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A history of chromolithography: printed colour for all

This research traces the evolution of chromolithography from its tentative beginnings in Germany in the early nineteenth century to its spread from Europe to the United States and beyond to become the major method of colour printing before the century was out. At one end of the market chromolithography met a voracious demand for colour printing in everyday life; at the other, it was applied to works of real quality: illustrations (for science, architecture, and design), reproductions of famous and popular paintings, maps and atlases, facsimiles of manuscripts, book covers, posters, and high-end product cataloguesThe book is the first detailed account of how chromolithographs were made, and traces their evolution over a period of a hundred years. The research draws on a number of sources – manuals, journals, correspondence, preparatory drawings, proofs, interviews with people in the trade – as well as the products themselves.

The argument for double-weighting is based on the breadth and intellectual depth of this work. It is the culmination of a career’s research into all aspects of chromolithography from 1818 to 1970, and brings together an unparalleled collection of images from global sources, many unknown and previously unpublished, which provide material for analysis and discussion. This covers techniques and production, inks and materials, the printing trade, changes in technology and application to publishing. Twyman’s previous works in aspects of the subject have been award-winning; this volume will provide the single source for information of the subject for the foreseeable future.