The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1872-12-06
Miscellaneous.
WHAT IS A CHRONIC!

CnrOmO IS convenient aODreVlatlOn
of chrome. lithograph or aAlithograph in
colors. To explain what it is, we must
first briefly describe plain lithograph.
OF the various prints or engravings,
there are those printed from steel aud
copper plates and from wood. cuts, but
the great majority, both fine aud coarse,
are Autographs, printed from stone.
The stone used is q peculiar limestone,
capable of receiving polish, and yet an
absorbent of water. To print litho-
graph, the stone is first polished, and
then whatever design is required is
drawn upon it with a pencil made for
that purpose, and which contains some
greasy matter. Let US suppose that the
artist draws a picture, or, what is sim
pier, prints out the words "American
Agriculturist." The stone is then wet
ted, and the water sinks into the pores
everywhere except the places where the
greasy ink formed the words. Ink, or
paint, is then applied to the whole stone
with roller just as it is to types. This
ink does not adhere to the stone where
it is wet, but to the words drawn with
the greasy. pencil the ink will stick.
Then sheet of paper is laid over the
stone, and the whole passed under a
press; when the paper is lifted off, it
will be found to have taken up the ink
left adhering to the words upon the
stone. This process can be repeated over
and over indefinitely by mixing the
stone and keeping it properly wet e..
Now let us suppose that we wish the
word "American" printed in black and
the word" "Agriculturist" printed in red
ink. The lithographer would take two
stones, one for each word, and print the
black ink with one stone and the red ink
with another. He will take care to
have the word on each stone in such a
position, and to put his paper upon the
second stone in such manner, that the
words will be in their proper places.
Now, let us suppose that we wish the
word "Ameriean" in black and yellow
instead of all black, and"Agriculturist'
red, as before. This will require three
stones. The artist will draw with his
greasy pencil, A Ella upon the stone for
black, and mr.. c-n upon the stone for the
yellow, taking care to leave such spaces
| between the letters, that when the black
is printed, and the paper placed on the
stone for the yellow, the letters will be
| s,,t hot rln l.
simple case, but it will enable us to
understand how chromos are made.
An artist paints picture, using the
colors and blending them in such way
l. is the business of the chrome litho
grapher to take this picture and repro
duce copy by means ofprinting in the
manner we have described. There must
be as many stones as there are c0lors
and tiatS in the picture. One stone must
have all the red drawn on it, another
all the blue, another all the brown parts
of the picture, and so on. Sometimes
one color is printed over another in
order to get the proper shade, so that
to reproduce the picture, the chrome
has to be printed color and bit at {
time, on from ten to twenty or more
stones, every touch Of the painter being
faithfully copied. When the chrome
picture has received lG or IS paintings,
on so many different stones, 50 that it
is shaded every way like the original, il
is finally pressed upon clean stone
which has been cut in grooves like the
threads of canvas, and it now has all tht
appearance Of being real painting OF
canraS.
The reader will see that it Is an i'm
mense work to prepare the differen
stones at first, so that each shall hay
some part of the picture in just the righ
place and color. 1t takes three to sil
months to prepare aset of stones for on
picture, even if but one copy was to b
printed. But after the stones are one
prepared, copies can be transferred (
other stones in q few minutes, and afte
that they can go on and print as man,
thousands, or tens of thousands, as ar
desired, Good artists at chromo printin
, such as make our pictures-do thei
, work with such faithful minuteneS
that not only persons in general, b,
: even the artist himself, would be pu
zled to distinguish the copy from II
!. original painting without the close
, examination-AgriclUtWiSt.