Collecting

The facinating world of chromolithographic prints is inexhaustible. Thousands of chromo prints have been published all over the world. They are highly sought after by collectors. Several collectors are also active through this channel, the Internet. Swapping, buying and selling can be done through this international channel. Most collections are based on existing catalogues. Some of them are listed in the references.

In Belgium and Italy, most collectors collect a particular brand and therefore try to make their brand collection as complete as possible. The extensive catalogues of the various brands are the basis here. In France, on the other hand, people collect mainly thematically. The subjects are infinitely different. I will only quote a few themes here: finder's prints, children, children's games, dolls, billiards, football ... and so on, truly inexhaustible. Even in America, there are a lot of chromo collectors, who use the term "trade cards".

When collecting, however, one should severely limit oneself. Knowing that the Liebig collection already includes 11500 prints, a choice of theme is certainly in order. The "Chocolat Poulain" collection even has 25000 different chromos.

Subjects of chromos can sometimes catch on immediately. In this way, one starts an additional collection based on themes rather than brands. For example, there are collectors of chromos with the following subjects: child scenes, toys, champagne, chess, billiards ...