Joseph Kronheim

Joseph Kronheim produced many book illustrations. An example of an elegant frontispiece produced using the Baxter process is shown right.

See also The Kronheim Exhibition, 2000

Profile of Joseph Kronheim

Joseph Martin Kronheim was born in Magdeburg, Germany on 26th October 1810. He moved to Edinburgh, via Paris, when he was 22 before becoming established at 32 Paternoster Row, London around 1846.

In 1850, Kronheim acquired a license to operate the Baxter process. Kronheim found the Baxter process very time consuming and adapted the process, using zinc blocks instead of wood blocks. This, however, resulted in a flatter finish. He then turned to lithography for a short time, but soon returned to printing by the Baxter process. Oscar Frauenknecht acquired a stake in the business in 1852 and it is said that the firm had produced over 1000 different subjects using the Baxter process by 1854. They also produced a great number of prints for the Paris Exhibition in 1855 and at the end of the exhibition Kronheim sold his share of the business to Frauenknecht and retired to Germany.

Kronheim's retirement did not last long and he was soon to be found trying to set up a printing business in America. These exploits were also short lived, and he rejoined Frauenknecht and his old firm, Kronheim & Co. in London, although this time, not as a partner. The firm continued to expand, opening offices in Manchester and Glasgow.  In 1875 the firm stopped using the Baxter process, having installed steam litho machines. Kronheim retired again in 1887 and died in Berlin in 1896 aged 85 years.