Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1868-08-07
Mistellanlous.
HOW cHRoMos ARE MADE.
FROM TUE BOSTON DAILY ADVERTISER.

Chrome Lithography is the art OF
printing pictures from stone, in colors.
The most difficult branch OF it-which
is now generally implied when chro-
mos are spoken offs the art OF repro
ducing oil paintings. When chrome
is made by competent hand, it pre-
scnts an exact counterpart Of the orig
inal painting, with the delicate grada-
tions of tints and shades, and with
much of the spirit and tone OF a pro
duction Of the brush and pallet.
To understand how chromos arc
made, the art Of lithocraphy must be
briefly explained. The stone used in
lithography is species of limestone
found in Bavaria. and is wrought into
thick slabs with finely polished surface.
The drawing is made upon the slab
with sort -ot colored soap, which adj
heres to the stone. and enters into a
chemical combination with it after the
application of certain acids and gums.
When the drawing is complete, the
slab is put on the press, and carefully
dampened with asponge The oil col
or Tor ink is then applied with com
mon printers roller. OF course, the
parts ofthe slab which contain no
drawing, being wet, resist the ink;
while the drawing i,svic being oily,
repels the water, but retains the color
applied. 1t is thus that, without a
raised surface or incision-as in com
mon painting, woodcnts, and steel en-
gravings-lithography produces print
ed drawings from a perfectly smooth
stone.
In n chrome, the first proof is a
light ground-tint, covering nearly all
the surface. Ii has only Il faint, shad-
owy 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 aaa again;
occasionally, as often as th5ftv times.
We saw one proof, in a ST 20 Mr..
Prang's establishment,-a group OF
cattle,-that had passed through the
press twelve times: and it still bore a
greater 9nbiance to a spoiled col
ored pho aph than to the charming
picture W nieh it subsequently became.
The number of impressions, however,
does not necessarily indicate the num-
ber of colors in painting, because the
colors and tints are greatly multiplied
by combinations created in the proc
ess OF printing one over another. In
twenty five impressions, it is some
times necessary and possible to pro-
duce a hundred distinct shades.
The impression is made by an en-
graved stone, which produces that re-
semblance to canvas noticeable in all
Of Mr.. Prang's finer specimens. En-
glish and German chromos, as rule,
do not attempt to give this delicate fl
nal touch, although it would seem to
be essential in order to make perfect
imitation of a painting.
The paper used is white, heavy
''plate paper" of the best quality,
which has to pass through heavy
press, sheet by sheet, before its sur
face is fit to receive an impression.
The process thus briefly explained,
we need hardly add, requires equally
great skill and judgement at every
stage. A single error is instantly de-
tected by the practieed eye in the fin
ished specimen. The production of a
chrome, fit is at all complicated, re-
quires several months-sometimcs sew
eral years-of careful preparation.-
The mere drawing of the different and
entirely detached parts on so many diff
terent stones is of itself work that re-
quires an amount of labor and a degree
OF skill, which, to a person unfamiliar
with the process, would appear incred
ib!e. Still more difficult, and needing
still greater skill, is the process of col
oring. This demands knowledge
which artists have hitherto almost ey-
clusively monopolized, and, in addi-
tion to it, the practical familiarity OF u
printer with mechanical details. DRY
ing and registering are as import
ant branches Of the art ofmaking chro-
mos as drawing and coloring. On
proper registering, for example, the en-
tire possibility Of producing a picture
at every stage of it's progress depends.
Registering is that part of press
mans work which consists in so ar
ranging the paper in the press, that il