The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-05-22
HERKOMER INVENTS
NEW TYPOGRAPHY
A Reversal of Present System
Gives Splendid Re-
ss.aifS.
ARTISTS AUTOBIOGRAPHY
WRITTEN SOME YEARS AGO;
DISTRIBUTED PRIVATELY.

London, May 22.@Sir Hubert Won
Herkomer, the Royal Academician,
who, for the last quarter Of a century
has been in the public eye not only
..s a "A IA tist . ~ - the inventor OF many
art appliances ard tire leader of sue
cessful school. is again being talked
about as the discoveTer of new pro-
cess of photography. But that is not
all. Some years ago Sir Hubert wrote
and privately distributed an autobi-
ography, written as IAN explanation OF
his taking for his tlird wife his de-
ceased wife's sister, an act which at
that time was contrary to English law
----------yy- ourioSif-, and one having CONT
70 light, London publisher is seeking
t. have Sir Hubert authorize a public
go ition of II.
As to the TYPOGRAPHICAL discovery,
that is practically a reversion Of the
style now employed. At present a
certain kind Of stone when drawn upon
by the greasy-ink pencil, bitten with
acid, and then wetted, possesses the
property of accepting printing ink
upon the drawn parts and rejecting 1t
on the Wetted parts. Therefore, II the
stone on which the design has been
drawn is linked and printed the fac
smile of the drawing is printed off,
c1,ot. =. coI cr print OF 1t is as
much an original or photographic
copper plate. By H,rkomer's method.
the stone is ground nth it has a very
fine surface and is then covered with
greasy ink by dabbiIg it in.
or this surface the design is sketched
with a lead pencil and the background
is gone over by a silver hat pin or a
shading pen. When the etching On the
stone is completed. a proof is taken
which. although t.ie last stage of the
old process is the first on the new. Sir
Hubert then dechemicalizes his stone
and begins again, adding work to OBJ
tain al the effect or further modelling
ne pleases. The process OF taking
proofs continues until the artist IS sat
isfied. The new method is said TO pos
sess amazing force and magnificent,
velvety blacks.
The autobiography referred to was
written in 1SSS-1SS9, just after Sir HUI
bert, then known simply as Prof. Her
kOmer, married Margaret Griffith 8,
whose sister Lulu, Herkomer's second
Of her marriage. HerkOmers first
.-if. --cc Anna Weise. a German LADY,
WHO vas married % him in 1874, and
died in 1888.
Herkomer's marriage with his de-
ceased wife's sister aroused consider
able censure, among his friends and
acquaintance. partic ilarly as the bride
had been a member OF his household
during his second marriage. With the
idea of placing himself right in the
eyes Of his censors he wrote a re-
markable autobiography, which forms
a most absorbing human document
- :S5lc &c L!s birth in the small Ba-
Varian village of WAL, and describes
the members Of his family.
Ny grandfather was by trade ma
SON. he wrote, by nature an inventor
of the first order. His chances in life
for the display of this faculty were
small indeed; and when he left his
trade to take charge e q little house
and field property mas chances were
smaller sti1l. BIT here he did
ma rvels in the way ~ cks for gates
and cupbOards, and in all manner of
mechanical contrivances for use or Gu
riOsity- / take him as my starting
point, since he probably originated in
c-I- .sa.--:: !:-- - ceiling for the kind of
life that my father struggled after and
which il fell to my blessed lot to en-
joy-the artists life"
The autobiograph ply covers the art
lists career from Wal to the emigra-
zion of the family 20 London, where
the boy HerkOmer tl'udged about from
newspaper office 10 newspaper office
trying to sell his sketches, until he
became d portrait painter Of renown
and the head Of a famous school. The
last passage of the autobio graphy
reads as follows:
As 1 write this. on November 20,
1889. in the midst of my family, with
nv boy and girl, already helpful in SO