Alois Senefelder and lithography

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It might seem like sacrilege to some that this thread, 'Alois Senefelder and Lithography' appears on a Forum devoted to Metal Type.....but here goes.

In 1796 German actor and playwright Alois Senefelder (6 November 1771 – 26 February 1834) invented lithography (from Greek λίθος - lithos, 'stone' + γράφω - graphο, 'to write') as a cheaper way of publishing his plays. Lithography, a planographic printing process, was the first radically new method of printing since Gutenberg's invention of printing by movable type.

Senefelder experimented with a new etching technique using a greasy, acid resistant ink as a resist on a smooth fine-grained stone of Solnhofen limestone from Bavaria. He discovered that this could be extended to allow printing from the flat surface of the stone alone. Gradually he brought his technique into a workable form, perfecting both the chemical processes and the special form of printing press required for using the stones. Senefelder called it Steindruckerei (stone printing) or chemical printing, but the French name lithographie (lithography) became more widely adopted.

Some images of Senefelder

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Issued on 14 April 1972   (West Germany)
Lithographic press, invented by Alois Senefelder (1771-1834).

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Issued on 13 March 1998 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of lithography.       (Austria)

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Issued on 18 February 1991 on the 220th birth anniversary of A. Senefelder (1771-1834)      (Czechoslovakia)
Senefelder appears on the stamp with a side panel showing details of part of his press