LITHOGRAPHY. (Greek lithos, "stone," and graphein, "to write"), may be divided into two distinct branches — the art of writing, drawing or engraving on stone, and the process of chemical or surface printing from stone or metal, by means of which such writings, drawings or engravings are multiplied, in a manner differing essentially from letter press or relief printing and from steel and copper plate or intaglio printing. Lithographic printing is based upon the physical principle of the antagonism of grease to water and upon the porous nature of the printing surface. By virtue of this property, a drawing made upon such surface with unctuous ink or crayon will adhere to it so that the parts of the surface containing the drawing or design will accept and hold grease or ink, and those parts of the surface free from design will receive and retain water to the evaporating point. Thus if a roller covered with fatty printing ink is passed over the printing surface previously moistened, the ink will adhere only to the parts constituting the design and will be repelled by the moisture covering the remaining part of the surface, in consequence of which the design only will appear in the impression.
Aloys Senefelder is generally conceded to he the inventor of lithography. He was born at Prague in 1771, the son of an actor, and at an early age removed to Munich. Al though disposed to follow his father's calling he entered the university at Ingolstadt, which later, through the death of his father he was compelled to leave and was thrown on his own resources for a livelihood. He met with in different success as an actor, and later, as a playwright, his inability to pay for the publica tion of his work bestirred him to devise some means of doing it himself, and he set about to become familiar with the printing art. He pur chased a small press and being unable to pay for the engraving of his compositions, he turned his attention to etching on copper. Frequent errors through his inexperience in forming the reversed characters on the plate, and being unfamiliar with the "stopping out' so-called solution used by etchers in rectifying mistakes, he succeeded in devising one of his own. The ingredients he used were those .nearest at hand the wax with which he coated the plates pre vious to etching, the soap with which he washed the ink from the plates, and the lamp-black which he used in preparing his ink for printing.
Thus accidentally he discovered the compo sition which forms the basis of all crayons and lithographic drawing Mks. The labor of grind ing and repolishing the copper plates led him to experiment with a piece of Kellheim stone and by treating this in the same way as the copper plates he succeeded in getting fair im pressions. He later reversed the etching proc ess by writing on the stone with the "stopping out" composition and biting down the surface with aqua fortis, bringing out the characters in relief, which he inked in and printed in the manner of type. He further discovered that relieving the characters was unnecessary and that by simply writing on the stone with his composition he produced the same results. This was in the year 1798; eight years later, after many disappointing and discouraging experi ences, the inventor succeeded with the assistance of the Bavarian government in establishing himself as a lithographic printer in Munich. This city became the centre of the art, and three years thereafter no fewer than seven separate concerns were established as well as a number of private presses. Senefelder died in 1834, and with the possible exception of the introduction of the general meth ods and underlying principles he laid down are those in use to-day.
Of the early lithographers many others are entitled to credit, they having done much to develop and foster the craft. Ferdinand Pilotti in 1808 published 432 copies of the old masters, and in 1815 reproductions from the Munich gallery. His partner, Lochle, was also con spicuous in the early development of lithog raphy, as well as Count Lasterie, who intro duced the art in Paris. It fell to Gottf red Engelmann to found the first permanent estab lishment in Paris in 1816. In 1837 he was granted letters patent on the invention of chromolithography. The first house in Berlin was established in 1834 by Franz Hanfstangel, and in London in 1822, by Hullmandel, a pupil of Engelmann. Senefelder also attempted to establish himself in London but failed owing to difficulties with his partner, Andre of Offenbact.