Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/376

* LITHOGRAPHY. 334 LITHOGRAPHT. starch and glycerin. The impressions are then laid in their proper position on a slieet of paper and tixed by indentations made with tlie dulled point of an engraving needle. This sheet is then laid down on a clean polished stone or metal ]il;Ue and repealcclly pulled through a hand-press until all the ink has been transferred from the impressions to the stone or metal plate, the paper being frequentlj' moistened during this process until it can readily be removed. A weak solution of gum and water is applied, the stone is then rolled up with printing-ink, and the transfer is finally •etched' in the same manner as an original drawing to make it ready for printing. In chromotitliogra])hy the first transfer made is that of the key-plate containing the register marks. An impression from this transfer, coated with shellac to insure against stretching or shrinking, is mounted on a sheet of -line or aluminum and the impressions of all succeeding transfers are 'stuck up' or indented on this key-sheet, so that all the colors will be in accurate register with each other. Lithographic Printing. Machinery used for lithographic printing may be divided into two classes: hand presses and power presses. The construction of the lithographic power press varies but slightly from that of the tj'pographic power press. It is operated on the same general principle, except that it has in place of the letter- press form a lithographic stone in its bed, and is supplied with mechanism for applying the moist- ure to the stone. When the hand press is used the moistening is done by means of a sponge. The hand press consists of ( 1 ) a movable bed for the stone, resting and traveling on rollers; (2) an impression bar or scraper of boxwood, with a wedge-formed edge, running lengthwise, covered with leather and fitted to a yoke; and (3) a tympan hinged to that end of the bed near- est the impression-bar. After the stone has been moistened and rolled up with ink, the paper upon which the impression is to be made is laid upon the stone in the desired position and a backing sheet placed over it; the tympan is lowered to cover the entire stone and bed, the edge of which is then brought forward under the impression- bar; the pressure is applied by means of a hand lever at the side of the press and the entire length of the bed passed under the impression-bar. The pressure is then released and the bed brought back to its original position, the tympan raised, and the sheet, having taken the impression, is taken olT. This method of hand printing, which before the introduction of the power press was used exclusively for lithogra|)hic printing, is now only used for the purjiose of making artist-proofs and transfers for printing on power presses. The substitution of the flexible aluminum plate for lithographic stone has resulted in the suc- cessful use of rotary printing machinery, and has opened the field of multi-color printing by the lithographic process. For this purpose rotary presses are used which ]irint two or more colors in rapid succession before delivering the sheet. The rotary lithograidiic press consists of two cylinders — one to hold the plate and the other to furnish the pressure. It is supjilied with a mech- anism similar to that of the (lat-bed lithographic press, for distribution and application of moist- ure and ink. Its speed is aboiit .50 per cent, greater than that of the stone or flat-bed press. Rotary presses having two plate-cylinders and printing two colors eacli time a sheet is fed are already largely in use, and three-color and four- color presses are now being built on the same general principle. HISTORY. Lithography was invented in 1708 by Aloys SenefeUler ( q.v. ), a printer of music from copper plates at Munich. Experiments made while thus engaged led to his discovery of chemical or sur- face printing. It has been claimed bj' some that Simon »Schniidt, who printed from stone as early as 1788, deserves credit for the invention of lithography, but as a matter of fact Schmidt merely substituted stone for metal in relief print- ing, which has nothing in common with lithog- raphy. In 1800 Senefelder established himself at Munich as a litliograi)hic printer. Munich thus became the centre of the art; in 1809 there were no less than seven separate establishments, together with a number of private presses. Con- .spicuous among the first lithographers of Munich was Ferdinand Piloty, father of Karl Piloty, who in 1808 piddishcd together with Strixner a series of copies of old masters, and in 181.5 reproduc- tions of the pictures in the Munich Gallery. The inventor died in 18.'i4, since which time there have been few improvements upon his methods, so thoroughly did he cover the field. From Munich the art rapidly spread throughout Europe. After several unsuccessful attempts it was established in Paris by Godfrey Engelmann, a native of Miilhausen (Alsace), in 1816. To him is due the credit of inventing chromolithography, for which the French (Jovem- nient granted him letters patent in 1837. In 1810 Franz Hanfstangl visited Munich, and in 1834 he founded the first lithographic house in Berlin. Lemercier had meanwhile established himself in Paris, and made great progress in the new art. HanfstUngl visited him in 1835 to study his methods, and on his return to Berlin greatly im- proved the art. Of especial importance was the lithograph series designed by Adolf Menzel (q.v.). The first lithographic house in London was estab- lished in 18'22 by HuUmandel, a pupil of Engel- mann of Paris, although a previous attempt had been made by Senefelder himself, in partnership with Andre, of Offenbach. In America lithog- raphy was introduced as early as 1828 by Bar- nett & Doolittle', in New York City. It remained for Paris, however, to develop lithography as a high art. The climax was readied during the reign of Louis Philippe, by such men as Daumier, Grandville, Travies, and Gavarni, famed for their satirical drawings; Deveria, Delacroix. .lohannot, and Gigoux, the delineators of romantic litera- ture; Charlet and Rafl'et. who glorified on stone the conquests of Napoleon ; Gericault and Eicli- ard Park Boningt.on. James Duifield Harding and Alexandre Calame produced some noted land- scapes, Eug6ne Isabey lithographed some very fine marines, and Julien's fame as a lithographic artist culminated in his famous "Ettides en Deux Crayons." With the introdiction of the power press, lithography soon developed into a world- wide industry. Its applications and accomplish- ments multiplied to such an extent, not only ar- tistically, but commercially, that to enumerate them would be impossible. Consult : Aloys Senefelder, VoUstiindiges Lehr- buck dcr fiteindruckerei (Munich, 1818; English translation, London, 1810) ; Engelmann, TraitS thcorique et pratique dc lHJwtjraphic (Paris,