Antique chromolithograph of Chinese silk merchants plying their wares to the household staff of a European family in the old Batavia. These type of door-to-door, direct-selling merchants were very common in port cities and somewhere like Batavia would have access to an immense number of fine goods including these silks. While the Europeans of the house were away, the baboes or female servants were usually responsible for interacting with traveling salesmen.

Published in Leiden, the Netherlands, after a water drawing by J.C. Rappard,

Jhr. Josias Cornelis Rappard (1824-1898) was a colonel in the KNIL and a painter. During his posting in the Netherlands Indies 1842-1872, he painted and drew pictures of life and scenes in the Indies that were later, back in Leiden, The Netherlands, would be made into chromolithographs. The Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam holds a large number of these prints and collectors all over the world appreciate Rappard's classic watercolours.

Chromolithography was a popular method for colour printing in the 19th century because of its lower cost and relative ease to mass-produce. The process involves the use of stones and a chemical process to fasten images to the paper. High-end chromolithographs are hand-finished by an artist after the process to ensure the best possible fidelity in each copy.