Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1868-04-10
=, There will be weepin and waiIin at the
Corners when this IL received.
PETROLEUM " NASBY, 2. NJ.
(Wich is Postmaster
nOW CMROMos ARE MADE.

- y -AA@AObAOG AkAE MAOEH
Chrome Lithography is the art Of printing
| pictures from stone, in colors The mos
difficult branch Of (which is now general,
implied Wnen chromos are spoken of-istht
art Of producing oil paintings. When
! chrome Is made by a competent hand. Il
! presents an exact counterpart Of the origina
! painting, with the delicate gradations oi
unts and shades, and with much Of the
spirit and tone OF production of the brush
and pallet.
To understand how chromos are made
/ the art Of llthography must first be briefly
4 eXpfuned. The stone usCdin llthographing is
q species OF limestone found In Bayaria, and
I Is wrought into thick slabs with finely pol.
lshed surface The drawing is made upon
the slab with a sort Of colored soap, which
! adheres to the stone, and enters into q
chemical combination with it after the ap-
plcation ofcertain acids and gums When
the drawing is complete, the slab is put on
/ the press and carefully dampened with a
sponge The oil color Tor ink is then ap-
piled with a common printers roller OF
/ course, the parts Of the slab which contain
no drawing, being wet, resist the ink
while the drawing, being oily, repels the
water, but retains the color applied 1t is
| thus that without a raised surface or in
| clsIon-as IN common printing, wood cuts,
| and steel engravings produces
printed drawings from perfectly smooth
stone.
In a chrome, the first proof is a light
ground-tint, covering nearly all the surface
lt has only a faint, shadoWy, resemblance
to the completed picture. 1t is in fact
rather shadow than an outline The next
proof from the second stone, contains all
the shades Of another color, This process is
repeated again and again and again, oc-
caslonalIy as often as thirty times. We saw
one proof in a visit to Mr.. Prang's estab
llshment,--a group of CATTLE that had
passed through the process twelve times, and
1t still bore u greater resemblance to a spoiled
colored photograph than to the charming
picture which it subsequently became. The
number Of impressions, however, does not
necessarily indicate the pImber Of colors in
painting, because the colors and tints are
greatly multiplied by combinations created
IN the process Of printing one another ln
twenty tive Impressions, 1t is sometimes
necessary and possible to produce hundred
distinct shades.
The last impression is made by an en-
graved stone which produces that Tesem-
LiAulG- " Dd4ih uoS iAt4IEuD5C III ali 8l III
Prang' finer specimens. English and Ger
man chromos, as a rule do not attempt to
give this delicate 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 plate
paper, Of the best quality, which has to
pass through a heavy press, sheet by sheet,
before its surface Is fit to receive an i'm
preston
IrL- ,.-e~eee sI,vs briefly explained we
need hardly add, requires equally great
skill and judgment at every stage A single
error IS instantly detected by the practised
eye In the finished specimen. The produc-
ton Of a chrome, If it Is at all complicated
requires several months-semetimes several
years--of careful preparation. The mere
drawing of the different and entirely-de-
tached parts on so many different stones is
OF itself a work that requires an amount Of
labor and degree of skill, which, to a person
unfamiliar with the process would appear
incredible, Still more difficult, and need
ing still greater skill, is the process of
coloTiug. This demandsa knowledge which
artists have hitherto almost exclusively
monopoIized. aud, in addition 10 it, the
practical familiarity Of a printer with me-
chancal details. Drying and register
ing, are as important branches Of the art
Of making chromos as drawing and coloring
On producing q picture at every stage Of its
progress depends Registering is that
part of a pressman' work which consists in
so arranging the paper in the press, that it
shall receive the impression on exactly the
same spot Of every sheet. Ia book work,
each page must be exactly 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 special care. But
in chrom0-hthography the difference Of a
hairs breadth would spoil picture; for it
would hopelessly mix up the colors.
After the chrome has passed through the
press, II is imbossed and vanished, and then
put up for the market These final pro-
cesses are for the purpose Of breaking the
glossy light, and of softening the hard
outlines which the picture receives from the
stone, which imparts to it the resemblance
of painting on canvass.
Mr.. Prang began his business in the
humblest way, but has rapidly increased his
establishment, until he now employs fifty
workmen, nearly all of them artists and
artisans of the most skilful class, and is
preparing to move into a larger building at
Roxbury. He uses eighteen presses; and
his sales are enormous. His catalogue now
emBRFfa5T mBdRf ssT3nfR lf3RFge aIAg " Ii gaGn Set
beautiful series Of Illuminated 3eauntudes
and ''Scriptural Notices" an endless list OF
great men, and OF men not so great alter All
Of juveniles, notably, proiusely Illustrated
edition Of "Old Mother Hubbard; and OF
IIf .L-,,,,os and ehr0mOs DrODaT. Ialt
.Chickeps.. 'Ducklings and 'Qualls,
were the first chromos that had instant and
yride racoonition. Nineteen thousand cop
los of the Chickens" alone were sold. Bri.
cher's early Autumn on Ec0pus Greek
Is one Of the best chromos ever made on
small scale.-The "BulGnch and the Lin
net" latter Cruikshankl are admirable.
There are other chromOs which are less sue
cessfIl and one or two that are not successtulat
an. hut they are nearly all excellent copies
Of the originals, with which the defects must
be charged
The chromos of Bricher paintings are
really wonderfully accurate.
Mr.. Prang' masterpiece, however Is not
vet published, although 1t Is nearly READY
for the market. 1t entirely surpasses5 all
his previous efforts. 1t IS CorregIo DIACt-
DALENA. " and can hardly fail, we tnlnk, 10
command quick sale and hearty recoghl-
ton. !;
Like every modern discovery, chromo-ll-
biography has its partiSans and detractors,-
those who claim for it perhaps Impossible
capabilities, and those who regard 1t as
mere handicraft, which no skill can ever
elevate into the dignity of an art. we DC
not care to enter into these disputes
L 7 kraFpq qr-iT-