Nebraska advertiser., 1868-07-16

ChrOmo-LithogFaphy is the art of
printing pictures from stone, in col
Ors. The most difficult branch oft
which is now generally implied when
chrOmOs are spoken offs the art OF
reproducing oil paintings. When a
chrome is made by acOmpetent hand,
it presents an exact counterpart ofthe
original painting with the delicate
gFadatiOns of tints and shades, and
with much of the spirit and tone of a
production of the brush and pallet
To understand how chrOmOs are
made, the art Of lithOgraphy must
first be briefly explained. The stone
used in lithOgraphing is a species of
limestone found in Bavaria, and is
wrought into thick slabs with finely
polished surface. The drawing is
made upon the slab with a sort of col
ored soap, which adheres to the stone,
and enters into chemical c0mbinat-
ion with it after the application of
certain acids and gums. When the
drawing is complete, the slab is put
in press, and carefully damDened
with a sponge. The oil color (Or ink
is then applied with a common print
er's roller. OF course, the parts of
the slab which contain no drawing,
being wet, resist the ink; while the
drawing itself, being oily, repels the
water, but retains the color applied.
1t is thus that without a raised sur
/ face or incisiOn-aS in common print
ing wood cuts, and steel engravfngs-
lithOgraphy produces printed draw
ings from a perfectly smooth stone.
Ina chrome, the first proofs a light
ground tint covering nearly all the
surface. 1t has only a shadOwy re-
semblance to the completed picture.
1t is in fact rather a shadow than an
outline. The next proof, from the
second stone, contains all the shades
of another color. This process is re-
peated again and again and again /;
occasionally, as often as thirty times.
We saw one proof, in a visit to Mr..
Prang's establishments group of
cattle that had passed through the
press twelve times; and it still bore
a greater resemblance to spoiled col
Ored photograph than tot the charming
picture which itsubsRquently became.
The number OfimpressiOns, however,
does not necessarily indicate the num-
ber of cOlOrs in a painting, because
the cOlOrs and tints are greatly multi
iplied by combinations created in the
process of printing one over another.
In twenty-five impressions, it is some
times necessary and possible to pro-
duce hundred distinct shades.
The last impression is made by an
engraved stone, which produces that
resemblance to canvass nOticeble in
all of Mr.. Prang's finer specimens.
English and German chrOmOs, as a
rule, do not attempt to give this de-
licate final touch, although it would
seem to be essential in order to make
a perfect imitation of a painting.
The paper used is white, heavy
"pIate paper" of the best quality,
which has to pass through a heavy
press, sheet by sheet, before its sur
face is fit toreceive an impression.
The process thus briefly explained,
we need hardly add, requires great
skill and judgment at every stage.
A single error is instantly detected by
the practiced eyein the finished speci-
men.-The production of a chrome,
if it is at all complicated, requires
several mOnths-sOmetimes several
years-Of careful preparation. The
mere drawing of the different and en-
tirely-detatched parts ON so many diff
ferent stones is of itself a work that re-
Quires an amount of labor and a degree
of skill, which, to a person unfamiliar
with the process, would appear incred-
ible. Still more difficult, and need
ing still greater skill, is the process of
colOring.I This demands acknowledge
which artists have hitherto almost eX
clusively mOnOpOlized, and, in addi-
ton to it, the practical familiarity of
printer with mechanical details. Dry
ing and registering, are as simpOrtant
branches of The artOfmaEing chrOmOS
as drawing and colOring. On proper
registering, for example, the entire
possibility of producing picture at
every stage Of its progress depends
Registering is that part of a press
man. S work which consists in so ar
ranging the paper in the press, that it
shall receive the impression in exact
ly the same spot on every sheet. In
book work, each page must be ex-
actly opposite the page printed on the
other side of the sheet, in order that
the impression, if on thin paper may
not show through In newspaper
work this is of less importance, and
often is not attended to with any spec
ial care. But in chrOmO-lithOgTaphy
the difference ofa hair s-breadth would
spoil picture, fOritwOuld hOpelessly
mix the cOlOrs.
After the chrome has passed through
the press, it is embossed and varnish-
ed, and then put up for the market.
These final processes are for the pUr-
pose of breaking the glossy light, and
Ofsoftening the hard outlines which
the picture receives from the stone.
which imparts to it the resemblance
of a painting on canvas.
Mr.. Prang began his business in the
humblest way, but has rapidly increas-
ed his establishment, until he now
employs fifty WOrlmen, nearly all
of them artists of the most skillful
class,-and is preparing to move into
a larger building at ROXbury. He
uses eighteen presses; and his sales
are enormous. His catalogue now
embraces a large number Of Album
Cards, about seventy sets of twelve in
each set a beautiful series Ofillumin-
ated 'Beatitudes' and 'Scriptrual Mot
toes; an endless list of our great men.
and of men not 50 great after all OF
Juveniles, nOtables, a prOfusely illust-
rated edition of Old Mother Hubbard /;
and Ofhalf chrOmOs and chrOmOs prop
er. Tait's 'Chickens,' 'Ducklings,
and 'QuaiIs' were the first chrOmOs
that met an instant and wide recOgni-
ton. Ninteen thousand copies Of the
Chickens alone were sold. Bricher's
Early Autumn on EsOpus Creek Is
one Of the best chrOmOs ever made OH
a small scale. The 'Bullfinch' and
the 'Linnet' (after Cruikshank) are
admirable. There are other chrOmOs
which are less successful, and one OF
two that are not successful at all; but
they are nearly all excellent copies OF
the originals, with the defects must be
charged.
The chrOmOs of Bricher's paintings
| are really wonderfully accurate.
Mr.. Prang's master piece, however
| is not yet published, although it Is
nearly ready for the market. 1t en-
/ -,,-r,os-eo1i al Hir r,raxyiOTfc affnFfs