The lithographic publishing house founded in London by Michael Hanhart had a long and successful history. It published its first prints in 1840 and continued to produce work beyond 1888. The firm published everything from book illustrations to lithographic sheet music covers, but it was in the field of large, individual chromolithographs that M. & N. Hanhart excelled. Using a complex layering of tint stones, Hanhart printed elaborate works unique for their colouration and tonal values.