the new-york exhibition illustkated.

cier and Ackermann, would seem to show that a still higher sty e, i o ere , wou

prove even more attractive and remunerative.

Small as is our national allowance of lithographic art, we. ave even ®lithographic science. Almost without exception, our practice is onroutine, in which no end but wages is borne in mind. No reasoningcesses, no chemistry of materials, no perception of true art is perm,moment to jeopardize the main chance. From such a. state o t in S s ! 1

possible that improvements should arise. A deeper policy, a no er a ' ’ ^

spirit must have birth before lithography can become among us any nnhired menial, a scavenger of jobs, a feeder on crumbs which a as reengravers’ plates. The time surely must come when American 1 ogimanifest the attributes of a true art; when thescience on whic 1 f es ^longer as now be ignored in its workshops, and when having, isohigher vocation, an honorable prosperity will replace the shai is 00now eating out the life of aspiration, and dragging down to base, courdr y

basest uses, capacities adequate to truly noble achievements, n to

pre-eminently, art needs to be democratic in the best sense, an i s F' , j g

be brought within reach of the most moderate competence. . 1 ^ man .

peculiarly adapted to answer this need, and under high-toned an J u 101agement, it might be rendered a most effective auxiliary in training p a j n t_taste to that true and critical appreciation of art, without whic , scu p i.ing, and art decoration must languish in obscurity, or zigzag t irouggalvanic life which fashion without taste, may patronize into spasms.

Lithographic stones are derived almost exclusively from Bavaria, ne° . Qn ^the quarries of Pappenheim and Solnhoven contributing the pnncipa P^ ^the world. Other quarries, as for instance, those of Chateaux onx, ] ® a . .

lay in France, and of Corston, near Bath, in England, have f en corn pactsome success. The Bavarian stones are, however, more perfect in . eihomogeneous structure, in their stratification, color, grain, an aci i y tbeing; for which reasons they are almost the only ones in deman . j eave n0

largest and most perfect slabs, they are furnished at so low a late as ^ near

great margin of possible profit to induce competition. The stone is ^the surface overlaying a granite, is quarried in blocks which are sp i. ^

by wedges, and then shaped by stone hammers, with a peculiar acquir ^

skill, and finally the slabs are inspected critically for assignment o ieuses. The best are used for crayon drawings, a compact, clear grain, ^ ^

and appropriate absorption of water, an even tint, and a free ‘® e viden-line, earthy or colored veins, from white spots and non stain-, B co j orces of excellence. For engraving, the hardest stones are chosen,being a slaty gray, colored veins being unimportant. For pen or rus ^ ftndwriting and transfers, general perfection is desirable, the pai icu aigrain being less important. Stones are grained or polishe. accor mdestined use. The graining is executed by sliding and winding a seco ^or polished stone on the face to be grained, with a sprinkling o san .,wetted between the two faces, and a grained stone is polishe y e sub j e ctwith pumice stone. A careful adaptation of the graimng or po is i ^ deddedin hand is highly important for success, as its grade of * ^ covered

effect on the fineness of resulting tints and shades. ^rai • ; a peculiar

over with minute granular hillocks, which rasp off ttie c y t bfeel for each grade of fineness. . -,,,,,,, 1 ;,.^

The construction of the lithographic presses in common use is e ]j 0 0 f

and does not favorably impress a critical eye. It looks ue a u f orm .

an unmechanical age, and it is hard to believe that it has reac ie arr ay of

Yet from Senefelder’s gallows press, to that now in use, there is a <j oub tlessattempts at perfecting this confessedly unsatisfactory machine, iesu^ xin considerable improvement, yet leaving much to be desire . 16 ^ rol _

cess is as follows: The stone being duly bedded on a solid ta 6 1U . .. a erfere, and the drawing being wetted and inked, a sheet a broa( i

is laid on its face and covered by some paper backers, lhe y , bysheet of leather, stretched on an iron frame, is folded down over the ston , y

turning on a hinge joining it to the bed plate ^ X “ h6 d ® 0 ’ 0 S den s ’ orap er edge,

- tympan, are drawn by a hand-crank movement under an Der verv

which scrapes over the back of the leathern tympan, an P^® e takes upstrongly against the stone, by its sliding edge pressure. wn the bed

the ink perfectly from the drawing. The pressure is . frame

rolls back under the scraper, the tympan is folded the stone!

the backers are removed, and the printed sheet is PP . , rp,

Th, th.n wetted U Inked, wh« to wAw

plication of power presses to lithographic pun> >| a ' nsed , and by visitingequivocal success. Yet mechanical presses aie co J , * 1,0 noise

Duval’s large establishment in Philadelphia, or that the saving

Of the product. A drawing has its humors, which ™chine y will not^ieg.ard.

The good printer constantly exercises his eye ” '^y^hool ’atlases may bestone and pressure; but machines have no eyes. j

well enough done by machinery, but works having any traits of art, must always,we fear, be inked if not pressed, by hand. The trials of this point made in France,are very discouraging, though better success may he possible in the future.

The theory of lithography is simple and beautiful. It is based on the relativeadhesions between three materials: oily or fat ink, water, and lithographic stone.If a drawing in fat ink be made on the face of a stone, its lines adhere firmly, andif water be then sponged over the stone, it also adheres so strongly to the stoneand so slightly to the ink, that a charged ink roller can be rolled heavily over theface without the ink penetrating through the water to the stone; the ink linesmeantime becoming fully charged with ink from the roller. Tlius by first Wet-ting and then inking a stone drawing, all its parts take up the ink requisite foran impression, and the impression takes off this ink without removing the linesof the drawing. The order of adhesions (or of affinities, as it is often incorrectlycalled) is first and strongest, of fat ink to stone; second, of water to stone; third,of ink to ink, while between ink and water there is no sensible adhesion. Thestone then is merely a ground from which water prints in water, and ink printsin ink, its agency in printing being limited to this service as a substratum for theink and water. Hence it is apparent that the whole business of the artist con-sists in putting on the stone, in reverse, exactly what is to appear in the print, andin scrupulously protecting the remaining portion against crayori-dust, ink spots,finger marks, saliva, soap stains, and whatever else is sufficiently fatty or adhe-sive to print, as all such blemishes, whether visible or not, must infallibly appearin the printing.

The printer must also exercise the same protective precautions, and niustguard against breaking, forcing, or filling any of the artist’s work. The artistsand printers are quite prone to accuse each other of faulty execution, and cer-tainly it is necessary for each to do his duty well, in order to produce goodresults. The most perfect drawing may be quickly ruinod by careless printing,while of course no printer can give better effects than the artist has provided for.A printer should have a good appreciation of any artistic subject in hand, as byhis management of the inking, he can considerably vary the relative shade ofthe component parts, and can quite control the general tone of shade. He mustbe careful to keep the lines and shades clear, by timely sponging and washingwith acidulated water and gum arabic solution, whereby the linos are preventedfrom spreading. The worst possible faults in printing are, that black cloudinessresulting from a spreading of the ink of the drawing, and that white, ghostlylook, which results from the wearing of lines and shades, or from imperfectinking. These defects, when they become irremediable by the printer, indicateincurable deterioration, unless retouching by the artist can repair the damage,otherwise the printing should proceed no further. The number of perfect im-pressions which crayon drawings will give, ranges from about 500 for the finestup to 1500 for the strongest ones. Ink drawings yield a much larger number,ranging from 6000 for fine subjects to indefinitely groat numbers for coarso lines,over 80,000 copies of a regimental return having been taken from one writtencopy in Munich, without deterioration. Transfers from copper to stone yieldfrom 1000 to 5000, according to tlio quality of the drawing and of the particulartransfer. Transfers from engraved stone to plane stone print about like cop-per and steel plate transfers. Transfers from crayon are hardly regarded as prac-ticable, since no two stones of exactly similar grain can be found, which, however,is a fundamental requisite for identity of expression in tlio two drawings, as thetaking of ink varies with the peculiar graining of each ground.

Few matters in lithography are more vital to success or require more carethan the inks used in drawing and printing. Different receipts or variations aregiven for autographic ink, for lithographic crayons, for brush and pen drawinginks, for shading washes, or aqua-tints, for printing ink, for transfer ink, forrelief-lined drawing ink, and for preserving ink. The necessity of varying theink to suit all these cases, and of changing its consistency according to the specialwork in hand, is not only a practical deduction, but is evident when we considerhow various are the functions it subserves. It is highly important, and by nomeans easy to procure ingredients in great purities or with constant combinationsof impurities, as without this guaranty, the inferences from previous experiencebecomo inapplicable. To give precise receipts, the only ones of any value, wouldquite exceed our present purpose, and these may readily be found in technicalworks, especially in the excellent manual of Kneclit and Desportes.

The paper used exercises a great influence on lithographic stylo. The greatrecent improvements in making and bleaching paper, render it quite practicableso to vary the fabric as to meet all ordinary cases, but there is always need ofstudying the specific conditions of a case and of carefully conforming to them.Grit, sand, or harshness will soon deface a drawing on stone; and lithographicprinting paper, while it should havo sufficient tooth to take the ink, should befree from these mechanical impurities—from plaster which clogs the lines, and fromalum which attacks the gum on the stone and soon ruins the drawing. Thesizing in paper which is requisite for strength, is quite unfavorable for its print-ing qualities, and the unsized paper is usually employed when it will servo, or ahalf-sized one when more strength is indispensable. A very high calendering or

polish of the paper surface is also unfavorable, though a single calendered surface

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