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Article: Samuel Colt's porcelain transparencies.(lithophanes)
- Article from:
- The Magazine Antiques
- Article date:
- April 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Brant Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The creation of realistic pictures by means of light passing through translucent panes of porcelain must have appealed to Samuel Colt, who purchased large quantities of what are called lithophanes. They depict fables, pastoral scenes, vedute (landscape or town views), and other subjects. He also commissioned a portrait to be made in the same material (Fig. 1).
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The process invented and patented by Baron Paul Charles de Bourgoing (1791-1864) in 1827 to produce lithophanes was deceptively simple. (1) A modeler duplicated the image to be copied on a flat ...