Le Blond & Co
Le Blond & Co. was formed by brothers Abraham and Robert, in Stepney, London. They were the first company to take a licence from Baxter in 1849. Their first print by the Baxter Process - The Royal Family at Windsor - was produced in the following year.
They produced over 100 prints and are considered to be the best exponent of Baxter's process. The set of 32 ovals are particularly fine and sort after. Later production runs of the ovals and other prints also show the name 'L.A. Elliot & Co., Boston, U.S. who was Le Blonds agent in the USA. They printed many Royal subjects, scenic and romantic views and illustrated a number of small pocket almanacs of the period which are now quite rare. Some of their scantily ladies were specifically printed for use as labels on rolls of fabric.
In 1868 Le Blond purchased 66 sets of Baxter's original plates and blocks and republished them, they are known as Le Blond-Baxters. Le Blond removed Baxter's signature from the plates and added his own, but at sometime, probably in the 1890's - 1920's, someone trimmed thousands of prints to remove the Le Blond signature presumably to pass the print off as a genuine Baxter.
Le Blond's Her Majesty at Osborne on embossed stamped mount
For commercial reasons Le Blond omitted some of the blocks resulting in an inferior 'finish' to the prints but he also published some fully finished examples on mounts with blue labels on the reverse which are of a quality that could match Baxter's own work. Any Le Blond Baxter still with Le Blonds signature is rare even rarer on the mount with label.Le Blond & Co. turned to the cheaper method of lithography, but even so the business ran into financial difficulties and in 1893 Le Blond sold all his plates and blocks together with his stock of prints to Mr Frederick Mockler. Finally, a receiver was appointed in 1894 and the business was sold to Barclay and Fry. Abraham Le Blond died later that year aged 75 years.