8: Son i n May 1885 Subsequen t l y i t passed

, .

2 10
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

publi ca ti on oi D Gozzal 1 s S t Augustin e an d Chil d N ot wi t h

. . .

sta ndi n g the p r esent dem a nd for these bea utiful col our p ri nts ,

t h e Society was dissol ved owing to sheer l a ck of publi c suppor t .

Ph ot o ch romo li thogra phy not ha vi ng been esta bli shed when

- -

the A r u ndel pri nts began to a ppear every pi ctur e chosen for ,

r epr oducti on ha d to be copied by a a r tist unde r exper t

n ,

dir ecti on Though an Engl ish fir m was empl oyed to p roduce

'

the pri nts a t the sta r t the Soci ety a t a l a ter peri od fa vour ed
,

chr omos ma de in German y an d t he na m es of man y well ,

k no wn Ger m a n l ithogra phic firms may be found on the p rints ,

i ncl u di ng Sto rch 8: K ra mer of Berlin the l ithogr a phers of ,

the col our pl a tes for P rof Gr un et s fin e wor k on the a r t

.
’

obj ects in The Gr een Va ul ts a t Dresden (Vi rtue 1876) ,

Wil hel m Gr eve of Berl in , H an ga r d Ma nge etc It is -

, .

needl ess to a ttempt to descri be the Ar u ndel chromos in deta il ,

as ex a mpl es ma y be seen in a l rn ost every second ha nd p ri nt -

deal er s window L ike other coll ected i tems of thi s

’
.

ch ara cter some of them ha ve r ecentl y been r eproduced

, .

A passing a ll usi on may be ma de to a Ge rman type of ch r omo

l i thogr a ph kno wn as the
, ol eogr a ph fr om the fa ct th a t
the fin i shed pri nt was thi ck l y coa ted with an oil y var nish ,

an d w as p assed wh en d ry benea th a pa tter ned r oll er which

, , ,

i mpa r ted to the su rfa ce an embossed i mp ression r es embl ing

the grai n of ca nvas or mor e ra r el y the textu re of garments
,

or the outl ine of j ewell e ry etc The ol eogra ph i s usual ly

, .

despised as a chea p ma de in Germa ny so r t of thi ng but ,

some of the l ar ger p ri nts ar e fa r fr om being ha d in deed they ,

a re occ as ion a ll y r eal l y good exa mpl es of ch r omo li thogr a phy -

.

The i ntr oduction of photo li thogr a phy in the ea rl y fift i es

-

ha d pra ct i cal l y no effect on col our printing Pr oba bl y one .

o f the ea rl iest works in whi ch i t was used for tha t pur pose w as

the fa csimil e r eproducti on of D omesda y Book commen ced ,

a bout 1860 Th is is two col our work as the frequent r ub ri

.
-
,

c a t ed h ea dings an d passa ges a r e r epr oduced in the col ou ri ng

of the ori gin al A nega tive of ea ch page ha ving been t a ken

.
,

a sheet of pa per coa ted with gel a tine an d sensitiz ed wi th

2 12
A TWO -
CO L OU R D O MESDAY B OO K

bi chroma te of potash was exposed un der i t the resul ta nt prin t ,

being then coa ted wi th photo tra nsfer in k a n d washed in o rder ,

to remove the su perfl u ou s in k in the unexposed pa rts A photo .

tra nsfer p ri nt bei ng thus obta ined i t was l ai d down on zinc , ,

an d a fter t ra nsfe r the zi n c pl a te w as etched for pri nti ng in

the usual way This is the . photo zincogr a phic pr ocess

-

hr st used by the Or dna nce S u r vey Depa r tment a t South a mpton .

In this connection it will be of i nterest to r eca ll a p revi ou s

,

proposal to reproduce Domesda y Book i n the two col ours

of the original This was i n 1767 a t t he in sta nce of the House
.
,

of L ords It was esti ma ted tha t

. copperpl a te fa csi mil es
of the pages of the MS woul d be r equi red an d pa r ticul ars as
.
,

to the prob abl e cost of the work were obta i ned the suggested ,

edi tion bein g intended to con sist of copi es The cost of .

tra cin g a page of t he MS an d engra vi ng it on a pl a te of coppe r ,

was ta ken as £4 45 the pl a tes themsel ves bei ng pri ced a t

a bout 65 5d ea ch
. . It woul d ha ve t a ken a man ten days to do
.

a sin gl e pl a te an d to pri n t copies fr om the enti r e seri es ,

in one col our woul d have cost

, or in two col ou rs ,

In a ddi ti on 255 per rea m woul d ha ve ha d to be pa id

, .

for pa per i n the for mer case but 305 i n the l a tte r i n or der
, .
,

to sta nd the ex t ra h andl ing an d pri nting It was es tima ted .

tha t the entir e tas k woul d occupy fiv e years an d tha t t he tot a l ,

c ost i f t he sh eets wer e p ri nted i n two col ours woul d be

, ,

Under thes e cir cumsta nces i t is not surp risi ng tha t the Gov
,

ern men t deci ded it wou l d be much chea per to ha ve a t ypo

gra phi c repr oducti on whi ch was a ccordi ngl y put in ha n d

, ,

al though i t w as onl y p ri nted i n one col our an d thus l ooks ,

ra t her cr ude by the si de of the mode rn r epr oduction A .

very di fieren t an d mu ch more rea l istic resul t t han ei ther

of these coul d be a chieved i f the wo rk were aga in reproduced ,

by one of the l a test proc es ses such as coll otypy an d t he time

, ,

a n d cost woul d be very m u ch l e ss Photo l i thogra phy i s

.
-

now genera ll y used for work of thi s cha ra cter as t he ca mera ,

does i n a moment wha t a dra ughtsma n or copyist wou l d need

perha ps a d ay to do .

2 13
 COLOU R P RIN TIN G
The da pt a t i on of photography to chromo li thogra phy
a -

was perha ps first proposed by Mr Burn ett a member of the .

,

Edi nbu rgh P hotogra phi c Soci ety in a pa per r ea d befor e tha t ,

body i n Februa ry 1857 H e su ggested tha t as ma ny nega t i ves

, .

sh ou l d b e ta ken as it w a s i ntended to use col ou rs in t he

pi ctu r e an d th a t those par ts of ea ch whi ch i t was not i ntended

,

to prin t in a par ticul ar col ou r shou l d be stopped ou t when -

,

the r emain der of the image cou l d be prin ted t hr ough the
nega ti ve on to a stone cover ed wi th a so l uti on of asphal tum
—
in ether a method of photo li t hogra phy whi ch had been
,

pa tented i n 1852 In the A rt j ou r na l for Au gu st 1854

.
, ,

there was an ar ti cl e deal i ng wi th a new pr ocess of photo

gr a phy on wood wi th a specimen cut th a t ha d been produ ced
,

b y i t s ai d Mr Burnett wen t fu r ther an d su ggested tha t

. .
,

the seri es of nega ti ves j u st all uded to cou l d be pri nted on as

ma ny sensi tiz ed wood bl ocks whi ch coul d t hen be eng ra ved ,

for p ri nti n g i n col ours in the usu al way This is an i de a th a t .

we do not thi nk has ever been carri ed i nto pra cti ce but the ,

asphal t method of photo chrom o li th ogra phy has si nce been

- -

per fected u nder the n ame of Photochromy This pr oc ess .

,

in i t s modern form was i nven ted a t Zu ri ch a bout 1887 u nder

, ,

the a uspi ces of Mes srs Orell Fu ssli 81 Co a promi nent art
.
,

pri nti ng an d publ ishi ng firm i n tha t ci ty an d was intr oduced ,

i n to Engl a nd by t hem shor tl y af terwa rds though i t was not ,

un til tha t the present Photochr om Cc was formed . .

Si nce the ori gi n al pa tents expir ed many other firms British , ,

an d for ei gn ha ve a d 0 pt ed the proces s an d some very fin e

, ,

work is turned out by i t As the n a me impl ies a . P hoto ,

chr om i s i n spi r it if not in fa ct a col ou r phot ogra ph the

, , ,

base being generall y a coll otype prin t either produced di rect ,

from the fil m or th rough the medi um of a tra nsfer on to

ston e. As r egar ds the co l our i ng i t i s as near na tur e as one ,

c a n r easona bl y ex pect to get shor t of a ctu al col ou r photo

,
-

gra phy seein g tha t every par t of the col our detail is a ppli ed
,

from wh a t is to all i ntents an d pu rposes an in tegral por ti on

, ,

of the ima ge on the nega t i ve transferr ed to stone by ordi nary

,

2 14
 COLOU R P RIN TI N G

or set off
-
on to the pa per But this is so essenti all y .

modern a method tha t i t must be l eft for Mr Ga mbl e to deal wi th . .

Some of the best modern exam pl es of photo chromo l i tho - -

gra phy are to be seen in the books Messrs Griggs 8: Sons .

ha ve ill ustra ted for the Trustees of the Bri ti sh Museum The .

Fa c si mi l es fr om E a rty P ri nt ed B ook s i n the B ri ti sh Museu m

some of wh i ch r equi r ed fou r stones wer e produced ,

in thi s wa y by Mr Gri ggs whose firm has for ma ny y ea rs

.
,

ta ken a l ea ding par t a mongst those opera ti ng this method .

Still fin er wor k of this descri pti on will be seen in George F

Wa rner s I l lu mi n at ed M S S i n the B r i ti sh M u seu m
’
.

The four seri es conta i n in a ll si xty pl a tes the fa csi mil es being ,

pri nted in col ours on a gr ound tinted to represent the tone

of the ol d vell um Where gol d occurs in the ori gi nal i t i s
.
,

of cou rse r epr oduced al t hough it was fou nd pra cti cal l y
, ,

i mpossibl e to burnish to the ex a ct degr ee desir ed 300 copies .

of the first series we re ru n 0 11 an d the ston es then cl ea ned

, ,

but as the dema nd j ust ified edi tions of 500 in the case of the
other seri es the wor k was done aga in for the first l ot so as
, ,

to ena bl e a fur ther 200 to be pri nted The col our ed ill ustra .

tions of some of the b ookbi ndi n gs in t he Corfiel d coll ecti on ,

whi ch a ppea red i n Messrs Sotheby s ca tal ogue of tha t sal e

.
’

a few yea rs si nce ill ust ra ted the utili ty of phot o chr omo
,
-

li thog ra phy as a ppl i ed to the reproduction of book covers -

.

A Fren ch pri nter M Da nel of L ill e r ep roduced bookbindi ngs

, .
, ,

i n col ou rs by typogra phi cal methods some twenty years

si nce in somewha t simil ar styl e .

On the Contin ent chromo l i thogra phy i s l a rgel y u sed for

,
-

the purpose of col ou ri ng ill ustra tions pr oduced by a di ffer ent

process such as hal f tone or photogra vure The resul t of
,
-
.

the former method is usua ll y kn own as Autochrom an d ,

”

onl y di ffers from P hotochr om in tha t it has a hal f tone -

key bl ock It d a tes from a bout 1900 an d i s best sui ted to

-
.
,

the reproducti on of ordi na ry nega tives or sil ve r pri nts thus ,

a voidi ng the u se of o rthoch ro ma t i c nega tives The hal f tone .

-

grai n i s usua ll y ro u ted out of those pa rt s of the bl ock tha t

2 16
C O MBI N ATI ON C OLOU R P ROCESSES
r epr esent the high l ights an d the col ours suppl ied to the ,

bl a ck impression from stone in the usua l wa y It i s cl a imed .

tha t a r esu l t c an be obt ai ned wi th si x or eight ti nts by this ,

method as good as one tha t woul d requi re from a dozen to

,

eighteen stones i n or di n ary chromo l i thogr a phy The process -

.

is very much in fa vour for pi ctu re postc a rd wor k mor e tha n ,

one hal f tone bl ock bei ng someti mes used Fri tz s H a mt bu c h

-
.
'

fu r C hr om o L i t hogr a-
p hi e cont a in s a n eight col ou r p r i nt i n the -

ma nne r of chal k work executed a t the Sta te Pri nti ng Ofii c e i n

,

Vi enna in which thr ee of the col ours (brown gr ey a n d bl u e )

, ,

were pri nted from ha l f tone bl ocks an d the rest red yell ow
- — , , ,

r ose wi th a nother gr ey an d bl ue
,
— from stones Another good .

exa mpl e of mul ti col ou r hal f tone work ha ving fiv e tints the
- — -
,

three pri ma ri es an d bl a ck with the a ddi tion of pink c a n b e ,

—
seen in the sa me vo l u me this being pr oduced by the , Chromo
type p rocess of tha t well known Viennese house Angerer 8c -
,

Gb sc hl .In H offma n n s S yst ema ti sc he F a r ben tehre (Zwi cka u

’

i s a nothe r fiv e col ou r pr int a n ea rl y speci men of hal f

-
,

to n e executed by Meisenba ch Ri ffar t h 81 Co of Muni ch The

, , .
,
.

grai ns in this case are ra ther coarse an d i rregul ar as was then ,

fr eq uentl y t he case During the past yea r or two a tendency

.
,

has shown i tsel f to foll ow the exa mpl e set a sco re of yea rs
since i n P ar i s to co l ou r hal f tone pi ctur es by mea ns of gra i ned
,
-

bl ocks A B oston
. fir m Tolsom 8c S u n ergren , ,

pa tented a process of this kind i n N ovember 1903 to whi ch , ,

"
t hey gi ve the n a me of Mu l ti tone The col our pl a tes a re .

coarsel y a n d i rr egul a rl y gra i ned or stippl ed the pi ctoria l ,

e ffect bei ng gai ned by a fin al over pri nti ng from a n ordin ary -

hal f tone bl ock A nother method pra ctised in Ameri ca (b y

-
.

the L a keside P ress of Chicago for e xa mpl e) exa ctl y reverses ,

this procedure the h al f tone bl ock bei ng pri nted first i n

,
-
,

ordinary or doubl e tone i nks a n d the col ours put on i n tra ns

-
,

par ent tints a fter the first i mpr ession has dried The tone .

pl a tes a re of zinc t ra nsfers f rom the ori gi n a l bei ng m ade

, ,

a n d on l y the po rtions r equ ir ed for ea ch co l our r et a ined the ,

r est being routed out Both in A meri ca an d on the Conti nent

.
,

2 17
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

though much more rar el y in thi s country a woodcut ,

effec t i s fr equen t l y gi ven to h al f tone wor k in col ou rs by -

tooli n g the pl a tes over by han d When t hi s i s car efull y done .

,

with due regar d to t he n a tur e of the pi cture an d the col our

scheme , a very good effect i s p r oduced A r ar er cl ass of .

work i s tha t i n whi ch woodcuts are pri n ted over hal f tone -

co l oured gr ounds . Excell ent exampl es of this sort of thi ng

c a n be seen i n the It al i a n fas hi on j our na l Marghen ta i n whi ch
’

, ,

the gr ounds ar e frequen tl y t ri col our the woodcuts (or l in e -

,

zincos fr om pen an d i n k d ra wi ngs) bei ng pri nted in bl a ck

upon them with excell ent r esu l t O rdinary monoti nt photo .

gra vur es are occasi on all y col our ed by li thogra phy on the
Conti nen t this method being Opera ted by t he Imperi al Pri n t i ng
,

Ofi c e at Vi en n a . A r epr od ucti on by tha t esta bli shment of

a pictur e by Ruben s c a n be seen in Fr i tz s H a nd bu c h fai r
’

L i t hogr a phi e i n thi s case a dozen col our stones had to be used ,

al though t he a ppli ca t i on of a singl e bri ght col ou r such as r ed , ,

will often produce a good effect Al l sor ts of mor e or l ess .

des c ri pti ve fancy names such as Coll ot ri c hrome Au t ob u n t

, , ,

Photo lil a N iki pol yc hr om etc ar e gi ven to th ese combin a ti on

-
, ,

col our pr oces ses by the va rious Conti nental pri nters or pu b
l i shers who op era te them but pra cti ca ll y all of them h a ve a
,

photo li thogr a phic basi s

-
Phot ost on e
. i s an Engli sh
met hod a n al ogous to Photochr om an d a nother home ma de
,
-

term was thr ee col our ink photo

-
an a d a pta ti on of mu l t i
-
,

col our work to the p ar ti cu l ar photo li thogra phic method -

tha t has been for many years u sed i n the production of the
pl a tes for the B u i lder S o call ed new proces ses ha ve in fa ct
.
-
, ,

fl i tted a cr oss the col our p ri nti ng fir mam en t by dozens du ri ng

the p as t twenty years most of them ha vi ng onl y a very
,

ephemera l existence Speed an d chea pness of producti on

.

ar e wha t the B r itish publ isher ma i n l y r equi r es wher e col ou r

pl a tes are concerned an d these poi nts conced ed he seems

, ,

to car e for har dl y a nything el se so tha t those methods such , ,

as col ou r coll otype tha t r e al l y gi ve the most ar t isti c r esu l ts

-
, ,

are thr u st i n the ba ckground an d seem li kel y to sta y there,

2 18
 CHA PTER 1X

P HO O T M C
-
E I
HA N C AL C OLO U R p n mr mG—C OLOU R ar c u mc
CE N TU RY an d a quarter ago Tom ,

Wedgwood whom Mr R B L i tch . . .

”
fiel d terms t he first photogra phe r ,

was expe ri menti ng wi th a ca mera

obscura but nei the r he or Da vy
, ,

who foll owed hi m were a bl e to fix ,

the i mages t hey obtai ned J N . .

N i epc e of Chal ons some thi rty yea rs ,

l a ter di d however p roduce pri nts

,

by the ai d of li ght al though his was ra th er a pri nti n g out

,
-

method tha n wha t we now ter m photogra phy as his t in ,

pl a tes coa ted wi t h bi tumi nous var ni sh wer e exposed u nder

, ,

the engra vi ngs he copi ed the sol ubl e par t of the coa ti ng
,

bei ng a fterwar ds removed so tha t the pl a te coul d b e etched

,

for p ri nti ng purposes H e was thus the first photo engra ver
.
-
,

though he di d li ttl e more tha n a few tri al pl a tes This was .

a n i nt a gli o photo etchi ng p r oc ess

-
an d so for m a ny yea rs
, , ,

wer e those tha t foll owed i t such as the methods of Cl a udet

, ,

the B ri tish expl oi ter of the Da guerr eotype pr oces s (1843)

an d of Fox Tal bot t he fa the r of Bri tish photogra phy (1852
-
,

The l a tter was t he first to utili se photogra phi ca ll y wha t

photo engra vers n ow term a
-
sc r een for b re a ki ng up the
,

hal f tones in to mi nute points to form a pra cti ca bl e pri nti n g

-

su rfa ce al thou gh he o n l y used a pi ece of ga u ze for thi s pu r pose

, .

The effect produced by two sets of li nes a t right an gl es

di agona ll y a c ross t he pl a te l ea v ing a su rfa ce of mere dots
, ,

must howeve r be credi ted to Godfrey Woon e of Kensi ngton

, , ,

Speci mens of Fox Tal bot s l a ter photo engra ving

-
'
-

process Photogl yphy

, ma y be seen i n the P hotogr a phi c
,

N ews for 1858 but al though he p roduced ex pe rimenta l pl a t es

,

220
 P RE TSCH S PH OTOG RA VU RE PROCESS
’

at i nte r val s for

everal yea rs a fterwar ds no commer ci al use
s ,

was ma de of the pr ocess .

The man who first pl a ced photo mech anical pri nts on the -

ma r ket for publi c sal e was Pa ul Pr et sc h of Vienna In ,

.

1853 he invented a method of p roduci n g int agl io p ri nt i ng

su r fa ces by ex posi ng a met al pl a te coa ted with bi ch roma ted ,

gel a tin e under a gl ass nega tive an d washi ng it i n col d wa te r

, ,

a fter wa r ds when the gel a tine pr oduced a gra in i n pr opo r ti on

,

to the a ction of the l ight an d formed a moul d from which , ,

when dried an d ha rdened a cast or el ect rotype coul d be ta k en ,

.

Pr et sc h ca me to Engl a nd in 1854 to opera te hi s p rocess

a n d for med a P hoto gal van ogr a phi c Compa ny wi th works
-
,

at Holl oway wher e a seri es of fin e pl a tes denomi n a ted

, ,

P hotogra phic A rt Tre asur es was pr oduced i n 1857 Some

”
.
, ,

su c h as The Corn fiel d from a photo by H Whi te wer e,

”
.
,

based on nega ti ves fr om n a tur e whil st o t hers l ike Sidn ey , ,

Coope r s Ca ttl e were from photogra phs of pictures The

’
.
,

grai n of t he pl a tes r esembl es t ha t of coll otype This process .

i s si ngl ed out for speci al mention not onl y beca use i t was ,

the first of i t s kind to be ope ra ted on a commer ci al scal e ,

but beca use i t al so furni shed the first exa1n pl e of the a ppl i
ca tion of press col ouri ng to photo mecha ni cal prints Two -
.

L ondon l ithogra phers h wi s 8c B b hm intr oduced earl y i n

, , ,

1857 a method of col ouri ng these photogr a vu res of Pret sc h s

’

, ,

from either wood metal or stone pri ntin g surfa ces The
, ,
.

idea was not thought worth pa tentin g n or has t h e wr i ter ,

seen an y col ou r pr ints so pr oduced but we ha ve her e a p r ocess ,

al most i denti cal i n pur pose with t he Photochr om one of

forty yea rs l a ter Ba xte r an d some others proposed col our
.
, ,

in g ordi na ry sil ver pri nts by li thogra phy but thi s i s not ,

the sa me thi ng Pret sc h s enterp ri se was not a success a n d

’
.

he r etu rned to Vienn a i n 1863 It is to an other Viennes e .

,

K arl Kli e tha t the present hal f tone photogr a vur e method i s
,
-

due he h a vi ng si rn pl ified i n 1879 the ol d Photogl yphic pro

, , ,

ces s of Fox Tal bot s so as to a da pt i t to modern r equi rements

-
’

, ,

but until quite r ecentl y no ma chi ne col oured photogr a vur es -

22 1
 COLO U R P RIN TI N G

ha ve been produced the mecha n i cal di fli c u l t ies i nvol ved

,

ha vi ng proved al most unsurmounta bl e But the ol d process .

of in ki ng i ntagl i o engra ved pl a tes by hand i n order to pr oduce

-
,

a col ou r ed pr int a t one impr ession was r evi ved a bout th i rty ,

years ago a n d has been pra ctised ever since The P a ri si a n

, .

publi shing firm of Goupil 8: Co (Manzi Joya nt 81 .

,

was tur ning out col our photogra vu res from thei r prin ti n g
est a blishment a t Asni eres as earl y as the seventies they hav ing ,

a t th a t ti me a speci al photograv ur e process of their own ,

whi ch was based on one i nvented by Woodbury the ori gi n a tor ,

of t he Woodbu rytype method of mecha nical l y pr od u cing

i mit a ti on photogr a phs L ike th a t of the Rembra ndt Intagl io
.

'
P rint i ng Cc Messrs Goupi l s proc ess is not a pa tented one
.
,

an d thus the det ai l s ar e n ot publ ic pr oper ty Photogra vur e .

is the method now gen era ll y empl oyed for high cl ass r epr o -

d u c t i on s of ol d engr a vi ngs in col our or of oil pa i n t i ngs etc , ,

the pl a te b eing i nked by hand from a sta ndar d col our ed ,

copy whi c h the inker has beside hi m for refer ence As .

the col ou ri n g i s enti r el y a t the discre t i on of the a r ti st an d ,

not dependent upon col our sel ecti on by the camera the scheme ,

c a n of cou rse be modi fied or exten ded a ccor di n g to the n a tur e ,

of the work a n d the pri ce the producer of t he pl a t es i s goin g

to get for them O n l y two or thr ee firms i n this country
.

ma ke a speci a li ty of thi s cl ass of col our pri nti ng a n d t hese ,

mostl y c on fin e themsel ves to the issue of pl a tes for sal e thr ough
the pri n t sell ers Pr oducti on i s na tu r all y sl ow from si x to
.
,

eighteen copies a d a y va ryi ng wi th the size of the picture

,

a n d the number of col ou rs used In 1903 Mes srs Geo rge . .

N ewn es L t d
, . st a r ted a qua r terl y publ i ca tion fit l y enti tl ed
,

The Idea l Ma ga zi n e i n which the il l ustr a ti on s wer e mostl y

,

col our printed photogr a v ures produced a t Wil l esden by

-
,

the Ar t Photogr a vur e Co but i t s l arge size an d almost pro

hi b i t i v e p ri ce mili ta ted a ga inst i t so th a t the first number ,

was al so the l ast The Art Photogra vure Co were the su c

. .

c essors in business of Mr L Coll a rd on who ha d been assoc i a ted

. .
,

wi th K arl Klio The Company in i t s tur n has been su cceeded

.
, ,

2 22
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

vol u me This Compa ny s method has not been pa tented ’

an d ther efor e nothi ng d efin i t e c an be sai d a bout i t here ,

al though the mecha ni cal theo ry underl ying a l l p r ocesses of

this na tur e will ree ei v e a ttenti on in Mr Ga mbl e s cha pter .

’
.

One of the most r ecen t ser i es of pri nts i n mu l ti col our -

photogr a vur e from pl a tes i nked a la pou pée is th a t of t he

, ,

fa csimil e r epr oducti ons of pi ctures by the l a te G F Wa tts .

,

R A in the Wa tts Ar t Ga ll ery a t Compton nea r Guil dfor d , ,

an d el sewher e These a re prin ted (an d the pl a tes wer e

.

prepa red) by Mr Emery Wal ker an d are very good specimens

.
,

of this cl ass of pi cture .

A quite di fferent cl ass of wo rk though meri to ri ous i n i t s ,

way was the a ptly na med

, B artol ozzi seri es of mini a ture
-

r epr oducti ons — a bout —

ca r te de visi te siz e oi ei ghteenth - -

centur y col our pri nts tha t wer e br ou ght out a few years ago
,

by M essrs E W Savory L t d of B ri stol for u se as pri va te

. . .
, .
, ,

Christmas or oth er gr eet in g car d s Thes e were photogravu res .

i nked i n th r ee or four ti nts by stencil s an d pri nted by the ,

L ondon firm of All en Cc Ltd The col ou r scheme of the .

, .

ori ginal coul d not of course be full y reprod uced but on

, , ,

the whol e these li tt l e p rints wer e very well done an d reflec t ed ,

consid era bl e cr edi t on those concerned .

A pr oc ess for m a chi ne pri nti ng fr om inta gli o pl a tes i n

col ours was pa tented by N eal e a Cin ci nna ti pri nter as far , ,

ba ck as 1853 The pl a tes wer e pl a ced upon a ser i es of beds

.

u pon endl ess chai ns an d the i mp r essi on gi ven by r oll ers

, .

When a numbe r of col ours was requ ir ed they were appl i ed ,

t o the pl a te by stencil s the su r fa ce be ing subsequent l y wi ped

,

a utoma ti ca ll y Messrs Danesi of Rome i n pr efer ence to

. .
, ,

col our ing photogra v ures with full body tints empl oy onl y ,

fai nt sha des a mer e ti nge in fa ct After engra vi ng the pl a te

, .

by the ordi nary process the coppe r i s rei nforced by biti ng ,

in on a ll the pa r ts whi ch conform abl y wi th a r ough sketc h ,

pr evi ously ma de a re to be pri nted in col ours This rei n forc

,
.

i n g has to be ex ecuted with j udgm en t by a skil l ed col ou r

engra ver who then i nks the pl a te cl ean ing it so tha t the
, ,

224
 COLOU R P R I N T I N G

i ntr oduced photo li thogra phi c process which co n tai n ed the

a -

germ of the coll otype method but the i n vention of coll otype ,

p rope r i s a ttri buted to MM Tessi e d u Mot hay an d Ma recha l

.
,

of Metz a bout 1865 thou gh t hey used a metal suppor t for

, ,

thei r fil ms Herr Josef Al ber t of Mun i ch (fa the r of Dr E

.
, . .

Al ber t of the well known pr oc ess engra ving firm i n tha t ci ty)
,
- -

first i nt roduced in 1869 the gl ass pl a te which i s now mostl y

used as a base for the gel a tin e fil m Al b er t turned the .

process to a ccount for the p roducti on of coll otypes i n c ol ours

by the Al be rty pe method i n 1870 al though he was cl osel y ,

foll owed if not i ndeed preceded by H usni k of Pr a gue a n d

w y of Vienna na mes still fa mil i a r in the col our pri n ting
, , , ,

, ,

worl d P rofessor L eon Vi dal was a no t he r ea rl y wor ker in this

.

fiel d a n d the Sta te Pa pe r Offi c e a t S t Petersburg was p roduc

, .

i n g col ou r coll oty pes by 1878 if not befo re P ri nts of this ki nd

, .

a re most l y on the thr ee col ou r p ri nci pl e but thi s is not of

-
, ,

course a si n e qua non Ob ern et t er of Muni ch worked a coll o

,
.
, ,

ty pe process in the ea rl y seven ti es i n which a n y number ,

of col ours cou l d b e used ta ki ng one nega ti ve for ea ch col our

,

r equi r ed a n d r etouchi ng an d stoppi ng o u t be fo r e p repa ring the

,
-

printing fil ms About the same time a Germa n sc i enti st Dr

.
, , .

H W Vogel introduced col our sen siti ve photogra phic pl a tes

. .
,
-
,

using n a p t hol bl ue for the red eosi n for the yel l ow a n d flu ore ,

sci n for the bl ue ; the hl ms thus p repa r ed wer e p ri nted i n

col ours correspondi ng to tha t pa rt of the spectr um to which the

par ti cu l ar pl a te was sen si ti ve Much i mporta nce was a t t a ched.

to this inventi on i n Germa ny i n the eighti es a Society for

P ri nti ng Coll otypes i n N a t ural Co l ours by Vogel s pr ocess
’

was formed a n d a number of prin ts pr oduced specimens of

, ,

whi ch wer e shown a t the Berli n Ama teur Exhi bi ti on of

an d the Ge rm a n Exhi b i tion hel d in L ondon i n a t whi ch

l a t ter they we r e a wa r ded a p riz e They a re very good exa m .

pl es of a somewha t unusual form of photoc hromic pri nti n g ,

an d i n gene ra l a ppea ra nce r a ther r esembl e t he new ma chine

pri nted photogr a vures in col our ha vi ng the sa me soft an d ,

sil ky aspect .

226
COLLOTY PE IN COLOU RS

Four col our coll otype t e the three pri ma ri es a n d a key

-
, . .
,

pl ate in grey was pra ctised by a Mu ni ch firm Messrs Bohr e r

, , .
,

Gor ter 8: Co for a few yea rs from 1888 a n d some fin e wor k

.
, ,

was produced b u t t he dema nd was not su ffic i en t to wa rr a nt

,

i t s conti nua nce The sa me fa te over took the first a ttempts

.

to popu l arise col our coll otype in this count ry by Messrs

-
,
.

Wa t erl ow 8: Sons L t d i n L ondon , the Photo

.
,

chr oma tic Pri nti ng Co a t Bel fa st a n d thei r succ esso rs

the Hel iochr ome Co i n L ondon which ceased work in

.
, ,

Both the l a tter conce rns were under the pra ctical man agement
of Mr Ma r tin Cohn
. A mongst the first fr ui ts of B ri tish
.
-

col our coll otype a re the p ri nts produced by Wa t erl ows fo r ’

L a nd a n d Wat er i n 1 In the issue of tha t peri odi cal

-
.

for J u l y 26t h , r efe rence w as ma de to a p i ctu r e i ntended

to ha ve been i ncl uded i n tha t numbe r (but postponed to the

succeedi ng one
) wh i ch w as
, sa i d to be p r oduced by a new

—
p o ess a modi fic a t i on of col our photogra phy d i scovered
r c —
by the edi to r .This pri nt a ya chting scene entitl ed Rai n , ,

a n d Su nshine on the Sol ent was publ ished wi th the i ssue

for August 2n d an d though s1mp1e in col ou ri ng is i f a nyt hi ng
, , , ,

a better exa mpl e of the pr ocess tha n a coupl e which foll owed

a few months l a ter These wer e por tra i ts o f thei r Royal

.

Highn esses the Pri nce a n d P ri nces s of Wal es the forme r ,

bein g issued wi th L a n d a n d Water for Ma rch 2 15 t an d the ,

l a tter on June 20m a ccompa nyin g the first w

,
as a n

a r t i cl e on the subj ect by t he gentl em a n r espon sibl e for the

col our nega tives M r G T Teasdal e B u c k ell i n whi ch he

, . . .
-
,

ga ve some a ccou nt of t he methods a dopted for the p rod ucti on

of the pri nts The Cha se for Mar ch
. also conta i ned ,

a th r ee col our coll otype p ri n t r ep resenti ng a coupl e of vases

-
, ,

produced by Wa t erl ow 8: Sons from col our nega ti ves by

Mr Tea sdal e B u c k ell th is was a ra ther better pi ctur e tha n
.
-

ei ther of the por t r a i ts In 1900 Mr Wet herrn a n of E n fiel d

.
, .
, ,

sta r ted to pr oduce col l oty pe pri nts by the or dinary thr ee co l our -

method an d Messrs Val enti ne of Dundee even brought

, .
, ,

ou t some co l ou r coll otype p i ctu re postca rds a ye a r or so

-

227
 COLO U R P RI N TI N G

a fter but both these firms now hn d tha t thi s is not a pr ocess
,

which c an a t p resent be ca rried on wi th a profit i n thi s country ,

though Griggs 8: Sons of L ondon an d Bemrose 8: Sons , , ,

of De rby h a ve done some fin e work by i t

, Ou the Conti .

nen t however it i s very much al i ve as the numer ous fin e

, , ,

speci men s which wer e shown a t the D r e s den P hotogr a phi c

Exhibiti on l ast year su ffic i en t l y demonstra ted Severa l .

of the text books on photochromic pri ntin g proces ses contai n

exampl es of coll otype i n col ours In B on a c hin i s wor k .
’

on Col our P hotogra phy (Mil a n i s a r ep roduc t i on of ,

a n o l eogr a ph by the th r ee col ou r method the separa te col our -

,

impr essions being al so shown Augu st Al ber t s L i c htdm c k .

’

( H a ll e ,h as a se t of p ri nt s ill u st r a ting the fou r co l ou r -

method i n i t s va ri ous p rogr essive stages Pau l 81 L ehm a nn s .

’

Hid /sbu c h (B resl a u h as a si x col our col l otype fa csi mi l e

,
-

of a wa ter col our dra wi ng of a gazell e s hea d

-
’
.

The r es u l ts of a pr ocess of col our coll otyp y ar e well di spl ayed -

i n the fin e seri es of r epr oducti ons of the works of some of the

0 1d Ita l i a n M as ters commenced by the Medi ci Soci ety L ondon
, , ,

in an d l a tel y exten ded to some pictu r es of the Fl emi sh ,

Dutch an d Engli sh schools These pri nts ha ve a di stin ctive .

ch ar a cter of t heir own recalli ng Dr Vogel s pr oces s an d t he

, .
’

seri es whi ch now incl udes so me two hundr ed subj ects ma y

, ,

be consi der ed as wor thi l y ca rryi ng on the work of the defunct

Ar undel Society Wi thi n the l ast few months the Medi ci
.

Soci ety ha ve commenced to issue t h rough their publ i sher ,

(M r .P L W a r ne
. r.
) some book s ill u st r a,
te d i n col ou r by the
pr ocess amongst which may be mentioned The 3 0 91g of S on gs
,

an d the Med i t at i on s of M a rea s A u r el i us both of whi ch h a ve ,

col our coll otype r eproducti ons of wa ter col our dra wi ngs by
- -

W Russell Fl int
. These ar e works of the de lu xe or der
. ,

pri nted fr om a speci all y desi gned fount of type on special l y -

ma de p a per an d being ill ustra ted i n col our by a novel method

, ,

th ey consti tute a di stin ct depa rtur e i n a rt publ i shi ng Signor .

Gi ul io D anesi of Rome a member of a fa mil y of unti ri ng

, ,

investi ga tors of photo mechan i cal pri nting methods has -

,

228
 COLOU R COLLOTY P E METH O DS
-

te y
l a l hi t upon the ide a of u s i n g a n al u minium p l a te as a

s uppo rt for the co ll otype hl m i n ste a d of the

, u s u a l g l ass sl a b .

As the pl a te c a n be bent r ound the cyl i nde r of a rota ry pri nting

ma chine Signor Da nesi has brought out a speci a l p ress a da pted
,

for the pu rp ose on which he has been recentl y p roducing

,

some fin e th ree col ou r coll otypes -

It is a point worth men
.

t i on in g her e tha t the fir m of D anes i was pe rha ps the first to

commence the publ ica ti on of col oured pi cture postca rds
this was in 1882 the designs bei ng fu rnished by a Si cil ia n a rti st
,

na med B al d assore Al though the pri ce was onl y ten centesimi

.

( ) p
1 d
. er c a r d the r e w,
a s p r a ctic a ll y no dem a nd f or them ,

a n d so the enterpr i se w a s soon a b an doned .

Pri nting fr om sever a l successi ve co ll otype col our fil ms i s

ra ther di ffi c u l t the gel a tine being so sensiti ve to ch a nges of
,

tempera ture the effect of whi ch i s the di stor tion of the i ma ges
, ,

the a l tera tion of the tones an d the consequent spoili ng of the

,

pi ctu re The r esul ts of the process when worked u nder sa tis

.
,

fa ctory con di ti ons from real l y good nega ti ves a n d with sui tabl e ,

in ks i s however well wo r th the t r o u bl e th a t ha s to be bestowed

,

upon the production of prints of this type which in the , ,

write r s opinion a t l east a r e unexcell ed by those due to an y

’

other photochromi c printi ng pr ocess sa ve pe rha ps the new ,

ma chi ne pri nted col our photogra vur es Thi s i s l a rgel y due
-
.

to the a bsence of the h a rd mecha nical gr a in of the hal f tone -

p rint ; there is of course a gr a in i n coll otype but i t ,

i s due not to the interposi t i on of a rul ed scr een but to the

, ,

puckeri ng up of the surfa ce of the gel a tine hlm in dryi ng an d ,

i s ther efor e ve ry i rr egul a r the unva ryi ng pa tte r ned gr a i ns

,

of the screen being thus a bsent At the present d a y coll otype .

,

i s very l argel y used in col our pr inti ng as a b asic p r ocess t e , . .

,

a photogra phi c rep r esent a tio n of the o ri in al view or pi ctu re

g , ,

or obj ect i s obta ined by me a ns of a monoti nt i mpr ession i n

,

coll otyp e the col ouring bei ng a dded a fterwa rds by some
,

different method such as l ithogr a phy or printing from h a l f

, ,

tone or other gr a ined bl oc ks These combina tion processes .

ha ve been mentioned al rea dy a n d as Mr Ga mbl e will deal , .

2 29
 COLOU R P RIN TIN G

further wi th thi s bran ch of the subj ect i n hi s chapter on modern

meth ods of col ou r prin ti ng the wr i ter will pass on to the t hr ee
,

col our hal f tone pr ocess which i s u nques ti onabl y the most
-
,

popul ar method of col our ill ustra tion .

In prin ci pl e i t i s based upon the idea tha t N ewt on promu l

ga ted an d which L e Bl on as we ha ve seen was the first to
, , ,

put i nto pra cti ce i n conn ecti on wi th col ou r repr oducti on ,

v iz
.
,tha t t here ar e but t hr ee col our sensa ti ons i n na ture .

In i t s sc i en t ific moder n form on whi ch pra cti cal l y al l methods

,

of col our photogr a phy are founded thi s t h eory was firs t ,

demonst ra ted a bout h al f a cent ury ago by P rofessor J

- -
,
.

Cl a rk Ma xwel l who used col our ed li qui d fil t ers for the pur pose
,

of obtai ni ng thr ee separa te i ma ges of an obj ect r epresenti n g ,

those pa r ts of i t fr om whi ch r ed yell ow an d bl u e l ight wer e

,

res pec ti vel y r efl ec t ed . The P rofessor al so i ntr oduced t ha t

mak eshi ft styl e of so cal l ed col our photogra phy whi ch consist s
-

of vi ewi ng a set of thr ee col our ed n ega ti ves or t ran sparen c i es

throu gh an opti cal in stru ment in or der to r eproduce the ,

col ours of the ori gin a l The a ppli ca ti on of thes e col our
.

n ega ti ves to the m ak in g of r eli ef bl ocks for printi ng pu rposes

da tes from the sixties Curi ousl y enou gh two indepen dent
.
,

Fr en ch i nvestiga tors worki ng al ong the same li nes orig ina ted
, ,

tri ch roma tic col our p ri nti ng pr oces ses whi ch wer e a l most iden
ti cal they were L oui s A Ducos d u H au ron an d Charl es Cros
. .

The former publi shed some detail s of his methods in L es Momi es

an d fo rmall y communi ca ted p ar ticul ars of the i nvention to the

A ca demy of Sci ences a t P ar i s in December 1867 whil st M , ,

.

Cr os pa ten ted hi s pr ocess in Fra nce i n N ov emb er 1868 an d , ,

r a ther t a r di l y an nou nced the disc overy to the Fr ench P hoto

graphi c Soci ety i n Jul y 1869 two months a ft er a simil a r

, ,

course ha d been t ak en by M d u H au ron wi th r egar d to hi s

.

proc ess i n the wor kin g out of whi ch he was h el ped by hi s

,

br other Al ci de . They used oran ge gr een an d vi ol et col our

,

fil t ers b u t ha d no ru l ed scr een s ; the pri n t i ng method they

,

proposed to util i se wa s li thogr aphy the i mages obtai ned on ,

the col our nega ti ves bei ng tra nsferr ed to stone by t he ordi nary
230
EA RL Y THREE C OL OU R -
P RI N TI N G

photo li thogra phi c process an d pri nted i n the th ree prima ry

-
,

col ours t hey represen ted But thr ee col our photo l i thogra phy
.
- -

has ha r dl y ever pr oved a sa ti sfa ctory method of col our r epr o

ducti on an d Du Hau ron s experiments pr oved no exception
,
’

to the rul e Thei r pr oces s will be foun d des c ribed i n the

.

Trai te P ra ti qu e de P hotogr a phi e d es Cau teu r s (Pa ris 1878) ,

an d speci mens of their thr ee co l our pri nts may be seen i n the
-

Cou rs de R epr oduc ti on s I ”d u stri el les (Pari s The ,

—
l a tter wo rk a lso cont ai ns an a ccount wi th an exa mpl e oi —
P rofessor L eon Vi dal s meth od of photo l i thogr a phic t ra nsfer
’
-
,

for the pur pose of col ou r pri nting from stone whi ch was not , ,

,
—
however based upon the thr ee c ol our theory t he ou t li n es ,

of t he pi cture bein g gi ven by pri nti ng a Woodburyt ype

i mi t a ti on photogra ph on the top of the set of col our impr es si ons .

The tri chrom atic pri ntin g process depen ds upon the correc t
i nterpr et a ti on of the col our val u es of the obj ec t photogra phed ,

an d thi s i s a ccompli shed by mea ns of the l i ght fil t ers

al r ea dy r eferr ed to gl ass cell s of li qui d col our or pi eces of
,

Optical l y worked gl ass It i s theor eti call y assumed tha t

.

ther e are but thr ee col ours to be r en der ed red bl ue an d yell ow , , ,

a n d hence it foll ow s th a t i n o rder to ext ra ct an y one of t h ese

fr om t he li ght r eflec t ed from the obj ec t on to the sensi ti ve

pl a te in the cam era the other two must be el i mi n a ted ther efore
, ,

the eli mi na tin g med um i —

the hl t er must be c a pa bl e of
a bsor bi n g them a n d a ll ow i ng the thi r d col our to pass thr ough .

Thu s an ora nge fil t er a bsorbs the r ed an d the yell ow which —

—
pr oduce or an ge a n d all ows the bl ue to pass an d so on wi th ,

the others Th e pri nci pl e was first utilised pra cticall y an d

.
,

commerci al l y in the seventi es i n connecti on wi th the devel op

, ,

ment of coll otype as has been sta ted al re a dy i t s a ppli ca ti on

, ,

to l etterpres s pri n ti ng da ti n g on l y from 1885 Th is is due .

to an Ameri c a n Fr ederi ck E Ives of P hil a del phi a t o whom

, .
, ,

the cr edi t of ma ny other important in venti ons i n conn ection

wi th photo mecha ni cal proces ses must a lso be gi ven though
-
,

the a mount of profit he pers onal l y deri ved fr om them does

not seem to h ave been very great H e t e i nvented the .
-

23 1
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

method as , photogra phi ca ll y spea ki n g as Fox Ta l b o t s

ol d , ,
-
’

ti me of br ea ki ng up the ha l f tones of a photogra ph i nto dot s

,
-
,

so as to t r a nsl a te the p i ctu r e into a reli ef p ri nting sur fa ce th a t

coul d be i nked i n the o rdina ry wa y I n 1878 when he was .

,

using the Woodb ur ytype pr oces s for the producti on of

l etterpress pri nting bl ocks he was i n the ha bit of i nki n g the
,

swe ll ed gel a ti ne r eli ef pr oduced by th a t method a n d p ressi n g ,

it on a sh eet of pa per wi th i t s sur fa ce embossed with a sor t of

gra i n i n dots tha t took the i n k from the reli ef an d thus
, ,

p resented the pi cture in grai ned form whi ch Ives re photo ,

-

g ra phe d a n d m ,a de a z inc p r ocess b l ock fr om i n the usu a l ,

wa y Exa mpl es of t his method a ppear i n the P hotogra phi c N ews

.

for A ugust 11t h 1882 a n d some of the numbe rs of the N ew

, ,

Y o rk Cen t u r y M a ga zi n e for the same yea r Ives pe rfected .

the process l a te r by ta ki ng a pl aster cast of the Woodbur y

r eli ef an d a ppl ying to i t a sheet of rubbe r w i th pyra m ida l
dots al l over i t s surfa ce These dots being i nked sprea d
.
,

ou t mo r e or l ess a cco rdi ng to the va rying r el ief of the c ast ,

a n d thus l eft a so r t of h al f tone p ri nt on the l a tte r whi ch

-
,

was then photog ra phed as if i t wer e a l ine ori gin al an d a zi nc ,

bl ock ma de i n the usual way For some time befo re th is .

,

Ives ha d been experi menti ng wi th col our photogr a phy an d ,

”
ha d invented a n i nstru ment call ed a Chromoscope for ,

vi ewi ng thr ee tinted tra nsparent gl ass posi tives which , ,

when super posed reproduced a pi ctur e of the origin al i n i t s

,

n a tural col ours From the production of these photog ra phi c

.

col our t ra nspa renci es to tha t of pri nti ng bl ocks whi ch shoul d
r ep r esent the sam e th r ee co l o u rs w as a n easy a n d n a t u ra l
,

step which by 188 1 Ives ha d t a ken

, H e showed a t the P h il a .

del ph i a El ect ri ca l Exh ibi tion in tha t year a thr ee col our repro -

duction of a ch romo l ithogra ph produced by the a i d of three

-
,

scr eens the nega tive

, s being m a de wi th b romide em ul sion a n d

t rea ted wi th c hl o rophyl eosin an d tannin in orde r to di ssect the

, ,

col our ing conta ined in the origi na l Ives showed simil ar .

prints a t the P hil a del phia N ovel ti es Exhi bition of 1885 but ,

he thought so l i ttl e of the idea a t th a t time th a t he di d not

232
 C OLOU R P RI N TIN G

on the sen si ti sed surfa ce of the meta l pl a te th a t is etched for

conversi on i nto a pri nti ng bl ock the sc heme of dots whi ch ,

r epr esen ts the pi ctur e i s r ev ersed i n i t s tone val u es t h e h i gh ,

l ights bein g repr esented by sma ll tra nspar ent openi ngs brou ght ,

a bout by the j o i ning u p of the corners of the dots a rra nged

-

i n ch ess boar d fashi on as a r esul t of the a cti on of the sc reen

-
, .

The earli es t a ppli ca ti on of h al f tone to col our pri nti ng seems

-

not to have been ma de on the li nes of the thr ee col our pr oc ess -
,

but for fu rni shi ng key bl ocks to a seri es of col our impr essions
-

r .
—
f om tone pl a tes These were an d stil l a re—produced by
the ai d of a coarse dust gr ound of bi tumen or resin ,

the process i mage obta in ed photogra phi ca ll y bei ng stopped

out an d etched . This i s the Fren ch method k nown a s
c hr omot ypog ra v u r e
”
due we bel ieve t o the j oint enterpri se
, , ,

of M Ma nz i of the Goupil publ i shi ng firm an d the Pa risi a n

, ,

pri nti ng house of L ah ur e 81 Co It is to some extent a .

modific a t i on of the ol d a qua ti nt pr ocess a deta i l ed a ccount

of i t will be foun d in Mr Gambl e s r ecent book on L i ne
.
’

E n gr avi n g an d a bri efer one i n the nex t ch a pter .

The Christ mas 188 1 number of L I ltu st r at i on (Pa ris) has

, ,
’

some of the ear li est pl a tes of this desc ri ption whi ch ex hib i t the ,

r esul t of th r ee months har d wor k i n devi sing a p ra ct i c a bl e

’

photo mec han i cal col our pri nti ng process Th er e i s an eight
-
.

page suppl ement i n col our (i ncl udi ng a London str eet scene a fter
a wa t er co l ou r dr a wi ng) pri nted from bl ocks in which the tone
-
,

was partl y r epr esented by dot s par tl y by shor t broken li nes , ,

an d p a rtl y by a gr ai n not al together unli ke tha t p r oduced by

a qua t i nti ng ,or by a scr een i n the form of a coa rse text il e

fa bri c . This i rr egu l ar i ty quite a pa rt from the da te showed

, ,

,
—
th a t these bl ocks by wha tever photo etchi ng method produced ,

owed nothi ng to Mei senba ch Bl a ck red an d bl ue were the

.
,

col ours mostl y used one pi ctur e bei ng pri nted in bl ue gr een
,
-

on a bl ue gr ou nd with the hi gh l ights routed out

,
.

A few yea rs a fter two or thr ee di stinct styl es of co l our

,

wor k wer e being used in L I tl u stra ti on of whi ch t he Christ mas

’

, ,

1889 number furni shes typi ca l ex ampl es

,
The front cover .

234
 i l ep
K nd y r rod u ced fo r t hi s wor k b y t he
A rc E n g ra v i ng Co m p a n y. Lt d .
 COLOU R P RIN TIN G

I fl u st rated L on don N ews i n whi ch as we ha ve seen col our

, , ,

p ri nting was l a rgel y used al though al most unknown i n Fr a nce

,

pri or to the eighti es In April however P a n s I ll u str é

'

.
, ,

was d iscontinued the F i ga r o Ifl u stré taki ng i t s pl a ce as a

,

col our ill ustra ted monthl y The cover of this i ni ti al issue is
-
.

a fin e ex a mpl e of c hr omot yp ogr a v u r e the b a ck bei ng devoted ,

to a seri es of pi ctori al a dver tisements also in col ours of a very , ,

ar ti sti c an d unusual chara cter The separa te col our ed pl a te .

,

a fa csimil e of Edoua rd Det aill e s fic l ai reur ha d the

’

sh a do w s hei ghtened by a thi n fil m of varnish a styl e whi c h ,

i s now a ba ndoned .

Though it is somewha t a ntici pa ting a nothe r bra nch of ou r

subj ect a tten t i on ma y be given her e to the be a uti ful seri es of
,

col our ed pl a tes appea ri ng in the F i ga r o M odes the queen of -

,

fashi on pa pers whi ch is pri nted by Messrs L a hu re 81 Co an d

, .

was star ted i n 1903 These are in three or four col ours t he
.
,

l a tter being generall y res er ved for port ra i ts the t i nts u sed ,

bei ng the th ree p ri ma ri es an d bl a ck O nl y t he l as t is as a .

,

r ul e a t rue h al f tone bl ock the co l ours bei ng a ppli ed fr om the

,
-
,

etched pl a tes al rea dy r eferred to The subj ect is photogra phed .

an d two p r oofs suppl i ed to the col ou rist one of which he p asses ,

on to the engra ver to ma ke the hal f tone bl ock from but the -
,

other he col ours taki ng as his model the a ctu a l tints of the
,

costume i t is desi red to r epres ent the ba ckgroun d an d other ,

a ccesso r i es be i ng of course suit a bl y col our ed a s well

, , From .

this col our ed proof the photo engra ver works when pr epa ri ng -

hi s tone bl ocks gr ea t c ar e bei ng neces sa ry i n or der to r epresent

,

the hesh ti nts properl y The three col our pi ctures in the
.
-

F i ga r o M odes are usua ll y hal f tones

- -
.

Fine exa mpl es of French chromotypogra phy as a ppl i ed to ,

book ill ustra ti on are seen in the seri es of pl a tes in the A rmori a l
,

de l a T oi son d Or r ep r oduci ng i n col our fa csi mil e the

’

A r ms etc of the Kni ghts of the Order of the Gol den Fl eece
, .
,

i n the middl e of the fift een t h century These pictures al most .

give the impr essi on of wa ter col our d ra wings -

.

Ea rl y exa mpl es of the u se of hal f tone bl ocks in Engl ish -

236
Prod u ced an d pi
r nt ed f
ro m P resc ol t i n t B l ck
o s by
 COLOU R P RI N T I N G

B ri ti sh
th ee r -
tone pri n t s The process was i ntro
col our hal f -
.

d u c ed her e fr om the Continent a n d the sa me was the case ,

in Ameri ca wher e Ives old method—somewha t l ori fied an d

’

,
g
unpr oved— was put i nto pra ctice by Willi a m K u rtz of N ew ,

Y or k i n an d soon r eceived the n a me of Col o u r t

,
ype .

The Photo Chromotype Co brought it ba ck to the pl a ce of

-
.

i t s birt h— Phil a del phi a— i n an d a t the end of the

premi er America n printi ng tr a de j ourn al The I ”l a nd P ri nt er , ,

condescended to ta ke noti ce of the i nfa nt pr ocess a n d to ,

pr esent an exampl e produc ed by it to i t s r ea ders this i s a

pi ctur e of a fish repr oduced from a fourteen col our l ithogra ph
,
-

by Pa ul Bra cht of Chica go In the same year a fai rl y r ept e

, .
,

sen t a t i v e l ot of spec i mens of B ri t i sh an d fore i gn thr ee co l our -

work was got together a t the Royal Cornwa ll Exhibi ti on a t

Fal mou t h an d fr om tha t t ime to the present the pr oc ess has
,

g r ow n a p a ce an d obt ,a i ned a ho l d i n t he est i m a tion of the ,

tra de an d the publi c whi ch i s second to none , .

O ne of the ea rl i est Engl ish three col ou r pri nts the wri ter has -

seen i s the pl a te pres ent ed as a suppl ement to L and a nd Wat er

for Feb ru ary 13t h r epr e

s enti ng
, Sai nfoin the wi nner ,

of the D erby i n this bei ng prepar ed by Messrs Wa t er l ow .

8: Son s L t d from col ou r nega tives ta ken by Mr Teasdal e

, .

B u c k ell The Techni c al L i bra ry of the S t Bri de Founda ti on has

. .

a copy of this pi ctur e an d a l so sepa ra te p r oofs fr om the thre e

,

col our bl ocks used i n it s produ cti on The gra dual devel opme n t .

of the or dinary thr ee col our h al f tone pri nt ma y be studi ed i n

- -

t he ea rl y vol um es of Cassell 8: Co 5 Chu ms star ted i n 1893

'
.
, ,

when tri chr oma ti c l etterpress pri nti ng was j ust commenc i ng to
ma ke i t s introductory bow to the publi shing tr a de Wi th the .

issue for N ovembe r 3ot h i n tha t yea r was p resented a col our ed
pl a te enti tl ed Hope a fter a des i gn by W H Ov eren d t his
"
, . .
,

ha vi ng been pri nt ed fr om t hree gra in ed bl ocks i nked in the ,

primary col ours but the general a ppeara nce an d textur e of

,

the pict ur e were si ng u l a rl y a ki n to those of the earl y Frenc h

col our pri nts al rea dy referred to Two months l a ter (J anu a ry .

25t h ,
there was another pri nt r epresenti ng The ,

238
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

producti on of a col our ed pi ctur e va ri es from one up to hal f

a dozen or mor e al thou gh in these l a tter cases the mu l t i pli ci ty
,

of grai ns is ap t to confuse the outl ines Exampl es of six col our -

h al f tones may be seen in M G V ui lli ers L a Tu n i si e pri nted by

-
. .
’

Ma me a t Tou rs in P ri n t i ng in t wo col ours fr om a sin gl e

sur fa ce h as been p ra cti sed for several yea rs c hi efl by the aid
y ,

of a veil over the par t in tended to a ppl y the second col our ,

al though other an d mor e compli ca ted methods h a ve been

tried or proposed In 1905 Signor V Tura ti a prin ter a t

.
, .
,

Sin c romy
”
Mil an brought out a pr oces s whi ch he termed
, ,

i n whi ch an impr essi on in bl a ck fr om a hal f tone bl ock was -

i nked i n a number of tints from a sl a b of sol id col ou r the

ti nts wer e arra ng ed i n mosai c fashi on the surfa ce being ,

a utoma ti cal l y da mped befor e ea ch a ppl i ca t i on of the in k

to the su r fa ce of the bl ock In t he or di n ary way however
.
, ,

pri nters who onl y u se a si ngl e bl ock for col our work ar e content
wi th the effect pr oduced by the so cal l ed doubl e tone
- -

i n k s in whi ch c er tai n chemi cal sub sta nces ar e a dded to t he

,

col ou ri ng ma tter i mpar ting to it the property of gi vi ng both

,

a ti nt an d a sh a de of the sa me col ou r w i th a si ng l e i nki ng of the

bl ock the depth an d tone of the col ouri ng varying with the
,

li ghts an d sha dows of the pi ctur e Thi s is a pra cti cal sol uti on
.

of a pr obl em whi ch had occupied ma ny i nventi ve brai ns

si nce a t l eas t 1867 when a Fr enchm an na med Roger su ggested
,

mi xi ng wi th i nks of va ri ous col ours chemi c al s tha t woul d

, ,

r ep el one a nother li ke oil an d w a ter so tha t an i nki ng r oll er

,

cou l d be ch arged wi th sa y thr ee col ours a t once wi thout

, , ,

i ncurrin g an y ri sk of thei r bl en di ng an d th us Spo ili ng t he

inten ded effect .

H al f tone pri nts i n two col ou rs bl ue a n d brown a ppear ed

-
, ,

on the covers of The Cha se as ea rl y as but fift een yea rs

si nce ther e w as st ill onl y a singl e L ondon photo engra vi ng firm -

tha t ma de a speci ali ty of bl ocks for thi s cl ass of work The .

u se of two co l ou rs whether they be p ri ma ri es or not gener all y

, ,

pr ov ides a three col our pi ctur e as if t he col ours for exa mpl e
-
, , ,

be bl ue an d yell ow gr een will be produced at the points where

,

24 0
 B R I TT A N Y
lj y I . . C 1" c
. "
( mut u a l 111 p o ss e s s i o n o f 1c t o r 1:1 A In rt Mu se u m
l ck
.

“c h ow of P h om h n e r me
’

B o s by st u d en t ot L C C
. . . u

t ll tl
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

furni sh fai rl y rep resen ta tive exampl es of o rdi nary col oured
li ne engr a vi ngs as used in l ow p ri ced books
,
A d esc ri pti on
-
.

of the proces s of prepa ri ng l in e engra vi ngs for col our work

forms the subj ect of a cha pter in Mr W Gambl e s L i n e . .
’

E n gra vi n g (1909) the frontispi ece to tha t work is a four

col our li ne engra vi ng t e the three primaries a ppl ied to col our
, .

a r ep roduct i on in bl a ck of a pen an d in k sketch separ a te proofs

- -
,

of ea ch of the fou r bl ocks u sed a lso bein g gi ven .

Col our ed i ll u str a t i ons from a combi n a ti on of l i ne an d hal f

tone bl ocks a ppeared i n the Mith on a penny ill ustra ted weekl y
'

sta rted by M essrs George N ew

. n es L t d in Each i ssue ,

ha d four pages p rinted i n col ou rs from gra ined zi n c bl ocks ,

genera ll y the thr ee prim a ries (a bl a ck hal f tone bein g often -

used as well ) al though the re was no a ttempt a t produ ci ng

thr ee col our pri nts as we understa nd the term t o day The
- -
.

j ourn al had a ca r eer of two or thr ee yea rs a n d i t s decea se was ,

foll owed by a l ong i nterval dur ing whi ch there was no chea p
,

Engl i sh per iodi cal ill ustra ted in col our Then in 1902 two .

gen t l emen who ha d been concerned in j ourn ali sm i n Ceyl on

st ar ted The C ol ou r ed P i c tor i a l a n d sunk a consi dera bl e su m
,

of money in l a yi ng down pl a nt for i t s producti on in this

case hal f tone bl ocks were used the pictures being in on e
-
, ,

two or thr ee col ours O rdi na ry Wha r fedal e machi nes wer e
,
.

used th r ee i n seri es an d the i dea w

, , as to i mmedi a tel y pass t he

sheets fr om one m a chine to t he other u sing some speci al ,

a ddi tions to the i n k to fa ci li ta te qu i ck dry i ng But the pri nters .

wer e not a bl e to get good r egi ster a n d thus the col ouri ng was ,

so poo r th a t the publi c neve r t ook ki ndl y to the pa pe r an d it ,

ceased to a ppea r a fter a bout hal f a dozen numbers ha d been

pu blished A t the present time t he chea p col our ill ustra ted
.
,
-

press i s c hi efly r epresented i n this co u ntry by such publ i ca ti ons

as Messrs H a rmsw ort h s P uc k star t ed in 1904 an d pr inted
'
.
, ,

from t he web on rota ry ma chin es i n fou r col ours from ni ckel ,

fa ced l i ne bl ocks by the L ondon Col ou r Pri nting Cc Tha t firm

,
.

pr oduced for t he propri etors of t he Dai l y N ews in the ea rl y ,

part of this yea r P i c t u res of the N ew P a rl i a men t whi ch

, ,

24 2
TRICH RO MATIC XY L OGRA PH Y

contai ned a Pol i ti cal Char t for 19 10 i n red bl a ck an d green an d , , ,

the Dai l y N ews for February 12t h ha d an art i cl e descri pti ve of

the pr ocesses empl oyed In the U ni ted Sta tes stereotyped .
,

hal f tone bl ocks were printed i n several col ours on rotary

-

newspa per presses from 1888 when the Ch ristmas numbers of ,

the N ewY ork Her a ld an d j ou rn a l brought out col oured suppl e

ments produced a t the ra te of copi es per hour The .

B ost on P ost i ssues wi th i t s Su nda y edi ti on a col our ed section

of si xteen p ages pri nted in fou r ti nts by stereos prepar ed from
,

zi nc pl a tes gr ai ned by shadi n g medi u ms This is a cl ass of .

work tha t is pra cti ca ll y u nkn own in thi s coun t ry al thoug h ,

the col our ill ustra ted weekl y is common enough on the Con
-

t i n en t p a pers l ike the P et i t J ou r na l a t P a ris t he S i mpl i c i ssi mu s

, ,

a t Muni ch the B l a nc a y N e ro a t M a dr i d an d L a D omemm del

'

, g ,

Corn er e pri nted on rota ry ma chi nes a t M il an ha vi ng conta ined

’

, ,

col ou red pi ctur es i n thei r ordi na ry issues for some yea rs past .

The introduct i on a n d subsequent ra pi d progr ess of methods

, ,

of pr oducin g printing sur fa ces by photo etching has pra cti ca ll y -

kill ed wood engra ving except for ca tal ogue ill ustra tion an d
,

one or two other specia l cl asses of work But the ol der a rt .

has to a lim i ted extent a t l east

, got i t s own ba ck , by
”
cutting i nto a domai n previ ousl y sa cred to process t e , . .
,

thr ee col our wor k

-
Tri chroma ti c li thography coll otyp e an d
.
,

h al f tone have al rea dy been deal t wi th a n d no doubt Mr

-
,
.

Sa al bur g or his Engl i sh ri val s will shor tl y provide us wi th

someth i ng i n the way of trichroma ti c photogra vure It .

now onl y remai ns for us to spea k of tri chroma ti c xyl ogra phy ,

i n o rder to make ou r ch ai n of th ree col our processes compl ete -

.

T he l ittl e tha t has been done i n thi s di r ection i s ra ther of

an exper iment al tha n of a p ra ct i ca l c ha ra cter a n d i t i s ha rdl y ,

neces sa ry to say tha t the thr ee col our woodcut is not an -

Engl ish producti on It i s ra ther surprisi ng however to

.
, ,

fin d it in America where Mr G Koch has engra ved bl ocks

, . .

for some pri nts of this ki nd i ncl udi ng one of a Dutch cot t age ,

i nteri or In Fra nce M Leon Ent er is one of the chi ef ex

.
, .

p o n en t s of t hi s styl e an d he a pp r o xi,m a t es mo re to t h e ol d
24 3
 COLOU R PR I N TI N G

woodcut manner wher eas Koch s pri nts l ook ra ther l ike
,
’

three c ol ou r hal f tones

- -
In ea ch case ther e ar e thr ee bl ocks ,

i nk ed i n bl uish bl a ck r ed a n d yel l ow r espect i vel y an d as

, ,

the li nes ma de by the gr a ver a re cut u p i n the higher li ghts , ,

into dots to r ender the h al f tones the methods empl oyed -

,

to produce the col our effect a re very mu ch the sam e as in

photogra phi c t hr ee col our sa ve tha t no c amera is u sed an d
-
, ,

tha t the bl ocks are hand engra ved woodcu t s -

.

A l t hough al m ost ba ni shed fr om Engl a nd t he woodcut ,

i s still a power i n the pri nti ng wo rl d on the Contin ent pa r t i c u ,

l a rly i n France where m an y qui te moder n books ha ve been

,

il l ust ra ted fr om wood engra vi n gs either prin ted in or suppl e ,

men t ed by col our Some wor ks issued by M He t zel a Pa ri sia n

. .
,

publ isher furnish good exa mpl es such as the B ou rses d e

, ,

Voya ge (1903) in whi ch woodcut impr essi ons i n bl a ck a re

col oured i n r ed an d bl ue fr om tone bl ocks Some t en year s .

si nce
,
an a ttempt w as m a de by t he publ i shers of M odem

A rt a nd L i ter at u r e to a ccli m a tise col our ed woodcuts (whi ch

i n th a t ca se wer e ma de in German y in this country ,

but wi thout success Mr C H Sh ann on an d Mr Go rdon

. . . . .

Crai g ha ve produced a few woodcuts for pri nti ng in col our ,

u sua ll y in fla t neut ral tones but the most noteworthy mode r n

,

exponent of the col ou red woodcut i s un doubtedl y Mr L ucien .

Pissa rr o the shi ning l ight of the

,
Eragny Press He is .
”

the son of M Ca mi ll e Pi ssarro a well known Fr ench etcher

.
,
-

of the i mpressi onist sc hool who occasional l y worked i n col our

,
.

L uci en devel oped a t aste for wood engra ving a t an ea rl y

ag e an d obt ai ned an opening i n Pa ri s but soon l ost i t owi n g ,

to the di staste fel t for hi s pecu l iar styl e Thus disa ppoi nted .

i n hi s own country he ca me over to Engl and in

,
an d

beca me associa ted wi th Mr Ri cketts of the Val e P ress .

, ,

in whose typ es Pi ssa rro s first books wer e pr oduced a t Eppi ng

’

in -
7 an d l a te r a t the Br oo k H ammersmi th a l ocal ity
, , ,

much affected by the a rt cr a ftsman The ea rli es t an d a lso .

,

t h e most notewor thy was M argar et Rust s Qu een of t he F i shes

’

which i s a peculi a r vol ume in mor e wa ys than one ,

24 4
THE E R AG N Y P RESS COLOU R B OO K S

consisti ng of on l y seventeen pages pri nted on one side o f ,

J a pa n ese h a nd ma de pa pe r i n t he fashi on of the Chinese boo ks

-
,
.

T he text was wri tten out in the styl e i ntended a n d r epr od u ced
by photogra phy The re a re sixteen woodcut ill u st ra tions of
. ,

which one i s prin ted i n fiv e col ou rs an d fou r others i n fou r , ,

whil st ei ght a re i n grey a n d the rema ini ng thr ee i n r ed The

,
.

titl e is pri nted i n go l d as well a s the bo rder to the frontispi ece

, ,

which is r epe a ted four ti mes elsewhere but i n green Mr ,

. .

P issa rro s col our ed woodc u ts a r e quite di fi eren t fr om a nythi ng

’

else of t he ki nd the ti nts bei ng of a thi n fil my wa ter col ou r

,
-

chara cter al though the col our sc heme seems to l ea n towa r ds

,

tha t of the chi a roscuro woodcuts of t he ol d Itali a n type Thi s .

vol ume i s the onl y one produced on so el a bora te a scal e t he ,

l a ter ones bei ng ill ust ra ted mostl y by woodcuts pri nted i n
bl a ck wi th an occ asi onal one i n col our A u c assi n a nd N i c ol ette
, .

( 1 903 ) h as a w oodcut fr ont i sp i ece i n four co l ou rs the text bei ng ,

in bl a ck wi th l a rge o rnam ental i ni tial s i n red A sel ection

, .

of S on gs by B en j on son (1906) has a circul a r front ispiece i n

col o urs of a ra ther cl o u dy na tur e an d in this case the text ,

of the book i s in red a n d bl a ck throughout with musi c of the ,

o l d Gr egor i a n cha r a cte r Di an a Whi te s Desc en t of Ishta r

’
.

(1 903 ) h as the f r onti sp i ece an d firs t p age of the text su rr ounded

by an orna mental borde r printed in green The col ou r pri nted .
-

pa pe r of t he covers usua ll y of two sha des of greenish gr ey

,
-
,

gives a disti ncti ve cha ra cter to the publi ca ti ons i ssued from
the Eragny Pr es s whi ch by the way ta kes i t s na me from a
, , ,

vil l age in N ormandy .

Al though designed an d executed by a Fr enchma n the ,

col our decora ti on of these books c annot be consi der ed as of

French cha ra cter N everthel ess i t is to Fra nce or a t an y ra te
.
, ,

to the Conti nent t ha t we h a ve to l ook for an y reall y o ri gi nal

,

effects i n modern col our printi ng A gl a nce a t the wi ndows .

of the a verage high cl ass L ondon booksell er s shop will be

-
’

su ffi c i en t to conv i nce th a t the B ri tish pub li she r has a ppar ent l y

no concepti on of the existence of an y other ill ustra ti ve process

tha n the ha ckneyed th ree col ou r h al f tone a n d i f a nythi ng
- -
,

245
 COLOU R P RIN TI N G

di fferent ever be suggested to hi m i t is al most i nvari a bl y by ,

someone r epr e s ent i ng a fo r ei gn house or i n cl ose to u ch wi th ,

forei gn methods Indeed i t wou l d be difli c u l t to name an

.
,

i mpor ta nt col our p ri nti ng pr ocess tha t was constructed on an

a bsol utel y new founda ti on by a B ri ti sher B axter l ea nt on .

Sa vage as he in tur n l ean ed on J a ckson an d he on the ol der

, ,

for ei gn chi a roscu r o engra vers In the sa me way H odson s an d .

,
’

L ei ghton s mod i fied a qua ti nt methods wer e based on L e

’

Pr in ce s i nven ti on an d Jones s chr omo li thogr a phy pr oba bl y

’ ’
-
,

owed somethi n g to the ear li er German workers .

P ri nting i n col ours on moder n l in es was in i tia ted in P a r i s ,

as we h a ve seen as ea rl y as 188 1 a da te whi ch ma y thus b e

, ,

r egar ded as tha t of the da wn of the r evival of co l our p ri nti ng

i n Fran ce I t s most origi n al pr oducti on of l a te years has

.
, ,

been col our etchi n g whi ch i s the l ast pr ocess the wri ter has
-
,

to spea k of in this book A contri butor to the S tu di o a few

.
,

years si nce chara cterised this as an ar t

, a s ca p ri c i ous an d

un cer ta i n i n i t s resul ts as i t i s dubious i n i t s conventi on ,

but wi th the l a tter point we a re n ot concerned her e Mr . .

H i nde in h i s En gr a mn g a mt E tc hi n g en um era tes nearl y a

'

, ,

dozen modern col our etchers but there i s li ttl e or nothi ng to b e

-
,

gl ea ned fr om hi m as to the na tu re of thei r methods or the

chara cter of the resu l ts There ar e al so several others wh om
.

he does not menti on i ncl u ding Tha ul ow Trowbri dge an d L a

, ,

Touche .

The p roducti on of etchi ngs i n col our is not an ab sol utel y

new p rocess for as l ong ago as 1839 a Londoner named Henry
,

Gri ffi t hs obtain ed a pa tent for an i nvent i on of t hi s ki nd using ,

one pl a te for ea ch tone r equi red the out l ines bei ng usual l y ,

bi tten in on steel Gri fli t hs prepar ed pri nts by hi s method

.

for a few books publ i shed a bout th a t ti me incl u di ng one ,

deal ing wi th the new A ngli ca n Ca thedral a t Jerusal em (1842)

but i n a ll the copi es of thi s the wri ter has seen the pri nted
col our was suppl emented by hand work Gri fli t hs inks t oo
'
’

, ,

seem t o h a ve been of a r a ther fugiti ve char a cte r .

The moder n devel opment of col our etchi ng in Fra nce as a -

,

24 6
 C OLOU R P RI N TI N G

was ea ten a way except whe re it was pr otected by the res in ,

a n d a li ne bl ock pr od u ced It is evi dent tha t by transferri ng

.

or washi ng i h b r oa d masse
-
s of col ou r tone bl ocks coul d be ,

produced for the pur pose of col ouring the li ne i mpressions ,

a n d when the dust gra in gr o u nd w as fin e i nstea d of sol i d

-
,

a n d the i n k of a p roper sha de a n d consistency i t m a de the ,

i mi ta tion of wa ter col our dra wi ngs (or a qua r ell es as the
-
,
”

French term them) a comp ara tivel y easy task M A . . .

'
Sil vestr e s Con t e de l A rc her (P a ri s Rouveyr e 8c B l ond
’

, ,

1883) is genera ll y l ooked upon as the first French b ook of

a n y im por t a nce th a t w as ill ustra ted i n co l ou r by thi s pr ocess .

The bl ocks were engra ved by Gill ot a fte r the origi nal wa ter
col ours by A P oir on an d pri nted by Messrs L a hu re 81 Co
.
, . .

All the i ll ustra ti ons a re on the text pages so th a t the vol u me ,

r ec all s i n some measu r e E v an s s edi t i on of Go l dsmith s P oems

' '

mentioned i n a pr evious ch a pter but tha t was ill ustra ted by ,

tinted woodcuts wher eas the vol ume under noti ce ha d etched
,

tone pl a tes The ti tl e is a hu e piece of work pa rtl y pri nted

.
,

i n gol d Gi ron s L es Ci nq S ou s d I saa c L aq u edem published

’ ’
.
,

the sa me year is a chara cteri stic exampl e of t he younger Gill ot s

'

engr avin g for col our pri nting It contai ns besi des a ti tl e page .
,
-

i n col ours eight fa csi mil es of wa ter col our d ra win gs

, Another -
.

good exampl e of Gill otage a ppli ed to col our printing is the

seri es of ill ust ra ti ons a fte r F L i x in a n edi ti on of the Voya ges .
,

de Gul l i ver publ ished in 1888

,
.

Much excell ent col our work is seen i n some of the vol u mes
— —
p u bli shed in very li mi ted edi tions for the Soci été d es
amis d es L i v re s founded a t P a ri s i n
.
Ar tists eh ,

gravers a n d pri nters ali ke ga ve of thei r bes t to the producti on

of these cha rmi ng works which were in many c ases got , , ,

out under the supervi si on of M Octa ve U zan n e The . .

'

Cheva li er de B ou fli er s A h n e Rei n e de Golc on de in

’

this seri es i s a typi cal French producti on engra ved throu ghout
, ,

i n a sc r i pt hand an d il l ustr a ted wi th del i c a te l i t t l e etchi n gs

, ,

four of which are in col ou rs It was printed by the M ai son .

u nt n on h nd p e ed t on of f ed de M et
’

Q a i , a r sses A h -
i i Al r . u ss s

248
SOME FREN CH COLOU RE D B OO KS

L or en za c c i o was pr oduced for the Soci été by L a b ut e 81 Co .

in the sa me wa y in The bl ocks for the il l ustra ti on s were

engra ved by Du c ou rt i ou x 8c Huill a rd a fter wa ter col ours -

by A Mai gn an an d printed i n four col ours—red bl ue grey

.
, , ,

an d bist r e Thes e li ttl e prints l i ke most of those in t he

.
,

Society s books almost consti tute a type i n themsel ves a n d

’

, ,

the sam e r emar k may be ma de a nent the fin e col our ill ustra ti on s
to Gai ll ardet an d Du mas s dra ma L a Tou r de N esl e
’

whi ch was pri nted by Renou ar d the bl ocks being engra ved ,

by Bertra nd a fter Robi da Bot h i n gra i n a n d a ppea rance

.
,

these sugges t mezzoti nts in col our i n ked d ta p oupée but t hey , ,

ar e ev i d en t l y etchi ngs i n bl a ck col our ed by su c ces sive i mpre

, s

si ons fr om phot o etc hed tone bl ocks

-
Thi s is one of the most .

handsome of the Society s col our ill ust ra ted vol umes In
’
-

thei r A mma i r e for M Pa ul Av ril a well known Par isi a n

.
,
-

ar ti st ha d a sho r t pa pe r descri pti ve of t he vari ous met hods of

,

engra vi ng for col our printi ng an d i n i t ma de bri ef refer ence

,

to the pr ocess of t i nti ng au p atr on whi ch is pra cti call y ,

stencill i ng i n the J a pa ne s e fashi on Even this si mpl e Oper .

a t i on i s now per formed a utoma ti c all y by mea n s of M P , . .

Or som s Aq u a t ype ma chi ne first brought ou t in Pa ri s ,

a bout The sheets or pri nts t o be col oured ar e fed on

to a tr a velli ng ba nd whi ch ca rri es t hem i n turn u nder as ma ny
,

stencil s as t her e ar e col o urs to be a ppli ed when a nother ,

por ti on of t he mecha nism passes a col our brush over the stencil
then in posi ti on on the sheet Some of the French fashi on .

pa pers h ave their pl a tes t in ted by this ma chin e which is ,

also extensi vel y used for p i ctur e postca rds .

Amongst the most recent Fr ench ar t books il l ustra ted by

col our etchi ngs ma y be men ti oned La Der mere N u i t de u da s
'

by E Gebhar t (Paris Ferra nd) wi t h thi rteen bea uti fu l col o u r

.
, ,

desi gns by Gaston Bussiere The text of the vol u me is i n a .

se mi gothi c
-
type wi th col our ed i ni ti al s i n t he medie va l
,

styl e ea ch p age be i ng su rrounded by a bo rder i n bl a ck an d

,

col our M A Thal asso s Den S t arl et a pi cture book of

'
’
. . .
,

Turki sh scenes (Paris H P i azza 8: , . has a seri es of fif t y

249
 C OLOU R P RI N TI N G

col our-
et ch ed ill ust ra t i ons by F . Zon a ro prin ted , on the text

The col ou r etchi ng of the prin t sell ers shops is al most

-
’

in var ia bl y a foreign— general l y a Fren ch— p r od u cti on L ike .

other prin ts from i ntagli o pl a tes it c an be produced m ei ther ,

of two wa ys v i z in several col ours a t one i mmessi on by

, .
, ,

i nki ng t he pl a te 11 l a pou p ée or by the u se of a sepa r a te pl a te

,

for ea ch col our The former i s t he mor e common method

.
,

an d i s used b y am ong others Ri cha r d Ra nft of Geneva an d

, , , ,

Al l an Osterl und of Stock hol m whose

, dust gr o u nd ,
-

a qu a t int etchi n s a re very popul a r w i th th o who i nte e ted

g se a r e r s

i n this bra nch of a rt M P G J ea n n i ot on the other ha nd

. . . .
, ,

u ses sever al pl a tes for the pr od ucti on of hi s col ou r etchi ngs ,

an d t hi s seems to be general l y consider ed the be s t met h od

for r ea ll y hi gh cl ass work -

Pra ctica ll y eve ry col our etcher
.
-

has hi s own peculi a r mode of wo rkin g but the princi pl e ,

vari es li tt l e Mr Va ughan Trowbri dge a N ew Yor k a r ti st

. .
, ,

pr oduces etchi ngs in col ours by a pr ocess he l ea rnt i n Pa ri s .

H e in ks the sur fa ce of hi s etched pl a te in vari ous ti nts an d ,

t ak es an impr essi on from it as in r eli ef p ri nt i ng H e then .

fills the i ncised li nes of the pl a te wi th v a ri c ol oured inks an d -

,

wi pes the su r fa ce cl ea n or nearl y so as i n the ordi n ary pri nting

, ,

of etchin gs r egisters the shee t with the first i mpr ession ca refu l l y
,

on the pl a te an d pull s the second i mpression on i t The pri nt

,
.

thus r equi res two wor ki ngs in pl a ce of the one general l y used
for in tagl i o pl a tes i n col ours but i n thi s respect Mr Tr owb ri dge
,
.

i s onl y go i ng on the li nes a dopted by some other col our etchers -

.

One of the most popul a r producers of thi s cl ass of col ou r ed

prints i s M Fri tz Tha u l ow of Pa ri s his pi ctures a l so being
.
, ,

the resul t of successive worki ngs of the same inta gl io pl a te .

In pr odu ci ng the des ign a va ri ety of methods is used the , ,

outl ines being prepa red wi th nee dl e a n d a ci d in the usual wa y ,

wh il st the sha dows etc are put on with an a qua ti nt gra in

,
.
,
.

The pl a tes are etched ra ther deepl y an d the bl a ck i mp ressi on ,

pri nted i n a very da r k in k For the col ou rs the pl a te i s t e .

,

i nked with a pa d «1 l a p ou p ée a n d a proof pull ed to regi ster ,

250
 COLO U R P RI N TI N G

P rei ssi g a i ms a t si mpl i fic a t i on of the present sl ow an d expensi ve

process but i t will p roba bl y ha ve to be still fu r ther simpli fi ed
— an d wha t i s mor e chea pened—before i t
, , t a k e a pl a ce
c an

as a commer ci al mea ns of pr oduc i n g co l ou r ill ust ra t i ons for

modera tel y pri ced books

-
.

25 2
 CH A PTER X
M ODERN C OLOU R P ROCESSES
BY WI LLI A M GAMB LE , E mr on 0 1: T HE PR OC E S S
Y E A R Bo o x

oon as photogra phy was in

L MOS T as s

ven ted the i dea was concei ved of ma king

,

it the mean s of reproduci ng n a tura l

col ours For a l ong ti me i t was the dr ea m
.

of the ea rl y experimenters tha t some

mea ns woul d be found of perma nentl y
r ecor di ng the col ours seen on the focu ssing

gl ass of the ca mera but i t was not until 186 1 when J Cl a rk

, , .

Maxwell in a l ectu re del i vered a t t he Royal Institution

, ,

su gges t ed the theory of a thr ee col our system th a t the -

,

investi ga ti on of the subj ec t began to proceed on an y well

d efin ed li n es D r Thoma s Y oung in
. . ha d put forwa r d
,

the theory tha t there wer e onl y three fundam ental col ou r
sen sa tions but hi s idea w
, as di sc r edi ted a n d forgotten until

1853 when Pr ofessor Hel mhol tz a gai n brought i t fo rwar d a n d

,

st rengthen ed it by hi s exper iments Cl a rk M axwell proceed

.
,

ing on the sa me li n es pr oved pr etty concl usi vel y the corr ect
,

ness of Y oung s ea rl y assumption a n d am ong the experiments

’

shown in M a xwell s l ectu re demonst r a ti on was one i n whi c h

’

three photogra phs of a col oured ri bbon t a ken th rough three ,

col our ed sol utions were intr oduced into a l a ntern giving the
, ,

ima ges of the red gr een an d bl ue pa rts separa tel y

,
Wh en .

these were superposed a col our ed image was seen whi ch i f the , ,

r ed an d gr een i ma ges ha d been as ful l y photogra phed as the

bl ue woul d ha ve been a t ru l y col oured ima ge of the ri bbon

,
.

The ob sta cl e to ca rryi ng out this idea was tha t the phot o
gra phic pl a tes of tha t ti me were not sensi tive to green an d
r ed
,
but in the course of the qua rter century tha t foll owed
2 53
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

mea n s for producing col o ur sensi ti ve pl a tes were discovered an d ,

such pl a t es we re empl oyed i n the m a nne r sugge s ted by Ma xwell .

The first suggestion to a ppl y the idea to col ou r printi n g was

by Ba r on R an son n et i n Vienna in 1865 an d Henry Coll en
, ,

(the Q u een s d r
’
a win g m as ter ) i
-
n the sa me,ye ar p r oposed to ,

ma ke thr ee nega t i ves from a co l our ed subject through a red , ,

yell ow a n d bl ue medi um r es pecti vel y These thr ee nega ti ves .

were to be p ri nted i n red yell ow an d bl ue i n k superposed on

,

pa per This proposi ti on however seemed to ignor e the

.
, ,

i mport a nt fa ct th a t the ra ys produc i ng the nega ti ves must

not be the same as the col our of the pri nti ng i nks .

Duc os Du Ha u ron an d Cha rl es Cr os i n Fra nce put for wa rd , ,

sim il ar i deas i n 1868 but they found they coul d not ca rry out
,

thei r i deas for wa nt of sui ta bl e photogra phi c pl a tes .

In 1873 P rofesso r Vogel i n Berli n found tha t a photogra phi c

, , ,

pl a te coul d be ma de sensi ti ve to di fferent col our ed ra ys This .

a gain sti mul a ted va ri ous in ventors .

In 1885 P rofessor Vogel l ai d down the princi pl e tha t the

,

dye used for stai ni ng the photogr a phi c pl a te to m a ke i t col ou r ,

sensi ti ve must b e of the same col our as the dye or pigment

,

used for ma kin g the pri nti ng in k ; or if the se n sitisin g dye ,

coul d not be tu rned i nto a prin tin g in k an in k must be sel ec ted ,

whi ch shows a spectr oscopi c effic i en c y as ali ke as possi bl e to

t he sensi tiser This was a mere assumption whi ch was on l y
.
,

pa rtl y true when consi dered i n r el a ti on to the dyes k nown

a t th a t t i me In the li ght of ou r pres ent da y knowl edg e
.
-
,

it c a n on l y be regarded as an a nti q u a ted worki ng hypot hes is

of histori cal i nter est .

Ag ai n years passe d a n d Pr ofes sor Vogel s publ i ca ti on di d

’

not seem to ha ve had a n y in fl u en c e on t he res ul ts of the

ea rl y experimente rs proba bl y beca use photogra phi c pla te
,

manufa ctur ers an d i n k makers did not appl y the p rofessor s

’

r ecommen da tion as they m ight h a ve done .

Ul ri ch a li tho a r tist i n Berl in was the first to t a ke up

, ,

Profes so r Vogel s i dea but in pra cti ce he ca me to the con

’

c l usi on th a t the t hr ee col ours wer e not su fli c i en t to produce

254
EA RLY THREE COL OU R EXP ERIME N TS -

gr ey an d bl a ck therefore he thought i t necessary to a d d a

greyish ti nt Some of his res ul ts wer e shown a t the Ge rma n
.

E xhi bi ti on i n London in wher e he took a medal .

About the sam e time a London l i thogra phi c firm Messrs , ,

.

Gil bert Whi tehea d 8: Co commenced wor ki ng a three col our -

process wi th the assista nce of Dr E Al bert of Mu ni ch but . .

, ,

a l though some r esu l ts we re pub li shed both i n l etter p r ess an d ,

coll otype the venture di d not prove succes sful

,
.

In the mea ntime however the proces s ha d been i mpr ovi n g

, ,

i n Germa ny very consi dera bl y thro ugh the wor k of P r ofessor ,

Vogel s son D r E Vogel H is chi ef ai m was to do a wa y

’

, . . .

wi th the four th pri nti ng pl a te an d so prove in pra cti ce tha t ,

the theory of thr ee col our wa s correct D epa rti ng from the
-
.

pr a cti ce of previou s experi menters who ha d sta rted fr om t he ,

photogra phi c end an d then essa yed to hn d sui ta bl e pri nti ng

,

inks he first sel ected three inks a n d then found sensi tisers
, ,

to a ccor d wi th these as far as was pr a cti cabl e fin all y produci ng ,

the thr ee col our ed mediums for photogr a phi ng through .

The method of pri nti ng a d Opt ed was coll otype a n d a fa ctory ,

was star ted for the pu rpose of ca rrying on the experi ments .

At an exhibit i on i n Berli n i n some astoni shi ngl y good

r esu l ts wer e shown an d the i nvention was sol d i n the sa me

,

year to Mr Wm Kur tz of N ew York Coll otype however

. .
,
.
, ,

coul d not be worked successfull y i n Ameri ca o wi ng to cl ima ti c ,

condi ti ons an d the refore Kur tz ha d to a ppl y the proces s to

,

l etter pr ess pri nting In a still l i fe subj ect

. consisti ng -
,

of frui t was shown t he prin ts bein g worked 0 6 on the o rdina ry

, ,

typogr a phic press The resul t was consi der ed wonder ful a t
.

the ti me .

In a syndi ca te was for med for a cquiri ng the r ights of

the proces s for Grea t B ri t a in but as they fa il ed to floa t ,

the eno rmous company scheme a ttempted the process was ,

dr opped a ga in .

An i nvento r who ha d been concurr entl y at work devel opi ng

thr ee col our wor k on di fferent li nes was Mr F E Ives of
-
. . .
,

Phil adel phi a who as earl y as 18& publi shed a communi ca ti on

,

255
 C OLOU R P RIN TI N G

on the subj ect i n the J ou r n al of the Fra n k hn I nsti tut e an d

’

ha d produced pra cti c al thr ee col our pri nts some yea rs befor e -
,

an d who i ndeed c l a i ms to ha ve either pr eced ed or e v ol ved

, ,

the pr ocess si mu l ta neo usl y wi th Vogel Mr Ives was the . .

in ventor of the ru l ed cr oss l i ne scr een now universall y used for -

the hal f tone process an d was t h e earli est to l a y down the

-
,

pri nci pl es of i t s u se U ndoubtedl y i t i s due to t he devel op

.
,

ment of the hal f tone bl ock process towa rds perfecti on tha t t he
-

thr ee col ou r i dea was ma de pra cti c a bl e

-
.

The fir st b usin es s founded to wor k the t hr ee col our bl oc k -

pr oces s on a commerci al scal e in Engl a nd was the P hoto

chroma ti c Pri nti ng Co associ a ted wi th Messrs Ma r cu s .
, .

War d 81 Co in Bel fast The busines s whi ch was founded

.
, .
,

an d ma n aged by Mr M ar tin Co hn who ha d come from the

.
,

Continent full of en thusi asm for Dr Vogel s pr ocess was a fter .

’

wards tr an sferr ed to L ondon an d was ru n under the na me ,

of the Hel iochrome Co wi th works a t N otting Hil l Some.

, .

ex cell ent work was prod uced but the ventu r e was not a ,

fin an c i al success Mr Cohn a fterwar ds j oi ned the firm of

. .

Or i ord Smi th L t d a t S t Al b ans to a ga i n work the pr ocess

, .
,
.
, ,

but t hi s huge pri nti ng busin ess ca me to gri ef an d Wa t erl ow ,

"
8: Sons wer e the next to take over H eli oc hrome B y thi s .

ti me the thr ee col our pr ocess ha d become common proper ty

-
,

a n d num e rous firms ha d commen ced doing i t so tha t i t i s ,

ha r dl y po ssibl e to tr a ce further the ch ronol ogical order of i t s

devel opmen t .

The method a t first a dopted for th r ee col ou r bl ock m a ki ng -

was k nown as the Indi r ect P r ocess Thr ee n ega ti ves were .
”

ma de on dry pl a tes through col our fil t ers The n ega t i ve .

for t h e yell ow pri ntin g pl a te was usuall y ta ken th rough a bl ue

vi ol et hl t er on an or di na ry pl a te (not col our sensi ti ve) beca use ,

the bl ue vi ol et sensi ti venes s of an

-
ordi n ary pl a te is
su ffi c i en t t h e neg a t i ve for the r ed p ri ntin g pl a te was taken
thr ough a gr een fil t er on a gr een sensi ti ve d ry pl a te an d -

the nega tive for the bl ue prin tin g pl a te was ta ken through
a r ed hl t er on a r ed sen si tive d ry pl a te -
H a vi ng obtained .

256
 CO LOU R P RI N TI NG

Messrs Car l Hentschel 8c Co s studi os Exa mpl es of the most

. .
'
.

r ecent wor k of t ho s e two fir ms a re gi ven i n thi s b ook It is .

to this coll odi on emul si on pr oc ess tha t we owe wha t i s cal l ed

the Dir ect P rocess first ma de kno wn to t he tra de i n 1902
"
,

through t he experimental l a bora tory of Messrs P en rose 8: Co . .

whi ch r educed t he ni ne opera t i on s of the Indi r ect P rocess

to thr ee The first set of nega ti ves was ta ken not on l y thr ough
.

the col our fil t ers b u t al so throu gh the rul ed screen s a t t he sa me

exposur e an d thes e fo rmed both the col our r ecords an d ha l f
,

tone nega ti ves i n one N a turall y better col ou r rendering

.
,

an d mor e perfect reg ister w as the r e s ul t Thi s direct coll odi on .

emul sion pr oc ess i s st ill i n u se a t t he p resent d a y in most of

t he l arge commer c i al houses in Engl a nd an d on t he Conti nent ,

i mpr ovements h a vi ng however b een ma de i n t he col our

, ,

fil t ers an d the sensi ti si ng dyes Mr H O Kl ei n ha vi ng wor ked , . . .

ou t the a dj ustment of the sensitiser to t he fil t er a n d t he ,

prepar a ti on of the sensi ti sers sui t a bl e for this di rect work .

D r Al bert has i nt roduced recentl y a so call ed

. fil t erl ess -

emul si on process the pl a tes bei ng so strongl y dyed as not

,

to r equ ir e the ai d of col our fil t ers b u t i t must b e rega r ded as ,

an u nsucc essful experi ment l ea di ng however to t he in t r o

, , ,

duct i on of n ew sensi ti sers an d a rea dj ustment of the col our

fil t ers .It was found desi ra bl e to use a t l east a compensa ti on
fil t er
, consistin g of a yell ow medi um to r e t a r d the str ong l y
a cti n g ul tr a vi o l et ra ys
-
an d i t i s bet t e r st ill to use a bl uish

green fil t er for t he red pri n t i n g pl a te t he yel l ow hl t er bei ng ,

used for t he bl ue but no hl t er bei ng r equir ed for the yell ow

,

pri nti ng pl a te This has brought a bout a grea t r eduction of

.

exposures an d almost ideal col our sepa ra ti on .

The i mprovements ma de by d ry pl a te ma kers i n col our -

sensi ti ve pl a te s an d espec i all y in p a nchroma ti c pl a to

,
s — ci e ,

pl a tes sensi t i ve to a ll col ours—l ed to effor ts bei ng ma de to

u se dr y pl a te s for t he di r ect col our p r ocess Mr E Howar d . . .

Farmer of the Pol ytechnic Schoo l of P hotogra phy a chi eved

, ,

so me successfu l re s ul ts in this d i recti on an d hi s process ,

was taken up by several commerci al firms More perfect .

2 58
 i l ep
K nd y r rod u ced an d pir n t ed in f ou r cl
o our p ro ce ss

by t he G ra p h i c Ph o ro E n g ra v i ng Co .
 COLOUR P RIN TI N G

ma chin e was onl y a da pted for li ght t i nted bl ocks , s uch as ar e

use d for bank note an d cheque pri ntin g an d t o thi s c l ass of ,

work the ma chi ne has now been consi gn ed The La mber t .

ma chi ne a Fr ench i nven ti on was still more promi si ng It is a

, ,
.

fl a t b ed m a chi ne whi ch may be descri bed as con sisti ng of

-
,

four ma chi nes bl ended i nto one as ther e ar e four beds for t he
,

bl ocks four in k sl a bs four sets of r oll ers an d four i mpressi on

, ,

cyli nders The sheets are fed i n a t one end an d a re ca rri ed

.
,

a utoma ti ca ll y fr om one cyli nder to the ot her emer i ng a t the

g ,

del i very board as fin i shed four col ou r pri nts The wor k i s of
-
.

a good comme rc i al qu a li ty though i t c a nnot be sai d to be so

,

perfect as t ha t produced by printi ng t he col ours sepa ra tel y .

A nother ingen i ous a ttempt to sec ure conti nuous pri nti ng i s
by mean s of t he Ta ndem Mi ehl e Thr ee ma ch ines a re j oi ned .

together by mean s of a Speci al del i very appar a tus so tha t when ,

the sheet l ea ves one ma chine i t passes to the next an d so on ,

to the thi rd It is found tha t the pri nti ng is per fec t enough
.

so fa r as un i fo rmi ty of inki ng an d r egister i s concerned but ,

the d iffic u l t y of i n su fli c i en t drying of the col ours between

ea ch i mpr essi on p revents the successful u se of the m a chi ne
for formes whi ch ha ve to be hea vil y i nked Two c ol our .
-

ma chi n es are someti mes used for four col our pri nting by di vid -
,

i n g the i n k founta i n a t ea ch end i nto two pa r ts an d run n ing ,

a sep ar a te col our i n ea ch p ar t This i s fai rl y successful with

.

doctored in ks on cer tai n ki nds of work In Ameri ca a .

,

cr u de kind of col our work for Sunday newsp a pers i s done on

fast runnin g r otary m a chi nes but nei ther the col our n or the
,

r egi ster i s good The col ours ar e appli ed from h and worked
.
-

pl a tes a ttempts to a ppl y the photogra phi c three col ou r

,
-

pr ocess havi ng met with l ittl e or no success At t he time of .

wri ting a process known as wet col our pri nting is bei ng
,

devel oped in Ameri ca by mea ns of a special r otary pres s the ,

success bei ng due to doctori ng of the inks an d the use

of el ect rotype pl a tes whi ch ha ve been embossed by a proces s
of overl a yin g so tha t the sha dows an d d arker tones sta nd u p
,

i n varyi ng r el i ef The sheet is hel d on the i mpressi on cyli nder

.

260
 COLOU R P RI N TI N G

be descri bed as m agenta red l emon yel l ow emeral d green

, ,

an d ul tra m a ri ne bl ue Th e fou r col ours wer e grouped into

.

two pai rs of compl ementary col ours v i z red an d gr een , .

, ,

yel l ow an d bl ue so th a t when the el ement s of ei ther pai r

,

wer e mech an ical l y mi xed as pi gments by pri ntin g or stain i ng ,

they pr od uced bl a ck A t first si ght i t might seem t h a t

.

the onl y difference from t he ordi n ary pr oc ess was the a ddi tion
of a green pri nti ng col our but a ctual l y the other col ours
,

ha ve been sc i en t ific all y a dj usted or r ea dj usted so th a t

, ,

t hey for m two p ai rs of compl ement ary col ou rs The a uthor .

of this p roc es s cl a i med tha t pra ctical l y the whol e ra nge of

the spectru m col ours coul d be pr oduced by i t besides ex tra ,

spectr al pu rpl es dense pu r e b l a ck

, an d h omogeneou s gr eys
, .

Mr Zander asser ts tha t no pur e bl a ck c an b e r epr oduced

.

a t all i n t hr ee col our pri n t i ng

-
whil st by hi s new pr oces s
,

ei th er of the two pai rs woul d pr oduce bl a ck or gr ey Several .

speci mens wer e p r odu ced by the pr oc ess an d i t cer t ain l y ,

a p pear ed ca pa bl e of r enderi ng mor e b rilli a nt l y the bri ght

col ou rs of fl owers ri bbons etc but t he resul ts were not

, ,

en tir el y convin ci ng pr oba bl y thr ough the engra vers not

,

ha ving su fli c i en t pra cti ce wi th the new method Pr i nters .

di d not v i ew wi th fa vour the i dea of a four th p ri ntin g ,

an d on the whol e the pr ocess w as r ecei ved so col dl y th a t

t he i nventor has not pushed i t furt her An exampl e by .

Mr Za nder s pr ocess i s gi ven amongst t he i ll ustra ti ons in

’
.

thi s book .

It may her e be r ema rked that whil st t h e a ttenti on of one

cl ass of experi men ters has been tu rned t o four col our pri nti ng -
,

a nother sect i on has t ri ed to secu r e p r esenta bl e col ou r effects

by two col our i mpr essi ons A gr eeni sh bl ue combi ned wi th

-
.

a b r ow n has for i nstance been made to yi el d a pl easi ng l a nd

, ,

sc ape w i t h sky an d wa ter A bl ui sh gr ey combi ned with a

.

red has effect i vel y produced a por tr ait wi t h a good flesh ti nt .

Anothe r way was to p rint i n r ed an d bl ue on a l emon yel l ow -

pa per The b l ocks for such combin a tions ha d however

.
, ,

to be sui t a bl y etched to get the best effects .

262
 C O LOU R P RI N TI N G

out an d t e etch the gra i n ti nt i n gra da ti on s of tone T he

-
.

pa rts which a re first stopped out a re t he dar kes t a n d the other ,

pa rts become li ghter as the etching progresses Some pa r ts .

a re cut out so as to p ri nt whi te or a ll ow t he next co l ou r to

,

p ri nt pur e .

A si mil a r pra ctice is pursued wi t h hal f tone p ri nts O nl y -

.

one h al f tone nega ti ve need be ma de of a col ou r ed p i cture

-
,

an d t hi s nega ti ve will furni sh as m a ny p ri nts on the meta l

as the number of col ours r equi r ed T he resul tin g pl a tes a re

.

stopped out an d r e etched u ntil ea ch conta i ns the r equisi te

-

col our image Thi s method is the basis of a l ar ge am ou nt

.

of commerci al col our work done i n Ameri ca a n d al so of t he ,

proces s call ed A utochrome l argel y used on t he Conti nent

,

for the producti on of co l our ed postca rds In the l a tter method .

,

however i t is usu al to print the col oured t ints on the li t ho

,

ma c hi ne an d the hal f tone key by l etterp ress N a tura l ly

,
-
.

the success of all suc h processes depends entirel y upon t he

skill of the etchers who m a ke t he col our se l ective pl a tes T he-
.

Pres c ol t i n t pr oc ess of the P ress Etching Co of whi ch we gi ve

an ex a mpl e com es under t hi s ca tegory
,
.

A ttempts ha ve been ma de from t ime to time to ma ke col ou r

pl a tes by mea ns of a grai ned screen pl a ced in fr ont of the
sen si ti ve pl a te i n the ca mera the idea bei ng tha t a much
,

more pl ea si ng a n d ar t isti c res ul t woul d be obta i ned th a n wi th

the ru l ed screen but the resul ts ha ve not been conv i nci ng
, .

P erh a ps the most effective specimens ha ve been those p roduced

wi th the Met zogra ph screen i nvented by Mr J a mes Wheel er . .

The firm of C A ngerer 8c Gbsc hl of Vienn a who ha ve done

.
, ,

much excell ent work in monochrome wi th t his scr een ha ve ,

essa yed i t s use for col our work but ha ve not thought i t ,

pra cti cabl e to u se i t for all the col our pl a tes In a pl a te .

enti tl ed 1 A Cool D ri nk publi shed in the P roc ess Y ea r B ook

‘
,

(Vo l ume X L I ) the

, M e t zog p
r a h sc r een was u s ed e ffect i vel y
for the four th print i ng in bl a ck wh il st i n the fou r col our pl a te
,
-
,

"
enti tl ed The Fishermen s Chil dren pri n ted in Vol u me XIII
’

of the sa me annu al thr ee of the col ours yell ow bl ue a n d

, , ,

264
 B E AT A B E AT R X I
R ep rod u ced d i ec f m i gi l T e G ll e y b
r t ro or na at at a r y
G e ge N ew e
or L d
n s, t .
 C OLOU R PRI N TIN G
n umber of col ou rs requi r ed we re ma de from i t an d li thogr a phi c ,

art ists p roc eeded by a s stem of el imi n a t i on to t a ke a w y

y a

the parts not requi red on ea ch col our pl a te a t the sa me time ,

st r engthen in g or retouchi ng the par ts to b e p ri nted .

The P hotochrom process is un derstood to b e somewha t

of the same na tu re the t i nt col ours bei ng pri nted by li tho
,

graphy but the key pri nti ng i s bel i eved to be by coll otype
, .

The pri nti ng of the col our stones i s understood to be done

by mea ns of a sensi ti ve bi tumen hl m wh i ch r eticul a tes i nto a ,

gra nul a r structure i n dryi ng When this sensi ti ve hlm is printed

.

under a nega ti ve the grain seems to be devel oped in a dis

,

cri mi na ti ng manner so as to reproduce the tones of the origi nal

,
.

The Frey pr ocess is understoo d to be on si mil ar li nes an d ,

the res u l ts produced h a ve been very fin e The process was .

a cqui r ed by Me s srs Hud son 81 Kea rn s but for some r eason

.
,

or an other they a ba ndoned i t The proc es s is however st ill

.
, ,

wor ked with success by Mes srs Frey 81 Sti hn e i n Zu rich .

,
.

The firm of V an L eer 81 Co a t Amsterda m a re do i n g some

.
, ,

excel l ent three col our pr ocess work by l i thogra phy u si ng the
-
,

Met zograph sc reen for one or two of the col ours possi bl y ,

the yell ow an d red an d the ha l f tone screen for the bl ue

,
-

an d bl a ck .

The Un i one Zin c ografi in Mil a n ar e worki ng a n excell ent li tho

gra phi c col ou r method an d we bel i eve the fea ture of it i s tha t
,

three col ou r bl ocks are first ma de an d a fter bein g fin e etched

-
,

to get the most perfect col our r enderi ng tran sfe rs are pull ed ,

on thi n zi nc so as to overcome the di ffi c u l t y of str etchi ng or

,

sh rin ka ge whi ch occu rs with pa per t ra n sfers an d p r even t s ,

proper regi ster bei ng obta i ned .

One of the d iffi c u l t i es of the l ithogra phi c co l ou r proces s has

been tha t wi th screen work the h igh li ghts are cover ed wi th
dots whi ch if too hu e are a pt to etch a wa y or i f too coarse
, , ,

gi ve fla t n ess to the pi ctur e Mr Fred eri c k Sea rs a ttempted

. .

to overcome this by mea ns of hi s high l i ght p roces s whi ch -

,

was a method of el imin a ti ng a utoma ti cal l y i n the nega tive

the dot s in the hi gh light por ti ons so all owing the hal f tones
-
,
-

266
 COLOU R P RI N T I N G

u f ced pa pers for such work i n l etterpress p ri nti n g one

s r a ,

nota bl e e xa mpl e bei ng a col ou r print on su pe r c al ender ed -

pa per by Mr A Ch ris Fowl e r publi shed r ecen tl y in the

. . .
,

Ca xt on M a ga zi n e The L ondon County Council School of

.

P hoto Engr a ving contri bute to t his book a n exa mpl e of th ree
-

col ou r p ri nting on pur e rag pa per The a verage pri nter has .
,

however fa ll en b a ck on the gl ossy sur fa ced pa pers as p resenti ng

,

l ess d i ffi c u l t y an d has endea vou r ed to i mpar t a gra i ned su r fa ce

,

by passing the sheets between pa per grai ni n g roll ers e i ther a -

,

ca nvas gra i n or a n i mita ti on ston e gra in being usu a ll y e mpl oyed .

Were i t not for cert a i n inherent diffic u l t i es of the process ,

coll otype woul d be the most per fect method of col our p ri nti ng ,

an d wo ul d enti r el y supersede l ithogra phy fo r an y subj ects

tha t coul d be r eproduced by photogr a phy The pri nti ng .

pl a te i n coll otype i s p repa red by coa ti ng a thi ck gl ass pl a te

wi th gel a ti ne mi xed with a bi ch roma te sal t which ma kes the ,

fil m sensiti ve to li ght The effect of exposing such a pl a te

.

under a n or dina ry photogra phi c nega tive is tha t the gel a ti ne

i s mo r e or l ess h ar dened a ccor din g to the in tensity of the
l ight a cti on . For in st a nce i n the most t ra n spa rent par ts
,

of the nega tive whi ch corr espond to the da rkest sha dows
,

of the pictur e the ha rdeni ng a cti on i s strongest an d the

, ,

h ardeni ng efiec t dimin i shes unti l in the po rtions under the

most opa que pa r t s of the nega ti ve (the high li ghts of the pi ctur e)
ther e i s pra cti call y no a cti on N ow a gel a tine hlm whi ch has
.

been so a cted upon will a bsor b wa ter in exa ct propor ti on to

the h a rden ing an d as wa ter r epels a gr easy i n k the r esul t
,

of passing an in k charged roll er over the pl a te is th a t the pa r ts

-

most hardened by the li ght a cti on ta ke up the most i n k whi lst ,

t he high li ght po rti ons be ing l a rgel y ch a rged with mo istu r e

-
, ,

r epel the i n k . Between th es e two extremes there i s a n al most

per fect sca l e of gra da ti on of tones fo rmed by different i n t en
si ti es of the i n k Thus we h ave a pi cture whi ch corresponds
.

wi th the tones of the photogra phic nega tive It wo u l d seem .

to be qui te si mpl e therefore to ma ke th ree nega tives th rough

, ,

col our fil t ers p repa re thr ee coll otype pl a tes from them in k
, ,

268
THE PH OTOGRA VU RE P ROCESS
up th ese pl a tes with the respecti ve col ours an d superpose ,

the i mpressi ons of the thr ee pl a tes on one sheet of pa per .

But in pra ctice gr ea t obsta cl es occu r A gel a tin e fil m i n a .

moistened sta te i s very susceptibl e to a tmospheri c cha nges ,

so th a t i t i s ha rdl y possi bl e to get the th ree p ri nti ngs of equ a l

stren gth an d qu al ity ; mo r eover the moistur e i n the pl a te

,

a ffec ts t h e i n k, the roll ers an d the pa pe r causi ng fu r ther ,

v ari a t i ons
. Ther e must th er efore be a consi dera bl e propor
, ,

ti on of waste impressi on s i n an edi tion ma ki ng the process ,

sl ow an d ex pensi ve . Such ex ampl es of col oured coll otype

as h a ve been seen — an d th er e has been most ex cell ent wo rk
—
done by thi s proc ess pr oba bl y r epresent the best i mpr essions
sel ected fr om a l a r ge nu mber pri nted Amongst firms who .

ha ve done an d are doing ex cell ent coll otype work in col our
ma y b e mentioned Herr J w y an d Herr Max J a ffe in
.

Vi enn a Mes srs Bemr ose 81 Son L t d Derby an d Messrs

,
.
, .
, ,
.

W Gri ggs 81 Son P eckham

.
, .

It has l ong been thou ght tha t the i deal pr ocess for col our
pri ntin g woul d be photogra vu r e In thi s case copper pl a tes
.

a r e engra ved or etched i n int a gli o the pictu re bei ng form e d by

,

a re s i nous or bitumi n ous dust grai n as i n the c ase of the ol d,

a qu a tin t pr ocess descr ibe d i n a p r ev i ou s ch a pter but i nstea d ,

of the gra da t i on of tone bei ng pr oduced by ha nd work it i s -

r en der ed by the a ction of li ght th rough a photogr a p hi c nega ti ve

( o r ra ther po si ti ve, si nce i t i s an i nt a gl io p r oce

s s) on to
bi chroma ted gel a ti ne ti ssue In the same wa y as we ha ve
.

descri bed in coll otype the a ction i s th a t of mor e or l os s har den

,

in g the gel a tine but i nstea d of using this pr ope rty as a mea ns
,

of inkin g it i s empl oyed to form a r esi st to the etchin g flu i d .

The gel a tin e ti ssue being t ra nsferr ed to the copper a fter ,

the l a tter has been fur nished wi th a gr a in the etching morda nt ,

i s a ppl ie d an d pen etra tes the hl m in exa ct pr opor ti on to the

l i ght a cti on . The etching pr oceeds most quickl y in the sh a dows
an d consequentl y goes deepe s t Thus these pa rts hol d the
.

most i n k an d give the den sest d eposit on the pa per For .

c ol our p ri nti ng thi s wou l d se em to b e a deci ded a dv a nt a ge ,

26 9
 COLOU R P R I N TI N G

as it exa ctl y r eproduces the art ist s way of a ppl yi ng pig ment
’

to pa per or ca nvas an d na tura ll y ma ny a ttempts ha ve been

,

ma de to a ppl y this pr ocess to col our reprod ucti on The .

di fi c ul t y however is th a t of r egi ste r first i n the pri nt i ng

, , ,

an d tra n sfe rr in g of the gel a ti ne tissue an d secondl y in the fa ct

,

tha t copperpl a te printi ng must be done wi th da mped pa per .

The i n k in g an d wi ping of the pl a te al so i ntroduces fu r t her

cha nces of i nequ al ity In Spi te of these difli c u l t i es however
.
, ,

some excell ent r esul ts ha ve been sho w n though i t i s probabl e

,

they were pi cked speci mens an d i t woul d be i nter esting to

,

know wha t was the proporti on of spoil t i mpr essions O i .

course a si ngl e photogra v u re pl a te c a n be l oca ll y i nked wi th

dabbers or bru shes as des cribed in ea rli er cha pters in connec
,

tion with t he ol d i nta gli o proces ses an d this is genera ll y done

,

i n the c ase of the l arge col our ed photogr a vu res p roduced a t

the present time .

Reference has been m a de in a pr evi ous cha pter to the

Rembra ndt process whi ch is a n intagl i o one based on the
,

photogra vur e pri ncipl e but i nstea d of a dust grai n on the pl a te

, ,

a r ul ed sc r een i s p r i nted on the tissue The object of th is

.

scr een i s the sa me as th a t of the d ust grai n v iz to gi ve ,

a discrimi na ti ng i n k hol di ng p rope r ty to the pl a te

-
But i t .

does mor e than this i t enabl es the engra ved sur fa ce to b e

mecha ni ca l l y i n ked an d wi ped The etchi ng is done on copper
.

r oll e rs a n d these a r e pl a ced in a r ot a ry p ri nti ng m a ch i ne i n

, ,

whi ch a roll er a ppli es the in k to the pri nting cyli nder an d a ,

steel k n i fe sc ra pe s i t cl ea n fr om the su r fa ce l ea vi ng i t i n the ,

holl ows of the engra ving The pa per dra wn from a r eel
.
, ,

passes between the pri nti ng c yl in der a n d an irn pr es si on cyli nder ,

an d thus ther e is a cont i nuous a n d ra pi d pr oducti on of p ri nts .

Thi s is assumed to be the proces s a dopted by the Rembrandt

Inta gli o Printing Co who howeve r ha ve so well gu a r ded
.
, , ,

the sec r et of the pr eci se method they use tha t l i ttl e or no ,

inform a tion ha s l ea ked out as to the exact deta ils A fter .

producin g for a bout ten years most excell ent pri nts i n mono
chrome this company has appl ie d the sa me pr ocess of pri nting
,

2 70
 C OLOU R P RI N TI N G

th a t t he proc es s has al so been appl i ed to l etterpress pri nti ng

fr om t hr ee col our bl ock s
-
.

An i ngen ious pr ocess of pri nti ng several col ours from one
pl a te is the inventi on of Mr G R Hil dy ard an d con sists
. . .
,

essen ti all y in t he cuttin g out of a thi ck overl a y corr espondin g

to ea ch col ou r B y a tta ching thi s to the cyli nder or pl at en
.

of the pr ess the part s of the pla te not i nt en ded to pri nt r ecei ve
,

no impression an d therefore do not a ppea r on the pa per A

, .

still mor e cu ri ous p r oce s s by the sam e i nventor consisted i n

cu tti ng out the key outli ne of a des ign in hi gh reli ef from a

speci a l composi ti on so t h a t ther e wer e deep spa ce
, s in be tween

t h e li n es
. These spa ces were fill ed up wi th powder col ours .

A var ni sh ed sheet whilst still ta cky was l a i d over t he ou t li ne

, ,

pl a te whi ch was then i nverted The powder col ou rs a tta ched

, .

themsel ves to the va rnished sheet an d thu s as ma ny col ours ,

as desi red wer e t ran sferr ed to the sheet a t one i mp r e s sion ,

the surpl us col ours being brushed off as in br onz i ng .

Another wa y of prin ti ng sever al col ou rs from one pl a te i s

to c u t ou t masks or sten cils which ar e i nterposed between
,

the pl a te an d pa per so as to stop off certai n par ts By .

usi ng several sten cils a simil ar number of col ours c a n be

obtai ned .

It i s onl y possibl e to r efer ver y b ri efly to the numerous

processes put forwar d from the earli es t i ncepti on of the th ree
col our pr ocess for obtaini ng col our pri nts by first pri nti ng
,

on the pa per a seri es of col oured lin es or dots an d a fter wards ,

pri nti ng upon t hi s a bl a ck i m a ge The theory i s tha t i f the

.

pa per is cover ed with para ll el li nes i n cl ose j uxta posi tion an d ,

a l ter n a tin g i n gr oups of r ed gr een an d vi o l et a gr ey sur fa ce

, ,

i s pr od uced an d if a bl oc k i s ma de thr ough a gl ass scr een of a

,

simil ar cha ra cte r thi s bl oc k will h a ve the p roperty of stoppi ng

,

out the col our ed li ght reflec t ed from the lin es i n suc h a way ,

t ha t t he p ar ts of the lin es remain i ng u ncovered w ill r epr oduce

the col ou rs of t he pi ctu r e The di fli c ul t i es of the process
.

l i e i n the amoun t of li ght a bsorbed an d the impossibili ty of ,

getti ng pur e pigment col ou rs so th a t the r esul ts ha ve been

,

2 72
N ATU RA L -
CO L OU R P H OTOGRAP H Y

very wea k an d dull The i dea has however been very .

, ,

effecti vel y a ppli ed by Mr Juli us Rheinberg for producing

.

orn amental pa tterns an d an exampl e was given in Vol ume

,

XV of the P r oc ess Yea r B ook .

Oi l a te t her e ha ve been devel oped sever a l proces ses of

scr een pl a te col our pho t ogra phy i n whi ch a gl ass pl a te ,

is hrst pr ovi ded wi th a pa rt i col our ed scr een of li nes or dots

-

in groups of red green an d viol et an d over thi s scr een i s spr ea d

, ,

the sensi ti ve photogra phi c emulsi on The exposur e is ma de .

through the par ti col oured fil t er The r esul t is tha t when

-
.

the i mage is devel oped a col oured tr anspar ency i s seen but ,

the col ours ar e compl ementa ry to the hues of the obj ect .

B y a pr oces s of chemical r eversal the i mage i s converted into

a positi ve an d then the p ri mar y hu es a ppea r an d a mo r e or
,

l ess effecti ve col our photogr a ph r es ul ts In theory i t shoul d .

b e possi bl e to decompose these scr een pl a te pictur es in to thei r

sepa ra te col our s by t a ki ng th r ee nega t i ves fr om them thr ou gh

col ou r fil t ers an d then to mak e printi ng bl ocks from t he

,

t h r ee n ega ti ves but i n p ra ctice thi s is very di ffic u l t to aecom

,

p l i sh,
an d so fa r we h a ve not seen an y good r e
s ul t s fr om thi s

method The A utochrome scr een pl a tes of L umi er e have

.
,

however been copied as col oured pictures by the ordi nary

,

thr ee col o ur method an d ha ve yi el ded very fai r r es ul ts

-
,
.

The col our pri nt by John Swai n an d Son L t d is r epr oduced , .

,

from an A utochrome portrai t fr om li fe by the Dover Str eet

Studi os who ar e ma ki n g a speci ali ty of thi s wor k .

In the P r oc ess Yea r B ook for 1907 8 the Wa mer P owri e - -

proc ess is descri bed This consists of r epr oduci ng na tural

.

col ours by mean s of cl osel y j uxta posed li nes al tern a ti ng red , ,

green an d viol et on the screen an d pri nti n g in red yel l ow an d

, ,

bl ue An exa mpl e is pri nted showing how the compl ementa ry

.

col ou r nega ti ve ma de by t his process c an be conver ted i nto

tri col our bl ocks .

Anothe r p roces s whi ch has been l a tte rl y comi ng to the front

is the Tha mes Col our Pl a te an d as the col our el ements ,

resembl e h al f tone dots a n a ttempt has be en ma de w

-
i th some
27 3
18
 C OLOU R PRI NTI N G

success to di ssect the thr ee col our ed dot systems from the one
-

pl a te on to th ree pl a tes an d so ma ke tri col our bl ocks therefrom

.

N o doubt th ree col our photogr a phy from na tur e for r epro
-

du cti on by col our pri nti ng will eventuall y be done by such

p rocesses as these in prefer ence to the somewha t cl umsy
method of first m a ki n g th r ee monochrome nega ti ves of the
sep ar a te col ours
.

2 74
 I N DEX
R
CA P I U go d a , 16 22 Da lzi l B o olou p i t
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.
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Com i n a ti on c o ou r roc esses ih l , mes a , i n t wo c u rs, olo

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d oli d 36 £ 0 1, chr omo li t hogra phy in
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230 254
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gra v ers , v ii hi n in l u rs, 246 250 et co o . ,

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276
 I N DEX
F a wc s r r,
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col our pri n t er 159 et seqq , .

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r a her s, 19 6 et seqq .

hi s col ou r work 162 , t h ei r chr omo li tho -

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man e II -
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c o p
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,

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'
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196 200
p t p
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C ru r , en ra v er for o l ur r i n g c o H um hr eys N oe hi s c o ou r i l us l l -
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G lt ub t
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co o p l t
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172
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n i t i a s, ea r y t wo-c o l u r , 4 , 5
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H al f t on e
-
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a p l ur ri n s 1 12 13 14 t ,
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pr i n t i n , 263g 188 9 -

277
1811
 I N DEX
J on e
s O wen Gr a mma r o f Or n a men t Lei gh ton B ros t heir col our pri n t
20 5—
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chro mo t gra phed
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book s, 207—8 g p
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J u st i n i an s
'
wor ks , colou r prin ti n g L e P r i n ce , J B , i n v en tor of a q u a . .

tu , 32
Le S ueur , N chia rosc uro etchi n gs ,

K a u m a n n A n gel i c a a rti st 86 89 69
gra ver col ou r work
-

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2
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F r en c h 19 t h c en
68 , , , ,

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K l i c , K , h o ra rep ot g vu p oc
r ess 22 1
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hi s i ll mi n a ed u t Lewi s B ehm , c ol our p h o t og r a

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hi s book
,

Lewis Cour tn ey
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E n gl a n d , 14 3 — 4
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g v L i c h t en st ei n . P , ri n t er a t p en
g
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.

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c l ur ri n er , 164
his ea r l w r , 165 y ok Li n e en ra v i n s i n l rs,
g g co ou ea r ly ,

, H , j u n , en gr a . er a h d l . r v co ou 42 et seqq .

r i n t er , 166
en r a er and l g vr co ou 43
44
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Br s hei r c o ur t
ri n s, 167 o lo p t
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K r n heim, J c l ur r i n t er , M oo p (i n Tu r k ish Ca r
134 —5— ts
.

6 47
K u rt z W hi s l ur ri n i n , co o p t g (J . Ro b t
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moder n
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24 1
238, 255
v ti o
,

Li thogra ph y , in en n
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in
L
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-
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i n g 66 266
ol our pri n ters
,

I a ht e Co c 234 , pri n ti n g mac hi n ery

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L a ll ema n G 27 L oc a t ell us B , pri n ter a t en i c e 7 V
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,

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Lo t tery B i lls, pri n ted i n c o ours, l

L asi n i o, C th r ee col our t i n ts -
, 122 3 -

L ast ey ri e Comte C d e, hi s
, .
L u n i i ere a n t oc h rome sc r een p a tes l
c ol ou r l i t h ogr a ph y
.

179 .
27 8
La uri e, R , mezzo ti n ter in col our .
, L u t ma , J hi s en gr a v i n
. gs, i n
87 Op u s Ma l ei 83 l ,

Lydon F A , en gr a v er for col ou r

k
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,

5 1 et seqq .
wor 16 1 ,

en t for , 54
(3 H Walpole s opi n i on ’
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for
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in F ra n ce 58 , g ra pher , 20
L e Bl nd Co ,o . col ou r pr in ters , Ma i r ea r l y German a r ti st 17
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132— 3 Man n Geo , C o a n d t he o fise t

. .
,

L ei l t on G eo C co lou r prin ter pr omos 267

ga
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278
 I N D EX

R own ey , F . W .
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-
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ma t i c pr i n t i n g 168 g p
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col our work 163
.
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R u gen d as C h i s col ou r mezzo

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ti n t s 96 Teyl e r, J hi s c ol ou r pri n ts 44 at
R yl a n d J J sti ppl e en gra ver 85
, .
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T ha u l o w F l r e , co ou tc h er , 25 0
S A A L B U RG C W c ol our phot o T o to
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gr a vu r e pr ocess
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St A1b s n s P r ess,
,

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p t g o g
,
.

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C hr on i c le, 8 z
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S t A n h n , ea r l
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’

S t Chr i s h er , wo
top odcu t of
.

Tra n sfer l i thogra phy 203 ,

St . B ri d e F n d a i n ou
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r , . , ,

L i b r a ry n n 23
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, en i e , 7 . , p t V c
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rin t i n , i t s t he r y,
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23 1
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v
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S t bu g U n d er w d oo chromo li t hogm
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,

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,

27 3 aq ua tin t er 100
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,

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,

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17 4 5—
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,

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S ha w, H hi s l r i ll s ra e co ou ut td at sc qq
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.

book s, 1 37 8— an d

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type proc ess ,

WAL KE R E co lou r en gr a ver an d ,

Sla ughte r, S en gra v er in c h i aros pri n ter 224

W er P owri e col our photogra phy
. , ,

curo 7 1
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,

St a n h ope press 15
,

Sten c il lin g in col our 2 1 , Wa t erl ow So n s, Ltd t hei r colou r

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f
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col ou r wor k
, , ,

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9 2—3 h
p y , 209
280
 I N D EX

Wa tt s , S . , wood graver 8 1
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, ,

col o u r- e tchin gs 86 7 ,
-
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,

Wec h t li n J W , . 20 24 3
Wei d i tz , H .
, Germa n ar ti st ,
29 30
, , in l co ou r , 24 4

W i F chromo li thogra pher

g
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W hi tehea d G 8: Co c o ou r l T " hi s 0 0 10 “ h e
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p
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W hi ti n g B r a n st on en gr a v er s for Z A N D B R S Com l emen t a ry Col ou r

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185 7 -
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X Z i n c, t he u se o f i n li t h ogr a phy 188

, , ,

97 20 1

THE EN D