Stone Lithography

An early lithography method for advertising posters from the 1870s-1950s, Hand printed. Characterized by rich, deep colors. Treasured by collectors. The print run could have been from one hundred to a few thousand. Artists spent days drawing on special lithographic stones and printing on a lithograph press. Each color was drawn on a stone with crayons or greasy ink. The drawing was then fixed to the stone with acid. Ink was applied and then a sheet of paper was pressed on the stone. This was done repeatedly for each different color. Considered a lost art and almost never used today. See Lithographers.