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Hello again!
I'd just like to post a little something that I found while at my daily visit to the local Athenaeum. First, a little bit of background information. In the 19th century, many newspapers and publications illustrated their pages using wood engravings and lithographs. Lithography was invented quite by accident in the late 1790's by a german playwright named Senefelder, who wanted a simple way to print multiple copies of his amatuer plays and sketches. Done in stone and using cheap chemicals, the lithograph revolutionized printmaking. Lithography was introduced in America a little more than twenty years after it's debut in Europe, and was first successfully adopted by the Pendleton brothers of Boston. Currier and Ives are probably the most recognizable to modern eyes as the premier lithographers of the 19th century, and they were most certainly the largest producers of "cheap prints", which became popular decorations in the homes of the growing middle class of America. Their presses produced over seven thousand unique lithographs which "provided concrete images of personalities, places, events, and social, cultural, and technological progress to even the most isolated communities" (Ebert 30). Chromolithography, or lithography using color, was first experimented with in the 1840's. Louis Rosenthal produced the first book of illustrations to be done in this manner, which won him the Franklin Institute prize in 1851. Chromolithography was a tedious process, with a different stone being required for each color; this required that the each subsequent stone be in the exact same position as the stone preceeding it. Chromolithography wasn't truly revolutionized until the 1870's and 1880's, with the introduction of the steam press. However, with the invention of the daguerreotype in 1839, photography had made its entrance into competition with traditional lithography illustrations. Alas! the daguerreotype was to co-exist peacefully with the lithograph, and the two eventually forged a symbiotic relationship in the infantile years of photography (and, I chuckle softly as I write this). Since the daguerreotype was one unique image, it was not to be a rival in the reproductive sense that lithography was primarily used. Lithographers often used daguerreotypes as inspiration for their illustrations; Francis D'Avignon lithographed many of Matthew Brady's portraits.
With this in mind, I'd like to present you with a lithograph entitled "The Sailor's Farewell" which was drawn on stone by L. Grozelier and from a daguerreotype by Ives. The lithograph was printed by S.W. Chandler & Bro., Boston, 1865 (The Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection, Smithsonian Institution).
I picked this particular lithograph namelydue to the subject matter. It looks to the modern eye to be a contemporary drawing reflecting 19th century life. However, as we know, it is contemporary only to its 19th century audience, but it still transcends time and evokes universal, timeless emotions. And, to relate to the title of this post, this particular lithograph bears strong similarities to the homefront posters produced during WWII, such as this one:
I haven't been able to find the daguerreotype by Ives that the print was based from...but, if anyone has come across it, please let me know! I'm sure the photograph is just as amazing.
~Natalie Baur
(Sorry for the ridiculous file size of the print. I have to figure out how to use the software for my scanner yet.)
Sources:
*Ebert, John and Katherine. "Old American Prints for Collectors" New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1974.
*http://www2.mmlc.nwu.edu/c303/levavy/lithography.html
*Slythe, Margaret R. "The Art of Illustration: 1750-1900" Library Association: 1970.
I'd just like to post a little something that I found while at my daily visit to the local Athenaeum. First, a little bit of background information. In the 19th century, many newspapers and publications illustrated their pages using wood engravings and lithographs. Lithography was invented quite by accident in the late 1790's by a german playwright named Senefelder, who wanted a simple way to print multiple copies of his amatuer plays and sketches. Done in stone and using cheap chemicals, the lithograph revolutionized printmaking. Lithography was introduced in America a little more than twenty years after it's debut in Europe, and was first successfully adopted by the Pendleton brothers of Boston. Currier and Ives are probably the most recognizable to modern eyes as the premier lithographers of the 19th century, and they were most certainly the largest producers of "cheap prints", which became popular decorations in the homes of the growing middle class of America. Their presses produced over seven thousand unique lithographs which "provided concrete images of personalities, places, events, and social, cultural, and technological progress to even the most isolated communities" (Ebert 30). Chromolithography, or lithography using color, was first experimented with in the 1840's. Louis Rosenthal produced the first book of illustrations to be done in this manner, which won him the Franklin Institute prize in 1851. Chromolithography was a tedious process, with a different stone being required for each color; this required that the each subsequent stone be in the exact same position as the stone preceeding it. Chromolithography wasn't truly revolutionized until the 1870's and 1880's, with the introduction of the steam press. However, with the invention of the daguerreotype in 1839, photography had made its entrance into competition with traditional lithography illustrations. Alas! the daguerreotype was to co-exist peacefully with the lithograph, and the two eventually forged a symbiotic relationship in the infantile years of photography (and, I chuckle softly as I write this). Since the daguerreotype was one unique image, it was not to be a rival in the reproductive sense that lithography was primarily used. Lithographers often used daguerreotypes as inspiration for their illustrations; Francis D'Avignon lithographed many of Matthew Brady's portraits.
With this in mind, I'd like to present you with a lithograph entitled "The Sailor's Farewell" which was drawn on stone by L. Grozelier and from a daguerreotype by Ives. The lithograph was printed by S.W. Chandler & Bro., Boston, 1865 (The Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection, Smithsonian Institution).
I picked this particular lithograph namelydue to the subject matter. It looks to the modern eye to be a contemporary drawing reflecting 19th century life. However, as we know, it is contemporary only to its 19th century audience, but it still transcends time and evokes universal, timeless emotions. And, to relate to the title of this post, this particular lithograph bears strong similarities to the homefront posters produced during WWII, such as this one:
I haven't been able to find the daguerreotype by Ives that the print was based from...but, if anyone has come across it, please let me know! I'm sure the photograph is just as amazing.
~Natalie Baur
(Sorry for the ridiculous file size of the print. I have to figure out how to use the software for my scanner yet.)
Sources:
*Ebert, John and Katherine. "Old American Prints for Collectors" New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1974.
*http://www2.mmlc.nwu.edu/c303/levavy/lithography.html
*Slythe, Margaret R. "The Art of Illustration: 1750-1900" Library Association: 1970.
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