L'Art d'Imprimer les Tableaux.

1756. LE BLON, Jacques-Christophe and Antoine GAUTIER DE MONTDORGE. L'Art d'Imprimer les Tableaux. Traité d'après les Ecrits, les Opérations & les Instructions verbales, de J.C. Le Blon. xi, vi, [2], [xiii]-xxv, [26]-180, [4] pp., illustrated with 1 hand coloured sepia mezzotint and two black and white folding plates. 8vo, 195 x 125 mm., bound in contemporary mottled calf. Paris: Chéz P.G. Le Mercier, Jean-Luc Nyon, Michel Lambert, 1756. Le Blon was the inventor of the three colour method of printing in mezzotint and this little book is considered a key work in the history of colour printing. Le Blon's colour theory formed the foundation for modern colour printing. The bilingual text of Coloritto is in French and English; followed by the French essay of explanation and justification. Includes the renowned folding plate of an artist's palette in sepia mezzotint hand coloured to show the range and relationship of different 'tinctures.' This is the second edition of Le Blon's landmark book Coloritto, but an extremely important book in its own right. Copies of the first edition of 1723 are so rare they are essentially unobtainable. While not as rare as the 1723 edition, this edition is also a quite rare book, Spine with some professional restoration, overall a nice, fresh copy. Franklin, Early Colour Printing 40. Bridson/Wakeman B80 (Coloritto and reprint) - Florian Rodari (editor), Anatomie de la couleur. Catalogue BNF: Jacob Christoph Le Blon, l'oeil trichrome par Florian Rodari pp. 52-78. - Goldsmiths'-Kress no. 09110.1. Otto M. Lilien, Jacob Christoph Le Blon 1667-1741. Inventor of three and four Colour Printing.