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).



Some First Day Covers

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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

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Printer's samples for the collector's album "World's Inventors" (A25), issued in 1888 to promote Allen & Ginter brand cigarettes. Alois (also spelled Aloys) Senefelder was the German inventor of lithography.

This series depicting inventors was never issued as individual cards and only released in album form.

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Cigar band from Tabacos Capote S.A. 1980 from Spain.




Alvaro cigar band    1971 from Spain

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Rheinperle Delikatess Margarine. Number 21 in series 4 - Inventors. Alois Senefelder, inventor of lithography

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A. Huber Munich     Advertising stamp        year unknown

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Senefelder appears on the facade of the shopping centre 'ABC BLANCO Y NEGRO', PASEO DE CASTELLANA, MADRID.

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Four Senefelder cards from c1890 overprinted for various stores

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C. 1850s trade card advertising the Belgian lithographic firm of G. Jacqmain which was located in Gand (Ghent). The card was printed on porcelain coated card stock - the intricately embellished image features a portrait of Alois Senefelder (whose name is misspelled on the card).

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1964 Liebig L'arte litografica (Lithographic Art) (Italian Text)   set of 6 cards

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F. Moras' Lithographic Establishment, Philadelphia  between 1867 and 1869
Advertising or large business card shows two vignettes, on the left, a man is sitting at a table, drawing on a lithograph stone, and on the right, is an interior view of the lithographic establishment with men inking stones and operating presses.

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Wagner & McGuigan's Steam Lithographic Printing Establishment between 1850 and 1857
Print shows printing plant, printers at work, and symbols of the printing trade and the United States to advertise the firm.

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Liebig card from the series 'The stone and its Use' from 1903   This card is titled 'The Lithographic Stone'
The card shown is in italian but this series was also produced in French, Dutch and German