LITHOGRAPHY. 



they opened establishments at Offenbach, London, 

 and Paris, but did not succeed very well. The 

 further progress of lithography was long pre- 

 vented through the great secrecy and jealousy 

 with which its working was guarded ; and it was 

 not until many years afterwards that the very 

 complicated manipulations of this invention be- 

 came more simplified by the assistance afforded 

 by artists and scientific men ; and since then, 

 rapid progress has been made. 



Senefelder was appointed director of the govern- 

 ment lithographic establishment at Munich ; and, 

 in later years, the king of Bavaria settled on him 

 a handsome pension for life. He saw his inven- 

 tion brought to comparative perfection, and died 

 at Munich, in 1834. His work on Lithography, 

 published more than fifty years ago, although con- 

 taining antiquated and too complicated notions, 

 comprises a pretty correct skeleton of nearly the 

 entire system of the present day. 



In a work like the present, only a general out- 

 line of this invention can be given. Before pro- 

 ceeding, however, it is advisable to direct attention 

 to a few of the benefits of which it has been pro- 

 ductive. By its means the fine arts have become 

 better understood, and art-education and taste 

 advanced. 



The famous collection of paintings of the Nether 

 Rhenish School, formed by the Brothers Boisser^ 

 of Cologne, was purchased by Bavaria. Its 

 choicest examples were, about fifty years ago, 

 lithographed on a large scale, and published in 

 numbers by Strixner. This work, having been 

 executed under the superintendence of the best 

 painters of Munich, and even now remarkable, 

 though somewhat heavy and mechanical in treat- 

 ment, made at the time a great impression, and 

 enabled young lithographic artists to improve their 

 abilities. From that time, lithography may be 

 considered to have taken its place among the fine 

 arts. 



Other works of importance were undertaken ; 

 the choicest specimens of the old and modern 

 masters were brought under the notice of the 

 public ; they were executed very frequently in a 

 masterly style, and rendered with scrupulous 

 fidelity the characteristics of the paintings of the 

 different masters and schools. Hanfstaengl 

 commenced the publication of that celebrated 

 work, The Choice Paintings of the Dresden 

 Gallery, a triumph of lithography and art. The 

 entire work was executed by young men of 

 talent, and who had received an art-education 

 who made it a point to study and understand 

 thoroughly their originals before copying them on 

 the stone. 



The principles on which the practice of lithog- 

 raphy is founded, are : \st, The strong adhe- 

 sion of greasy substances to calcareous stone. 

 zd, The affinity of one greasy body for another, 

 and their antipathy to water. 3</, The facility 

 with which calcareous stone imbibes water. It 

 follows, that, if a greasy line be drawn on a 

 prepared stone, its adhesion is such, that it can 

 only be erased by entirely removing the sur- 

 face of the stone, so far as the grease has pene- 

 trated. If water be put on the surface of the stone, 

 it remains, till evaporation takes place, on those 

 parts not covered with grease, and a roller charged 

 with greasy ink may be passed over the stone ; 

 the ink adhering to the greased portions, while , 



the parts covered with water will repel the ink 

 and remain clean. A piece of paper put on the 

 stone, and pressure applied, will receive an im- 

 pression in ink of the greasy line. 



Lithography has therefore been called chemical 

 printing ; as it is neither printed from intaglio, like 

 steel-engraving ; nor from a raised surface, like 

 wood-engraving; but, by attention to chemical 

 affinity, from a level surface. There are various 

 methods employed in lithography namely, draw- 

 ing on stone with a pen or brush with liquid ink ; 

 ! drawing on stone with solid ink or crayon ; draw- 

 ing on paper, and transferring to the stone ; and 

 engraving on stone. These differ only in the 

 manner of applying the greased drawings to the 

 surface of the stone. The printing from them is 

 in all cases identical. 



The Stones. The immense quarries of Solen- 

 hofen, near Pappenheim on the Danube, in Bavaria, 

 furnish the best stones ; they vary from a pale 

 yellowish white, to a light buff, reddish, grayish, 

 bluish, and greenish colour. The beds commence 

 with layers as thin as paper, but the strata become 

 thicker, until they form slabs of considerable size. 

 The thickness required for printing purposes 

 varies from one to four and five inches. The 

 stones are, while in the quarries, tolerably soft, 

 and can easily be cut and squared by the work- 

 men. Very beautiful petrifactions are found 

 between these layers, of which there are very 

 complete and interesting collections at the 

 museums in Munich and Eichstadt. These stones 

 were formerly, and are yet, used in Bavaria and 

 elsewhere for the floors of houses, churches, and 

 mosques, arranged in geometric patterns, like 

 inlaid tiles, also for window-sills, tops of tables, 

 &c. Useful lithographic stones have been found 

 in England, France, Canada, on the banks of 

 the Mississippi, the West Indies, and Silesia. 

 This calcareo-argillaceous stone, of a conchoidal 

 fracture, resembles the lias limestone, but does 

 not belong to the same geological period, being of 

 a more recent formation. The stones require to 

 be ground with sand and water, face to face, and 

 when level, are first polished with pumice-stone, 

 and lastly/with Water-of-Ayr stone. The polished 

 stones are for line-work, writing, engraving, and 

 transfer ; those for chalk-drawing and tinting, 

 after having been ground, as already described, 

 are grained with finely sifted silicious sand, or 

 finely ground glass, either fine, sharp, or rough. 

 according as it is intended for a sketch, a finished 

 drawing, or a tint 



The writing and drawing inks, and crayons 

 (chalks), are composed of lard, hard soap, white 

 wax, shell-lac, Venetian turpentine, carbonate 

 of soda, and powdered Paris black. The propor- 

 tions used, and the methods of manufacturing ink 

 and chalk, vary considerably. AH descriptions 

 can be purchased ready prepared The greasy 

 substances arc the important parts, the black 

 colouring matter is added merely for the conven- 

 ience of the artist, as it enables him to see what 

 effect he is producing as he goes on with his work. 

 Writing or drawing on stone is performed with 

 a very fine pen or a small brush for free-hand 

 work, and a ruling pen for straight lines. This 

 process is adapted for all purposes, such as plans, 

 maps, outline sketches, &c. where the subject can 

 be represented by lints. A polished, or as it is 

 technically called, //, stone is necessary. The 



