This view of Paris is one of a series of 29 prints, which are among the earliest examples of color lithography and make the most sophisticated use of the technique’s ability to reproduce bright tonal washes of watercolor. Printed in 1839 by Charles Hullmandel (1789–1850), the series is the result of a challenging and painstaking process. In color lithography, each color must be printed separately. This means that a single print requires multiple stones and separate passes through the press to print each color. More than a topographical record of a Parisian monument, Boys’ composition gives equal weight to the teeming city life along the banks of the Seine, the washerwoman carrying a basket of laundry, and the bed sheets hanging from the upper stories of the building. In this series of prints, Boys achieved his goal, which was “to do Paris as it is.” (Ann Shafer, Taking in the View: English Watercolors and Prints, 2008)