In Paper Paths we highlight an example of ephemera that either has an unusual history or an intriguing story behind it or has a particularly sublime graphic appeal surrounding it. In the following paragraphs, we proudly showcase one of our fine examples of Victorian Chromolithography and discuss the visual charm of this very exciting ephemeral medium!

There is something inherently exquisite about Victorian chromolithography that is so compelling. It's the miniature paintings that exist at any given moment wherever you lay your loop. Within that circle or four walls is a completely different composition of vibrant colors, rich saturation of tone and a glowing depth that seems to unfold with each sweep of the magnifying glass.

The initial impact of the image viewed as it was meant to be with your naked eye is feast for the eyes in and of itself. Then there's the first time you put your loop to the image to see what lies within all that abundant color and you're taken to a whole subterranean world of tiny pools of lively hues each of varying degrees of opacity. Some are what seem like miles from each other; others are touching or are on top of each other. What appears to be an endless depth of color upon first sight is nothing more than the careful arrangement of thousands of color dots orchestrated with precision by a skilled lithographer. Apple greens, corral reds, sea glass blues, canary yellows, iris purples, sunset oranges, and everything beyond and in between all suddenly appear as bright as day and as separate and as sparkling as the stars. Some burst forth like spores shot from a dandelion swirling around like soft color suspended in air. All together you get a jewel in the miniature that is unsurpassed and unequalled in printing quality so different from the four color process used today.

Here I showcase a couple details from a beautiful chromolithograph print revealing some of it's hidden art within art. You can see with your naked eye the vibrant color that exists in this image without the help of any magnifying aid. However, when you come in close to the world that lies beneath you get to see how a blushing cheek might be made up of two different reds and a brown, a far away background can be more than the gray you assume it to be and the blue of the eye is not cyan next to white and yellow dots that make up that robin's egg blue; it really is that robin's egg blue. The skin tone has a luminous quality that comes from color resting upon and next to other colors that are unexpected but would really exist in skin pigment. It's something you see most obviously in a pointillist painting but may not have known existed in everyday prints from the age of Victorian chromolithography. Old chromo prints are full of wonderful surprises such as these, their beauty known to those who gaze upon them through a framed magnifying lens.