Colour Letterpress in Europe in the Long 18th Century: A First Survey

Abstract This chapter opens discussion on colour printing in letterpress: letters, numbers, ornament and music notation printed from moveable type. From the printing of Gutenberg’s Latin Bible around 1455, type has been printed in black with red. However, apart from studies on red, blue and gold letterpress in incunabula, the history of colour letterpress has been largely overlooked. This study offers a brief introduction to letterpress printing in blue, brown, gold, green, orange, red, white, or yellow inks, and in their various colour combinations in the long 18th century. It is followed by an annotated short-title bibliography of a selection of thirty publications with colour letterpress from the period, which is hoped to provide a starting point for further study of this kind of material.