24/08/2026
This photo from UWTSD archives shows the results of revolutionary 19th century printing techniques by printing pioneer William Savage (1770-1843)! At the time, many genres such as natural history, travel and archaeology books all benefitted greatly from being printed in colour, but the price and complexities of doing so were just too much for most people to handle. However, Savage endeavoured to solve this issue using experimental techniques, and discovered that detailed images could be built up from colour on separate wooden blocks. This image of a boat on a river looks so polished that appears to have been painted, but in reality, it is a result of Savage’s applied techniques!
Too see more works like this head over to UWTSD - Library and Learning Resources page and have a look!