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 typographic power press. It is operated on the same general principle, except that it has in place of the letter press forum 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 off. This method of hand printing, which before the introduction of the power press was used exclusively for lithographic printing, is now only used for time purpose 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-eolor printing by the lithographic process. For this purpose rotary presses are used which print two or more colors in rapid succession before delivering the sheet. The rotary lithographic press consists of two cylinders—one to hold the plate and the other to furnish the pressure. It is supplied with a mech anism similar to that of the flat-bed lithographic press, for distribution and application of moist ure and ink. Its speed is about 50 per cent. greater than that of the stone or flat-bed press. Rotary presses having.; two plate-cylinders and printing two colors each time a sheet is fed are already in use, and three-color and four color presses are now being built on the same general principle.
if 'STORY.
Lithography was invented in 1798 by Aloys Senefelder (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 by some that Simon Schmidt, who printed from stone as early as 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 1806 Senefelder established himself at Ilunieh as a lithographic 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 published together with Strixner a series of copies of old masters, and in 1815 reproduc tions of the pictures in the, Munich Gallery. The inventor died in 1834, 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 Miilhauseu (Alsace), in 1816. To him is due the credit of inventing chromolithography, for which the French Govern ment granted him letters patent in 1837. In 18111 Franz Ilanfstiingl visited Munich, and in 1834 he founded the first lithographic house in Berlin. Lemereier had meanwhile established himself in Paris, and made great progress in the new art. Hanfstiingl visited him in 1835 to study his methods, and on his return to Berlin greatly im proved the art. Of especial importance was tho lithograph series designed by Adolf Menzel (q.v.). The first lithographic house' in London was estab lished in 1822 by Ilullmandel, a pupil of Engel mann of Paris, although a previous attempt had been made by Senefelder himself, in partnership with Andri"., 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 reached during the reign of Louis Philippe. by such men as Daumier, Grandville, Travies, and Gavarni, famed for their satirical drawings; Deveria, Delaeroix, Johannot, and Gigoux, the delineators of romantic litera ture; Charlet and Raffet, who glorified on stone the conquests of Napoleon; and Rich ard Park Bonington. James Duffield Harding and Alexandre Calame produced some noted land scapes. Eugene habey lithographed some very fine marines, and Julien's fame as a lithographic artist culminated in his famous "Etudes en Deux Crayons." With the introduction 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, Vollstiindiges Lehr der Sleindruckerei (Munich. 1818; English translation. London, 1819) ; Engelmann, Traite theorique et prolique do lithographic (Paris, 1839) ; Bergman, Das Ganz(' des Sleindrucks, nebst A liking con der Zinkographie I Weimar, 1843); Weishaupt, Thcoretisch-praktische A Pi leitung Chromolithographie ( Quedl inburg and Leipzig, 1847); lies lit sum m tychiet des Steindracks, nebst Ankeny con dcr Zinkoyrephie (Weimar, IS(i5) ; Bregeant, ?flannel complet de l'imprimeur-lithographir (l'aris, 1850) ; Richmond, Grammar of Lithography (London, 1885).