Mattson chromo 2
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Mattson chromo 1
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
Mattson chromo 3
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Detail map of Boston, Massachusetts, United States Overview map of Boston, Massachusetts, United States

A: Boston, Massachusetts, United States

The First American Book with Chromolithographed Illustrations

1841
Mattson chromo 4
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons

In 1841 American Thomsonian physician Morris Mattson published The American Vegetable Practice, or a New and Improved Guide to Health, Designed for the Use of Families. The book, in 2 volumes, the first concerning people in general, and the second, shorter volume concerning women's health, was issued in Boston by Daniel L. Hale. The first volume included 2 black and white plates and 24 chromolithographed botanical plates produced by the Boston lithographer William Sharp and his partner Francis Michelin, both of whom had previously worked for lithographer and chromolithographer Charles Hullmandel in London. In his preface Mattson wrote (p. xi):

"The colored illustrations in the material medica, will, I presume, meet with the entire approbation of the public. They have been procured at great expense; and were executed by a new process, invented by Mr. Sharp, recently of London, being the first of the kind ever issued in the United States. The different tints were produced by a series of printed impressions, the brush not having been used in giving effect or uniformity to the coloring. Connoisseurs in the arts have spoken of them in terms of admiration, and Mr. Sharp will no doubt succeed in bringing his discoveries to a still greater degree of perfection."

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