Welcome to the first GeorgeBaxter.com newsletter keeping you up to date on new research, discoveries or just (what I feel is) interesting information regarding George Baxter, Mid Victorian colour printing and all related subjects. For the few subscribers that are also members of the New Baxter Society some of the articles you might have seen before as I have contributed to them for many years but a lot of articles are all new research and as yet unpublished. I don't intend this newsletter to be just my personal ramblings - I would like it to be a forum for everyone with an interest in the subject, as such please feel free to comment, ask questions, to me or to the other subscribers, or perhaps even share something with us and write something for the next newsletter. Please email me direct on sales@georgebaxter.com - I hope to hear from you soon Best regards - Mic |
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The Printing Plate and Colour Blocks for The Reconciliation |
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Baxter's printing plates are always very interesting to see, if nothing else for the amazing amount of detail he managed to include, not surprising they took such a long while to produce! In 1922 Courtney Lewis supplied the printing plate and 9 colour blocks of the Reconciliation to the United States National Museum. They have since amalgamated with other Museums and their holding and records are now held by the Smithsonian |
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Institute. As part of ongoing research I am currently conducting into Baxter's printing plates I recently contacted them to confirm if they still have them. My enquiry prompted them to have them photographed and they can now be seen online here This is the most amount of WOOD blocks known to exist for a single Baxter plate, all others being metal electrotype copies made from the wood blocks for a longer printing life. |
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Baxter and needle boxes Baxter prints were used on many and varied sewing items, here we illustrate some unusual ones and also ask the question - what made Baxter first think of producing such prints? | | |
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Baxter or Le Blond Baxter - How can you tell the difference? If a Baxter print is one we know that he signed and it is signed as it should be then not problem, but what if it is trimmed or concealed by framing? More importantly, what about all those prints that Baxter didn't sign! We start with Napoleon III, Christmas Time ands Stolen Pleasures. This will be a continuing article, can you help? | | |
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In the 1920's when a Baxter Print of the Launch of Trafalgar sold for more than a Gainsborough or a Canaletto in an auction sale someone realised there was money to be made - and those fakes can still fool us today. | | |
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So this is not a Baxter print after all? 110 years after Courtney Lewis first listed this as a Baxter Print it has now been discovered that it is not a printed by Baxter after all! | | |
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An interesting item was recently added to my collection, a small boxed set of card dominos. The box and the back of each card stating J M Kronheim Printers & Embossers, 109 Hamilton House EC. The address would date this item from about 1905. To me it appears to be issued as advertising material. It is from a later date than my normal collecting period but anything like this takes my interest after writing a chronology of the Kronheim company |
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J. M Kronheim & Co were in existence for nearly 70 years. They were not 'picture printers' (as Baxter considered himself to be in later years) but straight forward commercial printers. Their work over the years tends to mirror what the market wanted. I say this as although I am a fan of Kronheim's Baxter Process work everyone seems to remember them for the poor quality mass produced chromolithographic work they carried out by the thousands in the 1870's - 1890's. Mainly printing for Bibles and 'cheap' childrens books. To be fair they had the ability and did carry out some very high quality work during this period if the work demanded it. Kronheim in the 1850 - 1860's mainly used Baxter Process and they were highly prolific, it is said they had produced over 1,000 subjects by 1854! Their work of this period should not be overlooked. We have recently acquired a large collection of complete sheets printed in the 1850's being part of the collection of major 1920's collector Alfred Owens that was sold at Christies in 1987 | | |
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Are you looking for specific prints? If I'm not careful I spend more time researching and writing articles (as well as keeping my smallholding ticking over) than I do adding items for sale to the website. New stock arrives weekly but I'm afraid to say stock only gets added as and when. Sometimes it will takes me years to get the items listed. They arrive, I catalogue them and store them away with all the other prints for future listing....Some of the items I currently have in stock (and still not on the website) include plates from History of the Orders of Knighthood, TWO Scripture Pocket Books complete with Baxter & Kronheim Frontispieces, Baxter rarities, Caroline Mordaunt, End of Time, Ordinance of Baptism, Missionaries Landing at Taranki, Advice on the Care of the Teeth, |
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Girls outside the Gates of a Mansion (in the book - Tales for Girls), Flora, the Gypsy Girl and currently 89 items of Baxter Needle prints, including some full sheets +++. A lot of items are sold before they get on to the website. If you are looking for something specific please feel free to email me your 'Wants' list, no obligation and I can let you know when something becomes available. Email sales@georgebaxter.com BUT keep watching the website, now I have retired I keep telling myself I will have more time to start to clear my vast collection of duplicates. Don't forget I'm a collector first and a dealer second but with over 3,000 Baxter items currently in sale stock there are plenty to choose from! |
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A special note for our Australian subscribers - A well-known antipodean collector is in process of disposing of all his collections including his Baxter prints. These will be for sale in Melbourne at Philips Auctions in September. Keep an eye on their website If anyone is going to the sale can we have a review for a future newsletter? |
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Hopefully your enjoyed this newsletter, any feedback is greatly appreciated. Please email me at sales@georgebaxter.com with any questions, suggestions for forthcoming articles or even better, do you have something you would like to write? |
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Do you think someone else might be interested in receiving this newsletter? They can always subscribe by clicking the link 'subscribe to our newsletter' at the top of our homepage www.GeorgeBaxter.com Best regards - Mic |
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