T&R Colour Archive – Protecting The Library

This year we celebrate 250 Years in business, that is one heck of a cake and a lot of candles.

In 2023 we started to work on our extensive colour archive, over 10,000 colours reaching as far back as the late 1900’s, we wanted to ensure that this vast library of historical colours was protected for future generations, the next 250 years. The colour swatches have been stored in a dry environment, away from light, dust and man handling. However, there is only 1 library, no back up on this or any lonely cloud.

So, we set about dividing each colour swatch in half to create 2 libraries of colour to be kept in 2 different locations. Some of the colour samples were actually on metal plate so we need more than a pair of scissors. Many of the colours, but not all by a long way, are recorded digitally and so the next phase of this project will be to get everything digital so we bring history back to the future.

It is not just the iconic colours of the great locomotives, rolling stock, steam traction engines, carriages, buses and coaches we are preserving it is colour that touches every day yesteryear life, John Deere Tractors, The Plumb Center, Esso, Shell, BP, Holsten, Tetleys, Asda, Hovis, The Post Office, Blackpool Trams and county councils across the country, so many, many more.

There is one colour in the archive that caught me and it’s this “Tin Soldier Red”, I wonder who placed that order, how many tin soldiers they painted and in some box in an attic somewhere, is one of those tin soldiers waiting to escape and do battle in his tin soldier red tunic.

Colour is history, at T&R we are protecting that historical archive of colour and still making traditional brush finish paints 250 year down the line.