George Baxter (printer)

George Baxter
Born1804 (1804)
Lewes, Sussex, England
Died1867 (aged 62–63)
London, England
NationalityEnglish
Known forInvention of commercially viable colour printing
George Baxter's view of the New York Crystal Palace published in 1853

George Baxter (1804–1867) was an English artist and printer based in London. He is credited with the invention of commercially viable colour printing.

Though colour printing had been developed in China centuries before, it was not commercially viable. However, in early years of the 19th century the process of colour printing had been revived by George Savage, a Yorkshireman in London.[1] It was to be Savage's methods upon which Baxter, already an accomplished artist and engraver, was to improve. In 1828, Baxter began experimenting with colour printing by means of woodblocks.

  1. ^ Lycett, p 8