Four Superb Examples of Early Colour Printing

Before the advent of chromolithography in the 1850s printing images in colours was a time-consuming process. The printer had to apply the coloured inks onto the correct area of the printing plate with a ball-shaped wad of fabric ("à la poupée") for each impression. Once the pull had been taken he had to meticulously clean the plate and start all over again. Such was the work involved that only two or three impressions could be printed a day. This effort made such prints extrememly expensive but their clarity, untainted by black ink under hand colour, make such prints extremely desirable.

Below is a selection of recent acquisitions that show what could be achieved with printing colours from a copper plate.