Welcome to The New Baxter Society
The New Baxter Society is a not-for-profit organisation concerned with the
collection, preservation and study of the colour prints of George Baxter, his
Licensees and other Nineteenth-Century Colour Printers.
George Baxter made his name as a colour picture printer in the mid 19th century
as his patented process was instrumental in bringing affordable high quality
decorative colour prints to the masses. His first commercial colour
printing appeared in the 1830s and took the form of book illustrations,
effectively replacing some of the hand colouring that made coloured books so
expensive to buy.
Around 1850 Baxter licenced his
process to a number of competing printers including
Abraham Le Blond, Joseph Kronheim,
Bradshaw & Blacklock, Joseph
Mansell, William Dickes and Myers & Co.
Colour prints produced by George Baxter and his Licensees can be found in many
forms including book illustrations, decorative prints, on needle boxes and pin
cushions, on valentines and on school reward cards.
Baxter's success was relatively short-lived as improvements in the cheaper
chromolithography processes saw them take centre stage in the later part of the
19th century. Exponents of chromolithography included M & N Hanhart, Day & Son,
Thomas Nelson, Leighton Brothers and some of Baxter's Licensees.
If you would like any further information about The New Baxter Society, George
Baxter, his licensees or their work, please contact us. Your enquiry will be
answered using our library of reference books or passed on to one of our
"expert" members. We are fortunate to have amongst our membership, authors of
Baxter reference books, descendants of Baxter's family and enthusiasts who have
been collecting for many years. We are happy to try to identify prints and to
give an estimate of valuation.
LATEST NEWS
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| 11 Feb 2014 | Exhibition at Two Temple Place London | From 31 January – 27 April 2014 From the University of Cambridge Museums. Discoveries: Art, Science & Exploration. Includes plates from Frost's Two Systems of Astronomy . See Home Page for links to Cambridge Museums and a BBC video for opening times and further information. |
| 01 Feb 2014 | Manchester Metropolitan University Talk | Wednesday 12th February 2014, 2pm-3pm. A Chromatic Revolution Exhibition Talk - The search for affordable colour in 19th century British book Illustration. An illustrated talk by Emeritus Professor Ian Rogerson, former MMU University Librarian, who co-curated the exhibition. To be held in the Special Collections department, Manchester Metropolitan University. Book in advance by calling 0161 247 6107 or on the MMU website. |
| 31 Dec 2013 | Manchester Metropolitan University Exhibition | From 20 January – 16 May 2014 A Chromatic Revolution: the search for affordable colour in 19th century British book illustration. The University’s Special Collections department will be exhibiting books and prints from their collections that explore commercial and technical developments in colour printing throughout the 19th century, from hand-coloured woodblocks to the earliest photomechanical printing processes. (Please check with the University for opening times.) |
| 31 Dec 2013 | Manchester Metropolitan University Talk | Wednesday 29th January 2014 Following publication of his book, “A History of Chromolithography,” Prof. Michael Twyman will give a talk on the subject before a ‘private view’ of the exhibition. Members of the Society would be most welcome. The talk will be at 5.30ish, then drinks and the viewing till 8pm. Numbers are limited so members who wish to attend should contact Jeremy Parrett to book a place by email at J.Parrett@mmu.ac.uk or by telephone on 0161 247 6107. |