Old Baxter Print - The Parting Look

"Colour printing had been in existence for many years but it had been quite basic and very expensive to produce. In 1834 Baxter was the first person to achieve quality AND quantity 'commercial colour printing'. His patent in 1835 allowed him to dominate the market for the next 15 years and achieve the highest quality hand produced prints until his retirement in the 1860's. The quality, finish and look of his missionary prints produced in the 1840's, for example, would be hard to replicate even today BUT in 1840 these were all produced by hand - from the engraving of the steel plates, the wood or metal blocks for each colours and all printed on hand presses. These were NOT 'prints' as perhaps we think of today but hand produced works of art.  Was he really the 'inventor' of colour printing? Possibly not but as early as 1842 Baxter advertised himself as 'The Inventor and Patentee of the art of printing in Oil Colours' and was definitely the inventor of the art of commercial colour picture printing." taken from an article you can find here.