The Invention of Lithography Part 8

Herr Mitterer now has attained such perfection, especially in the simple crayon method, that many of his productions probably will remain the _non plus ultra_ of this method. Lithography also owes to his unresting energy the triumph of having been become the mother of many useful works of instruction, which are so cheap that they only require the active work of a good art-dealer or book-dealer to become widely circulated.

Besides this, Herr Mitterer is the inventor of the so-called cylinder or pilot-wheel press, which he has improved so much lately that it does almost everything that one can demand from a perfect press in point of power, speed, and ease of operation.

Since 1809, I have dedicated myself almost uninterruptedly to improvements, and to the work of reducing all manipulation and processes in all branches to their simple elementary principles. Thus some of my earlier inventions--such as transfers from paper which has been inscribed with fatty inks, and the transfers from new and old books and copper-plate impressions--have been brought to a high degree of excellence through my manifold experiments, so that one can make lithographic stereotypes in the easiest manner.

Furthermore I have made such progress in color printing that, besides pictures illuminated with colors, I can also produce pictures quite similar to oil paintings, so that n.o.body can discover that they have been printed, because they possess all the distinguis.h.i.+ng points of paintings.

At the same time I have invented a new method for printing pictures, wall tapestry, playing-cards, and even cotton, which enables two men to make two thousand impressions of the size of a sheet of letter-paper daily, even though the picture may contain a hundred or more colors.

Incredible as this may seem, I surely shall produce extraordinary and amazing proofs of this in a few years if I remain alive and well.

Among the other methods that I have invented since this time the most excellent are some aqua tint processes, the spatter-work method, the intaglio crayon method, the conversion of the relief method into intaglio and vice versa, and the machine-written text for editions de luxe.

Among other things I also sought to remedy the difficulty which arises from the great dependence on the skill and industry of the printers.

Therefore I planned a printing-machine wherein the dampening and inking of the stones should be done not by hands but by the mechanism of the press itself, which, in addition, could be operated by water and thus work almost without human intervention. With this invention I believed that I had set my art on the pinnacle of completion; and when in 1817 I exhibited a model of this press (which also was adapted by me for utilizing the principles of stone or chemical printing on metal plates) before the Royal Academy of Sciences in Munich, I was so fortunate as to receive its golden medal in sign of universal approval.

But the most important of all my inventions since my employment in the service of the Royal Government was, without question, the invention of a sufficient subst.i.tute for the natural limestone plates, which often incurred well-founded censure because of their unevenness, weight, and fragility, and have the further fault of demanding a great deal of storage room.

Before the Royal Academy of Sciences, and also before the Polytechnical Society of Bavaria, I demonstrated that chemical printing could be utilized with advantage on metal plates; but that still more useful was a composition of artificial stone which could be painted on metal, wood, stone, and even on plain paper or linen, and used in all processes exactly like the natural Solenhofen stone.

The countless experiments that I have made in the past four years with this subst.i.tute (or, as some call it, stone-paper), in order to prove its usefulness under all circ.u.mstances, have filled me with the absolute conviction that it replaces the natural stone completely without having the many faults that in the nature of the case are inseparable from the use of the latter. In many respects it is far superior. The fragility of the Solenhofen stone requires the use of thick slabs for printing. If the impression is to be letter-sheet size, the stone must be at least one and one half inches thick if it is not to crack under pressure. If the stone is to be used for more than one job, the thickness must be two to three inches. To be sure, it can be ground and used over again some hundreds of times, a valuable consideration in view of the capital invested in a stone. But such a stone weighs from sixty to eighty pounds, sometimes more, and occupies considerable s.p.a.ce. Add the investment necessary for laying in any great number of stones, and it becomes a difficult matter financially to undertake work that requires that the stones be held for a number of years, to be used for new impressions according to the sales of the work. Therefore it is necessary, generally, to print a maximum quant.i.ty at once, so that the stones may be ground and used for new work.

If the stones are of thickness correctly proportioned to their area, the danger of cracking under the press is fairly remote; still, it does happen occasionally that a stone incurs damage through clumsiness of workmen. It can occur also through careless warming, or through sharp frost. In such cases even a strong stone will crack, especially if the workmen apply undue pressure.

Besides, the necessary stones are not to be found in all places, so that the cost of transportation prevents the establishment of lithographic shops in many regions.

All these objections are overcome by the invention of stone-paper. The material advantages of it are as follows: (1) The cost is much smaller than that of a stone of equal size. (2) The weight is inconsiderable; a plate of letter-sheet size weighs scarcely four ounces. (3) Hundreds of such plates piled on each other require scarcely as much s.p.a.ce as a single stone, and can, therefore, be stored or s.h.i.+pped easily. (4) They resist the most powerful press better than do stone, copper, and even iron plates. Their inner elasticity supports the most extreme pressure without alteration if only they are handled properly. (5) The application of fatty inks, and also engraving with the steel graver is easier. Indeed, because of the great toughness of the stone-paper, the engraving process approaches copper engraving more closely. (6) Inking and printing are easier, and demand no such powerful pressure, because the artificial stone receives and imparts color more readily, than does the natural stone. (7) Finally, they are so excellent for all methods of printing that it is possible to reproduce the original plates at will merely by transferring a fresh imprint to another plate. And this can be done with such accuracy that none of these plates can be distinguished from the original, so that the stone-paper surely must become of enormous importance for stereotyping in the book-printing trade.

These advantages, and others to be described on suitable occasion, elevate this invention unquestionably to the highest importance in the art of chemical printing, despite all that may have been said recently by a certain writer whose lack of knowledge forbade correct judgment.

The matter already has attained a degree of perfection that makes every further improvement unnecessary, nay, almost impossible.

My many employments, mostly caused by the publication of this text-book, thus far have prevented the erection of my own manufactory for making these artificial stone-plates or stone-paper. I hope to do it soon, and then everybody can convince himself of the truth of my a.s.sertions, if he will use the material according to my instructions.

This invention will facilitate the introduction of lithography in all places, because one can make the stones himself. However, lithography has expanded very considerably in its present form, and has been brought into use in the foremost cities of Europe. For instance, it was introduced into France and England, first by Herr Andre, in latter days by the Count von Lasterie in Paris and Herr Ackermann in London, being utilized for many kinds of printed work. In Berlin, Herr Major von Reiche has erected a great inst.i.tution. In Petersburg the art has existed for some years, and is being especially well cultivated now by Freiherr von Schilling. The art has entered even Philadelphia, and, more extraordinarily, Astrakan, and, so far as I can learn, has been welcomed heartily.

I desire that soon it shall be spread over the whole world, bringing much good to humanity through many excellent productions, and that it may work toward man's greater culture, but never be misused for evil purposes. This grant the Almighty! Then may the hour be blessed in which I invented it!

SECTION II

TEXT-BOOK OF PRINTING FROM THE STONE

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

EXPLANATION OF THE PRINCIPLES AND THE PECULIARITIES OF STONE-PRINTING AND OF CHEMICAL-PRINTING IN GENERAL

PART I

General objects and principles governing--

(1) the stone.

(2) the ink, crayon, etching surface and color.

(3) the acids and other preparing materials.

(4) the necessary tools.

(5) the paper.

(6) the presses.

PART II

Enumeration and description of the various processes and particular objects in manipulating them, such as:--

RELIEF PROCESS-- to which belong--

(1) Pen and brush designs.

(2) Crayon drawing, simple and with several plates.

(3) Transfer and Tracing.

(4) Woodcut style.

(5) Two kinds of Touche drawing, one of which is similar to the Sc.r.a.ped style, while the other is done in the usual way with the brush.

(6) Spatter-Work.

(7) Touche drawing.

(8) Color printing with several plates.

(9) Gold and silver print.

INTAGLIO PROCESS--

(1) Carved or engraved.

(2) Etched.

(3) Drawn with prepared ink; with spattered aquatint.

(4) Aquatint in copper engraved style, and with etching ground.

(5) Aquatint through crayon ground.

(6) Intaglio crayon through tracing.

(7) Touche drawing with etching color and citric acid.

MIXED METHOD: RELIEF AND INTAGLIO UNITED--

(1) Pen drawing combined with engraving.

(2) Intaglio drawing with relief tint.

(3) Intaglio and relief with several plates.

(4) Transformation of relief into intaglio, and vice versa.