.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
After some of years of experimenting, the German actor and playwright Alois Senefelder (1771-1834) invented lithography in 1798 as a cheaper substitute for letterpress printing. His new printing method was first patented in London under the name ‘polyautography’ in 1800. He summarized his invention:
'My whole process was, therefore, as follows: - to wash the polished stone with soap-water, to dry it well, to write or draw upon it with the composition ink of soap and wash, then to etch it with aqua-fortis; and, lastly, to prepare it for printing with an infusion of gum-water. I had hoped to have been able to dispense with the gum-water, but was soon convinced that it really enters into chemical affinity with the stone, and stops its pores still more effectually against the fat, and opens them to the water. In less than three days after my first ideas, I produced as perfect and clear impressions, as any that have since been obtained.' (Senefelder, 1801).
Senefelder soon sold the license to the music publisher Johann Anton André, based in Offenbach am Main, in 1801. André's younger brother Philipp ran the London branch of the family firm and became the legal patentee. While they used the new method in Germany mainly to print sheet music, Philipp in London directed his efforts toward the promotion of lithography as a fine art printing process. He invited many of the leading artists of the day to try the new technique, providing them with all the requisite materials and instructions, with a view to publishing a selection of the artists’ submissions. Among them were Benjamin West, then President of the Royal Academy, the Academicians Thomas Stothard, James Barry and Henry Fuseli, Thomas Barker of Bath and the Swiss Johann Conrad Gessner. A first issue of twelve plates was published under the title Specimens of Polyautography in 1803 by André, having teamed up with the engraver James Heath. (Heath's illegitimate son Charles's work was later included in the second issue of the Specimens). It comprised some of the earliest artists' lithographs to be published in any country. Felix H. Man described it as the most important publication of early lithographs in England, ‘not only superior to anything done on the continent during the first years of lithography, but even serving as a model for similar publications in Germany a few years later’ (1999, p. 99).
Many of the plates are drawn in a lively, fluid manner, facilitated by the ease of drawing with pen and tusche onto the stone. It seems however that none of the artists - nor the promoters and printers for that matter – had at this point quite realised the unique potential of lithography: the ability to create tone without having to resort to cross hatching. Accustomed as they were to etching and engraving, they still depended on the single drawn line to create their images. The public’s reception of the new technique was indifferent and the project a financial failure. In 1805, Philipp André resigned and the enterprise was taken over by Georg Jacob Vollweiler, an associate of the Offenbach branch, who proceeded to publish a second issue in 1806-07, which comprised a total of 36 lithographs: the twelve plates of the first issue and 24 additional lithographs, forming six sets of six prints.
When intact, it is possible to distinguish between the first and second issues of the original twelve plates: when first published, the prints were laid onto large backing sheets with a chocolate brown border printed in aquatint to give the effect of French mounts; in the second issue, ochre borders replaced the dark brown ones.
Of the first issue, five complete sets are known today: Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Morgan Library, New York; British Art Center, Yale; and two in private collections (one sold in these rooms, 3 December 2014, lot 113, £ 52,500). The next largest holding, consisting of six of the twelve plates, formerly from the collection of Felix H. Man, is at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
Of the second issue, three complete sets survive: British Museum, London; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and National Gallery of Art, Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, Washington (D.C.). An incomplete set, lacking six prints, is at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
According to Man, 'it is probable that not many sets were subscribed for and kept intact. Later, perhaps, remainders were gathered together'.
The present amateur album contains examples from both publications, a large collection of other pen lithographs, and a quantity of various prints and ephemera. Amongst the many early lithographs are two prints by Benjamin West (Angel of the Resurrection, from: Specimens; and An Angel in the Clouds), who 'seems to have been the first artist of significance anywhere to produce a work in the new medium' (1986, p. 63). William Blake's Enoch (see previous lot) was also included in the album, but had been removed with its backing sheet prior to the consignment. Other pages from the album have been removed at an earlier point in time, with their whereabouts unknown. It is likely that the missing pages and prints have remained with the family.
The album was presumably put together by Buxton Kenrick (1770-1832) of Fishtoft Manor. Little is known about this gentleman, except that he served as town clerk of Boston, Lincolnshire. Given the unusual concentration of pen lithographs in the album, Kenrick presumably knew André, Heath or Vollweiler or moved in related circles when living in London. He appears to have been one of the few early enthusiasts of the new technique, which came to revolutionise printmaking forever.
'My whole process was, therefore, as follows: - to wash the polished stone with soap-water, to dry it well, to write or draw upon it with the composition ink of soap and wash, then to etch it with aqua-fortis; and, lastly, to prepare it for printing with an infusion of gum-water. I had hoped to have been able to dispense with the gum-water, but was soon convinced that it really enters into chemical affinity with the stone, and stops its pores still more effectually against the fat, and opens them to the water. In less than three days after my first ideas, I produced as perfect and clear impressions, as any that have since been obtained.' (Senefelder, 1801).
Senefelder soon sold the license to the music publisher Johann Anton André, based in Offenbach am Main, in 1801. André's younger brother Philipp ran the London branch of the family firm and became the legal patentee. While they used the new method in Germany mainly to print sheet music, Philipp in London directed his efforts toward the promotion of lithography as a fine art printing process. He invited many of the leading artists of the day to try the new technique, providing them with all the requisite materials and instructions, with a view to publishing a selection of the artists’ submissions. Among them were Benjamin West, then President of the Royal Academy, the Academicians Thomas Stothard, James Barry and Henry Fuseli, Thomas Barker of Bath and the Swiss Johann Conrad Gessner. A first issue of twelve plates was published under the title Specimens of Polyautography in 1803 by André, having teamed up with the engraver James Heath. (Heath's illegitimate son Charles's work was later included in the second issue of the Specimens). It comprised some of the earliest artists' lithographs to be published in any country. Felix H. Man described it as the most important publication of early lithographs in England, ‘not only superior to anything done on the continent during the first years of lithography, but even serving as a model for similar publications in Germany a few years later’ (1999, p. 99).
Many of the plates are drawn in a lively, fluid manner, facilitated by the ease of drawing with pen and tusche onto the stone. It seems however that none of the artists - nor the promoters and printers for that matter – had at this point quite realised the unique potential of lithography: the ability to create tone without having to resort to cross hatching. Accustomed as they were to etching and engraving, they still depended on the single drawn line to create their images. The public’s reception of the new technique was indifferent and the project a financial failure. In 1805, Philipp André resigned and the enterprise was taken over by Georg Jacob Vollweiler, an associate of the Offenbach branch, who proceeded to publish a second issue in 1806-07, which comprised a total of 36 lithographs: the twelve plates of the first issue and 24 additional lithographs, forming six sets of six prints.
When intact, it is possible to distinguish between the first and second issues of the original twelve plates: when first published, the prints were laid onto large backing sheets with a chocolate brown border printed in aquatint to give the effect of French mounts; in the second issue, ochre borders replaced the dark brown ones.
Of the first issue, five complete sets are known today: Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Morgan Library, New York; British Art Center, Yale; and two in private collections (one sold in these rooms, 3 December 2014, lot 113, £ 52,500). The next largest holding, consisting of six of the twelve plates, formerly from the collection of Felix H. Man, is at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
Of the second issue, three complete sets survive: British Museum, London; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and National Gallery of Art, Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, Washington (D.C.). An incomplete set, lacking six prints, is at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
According to Man, 'it is probable that not many sets were subscribed for and kept intact. Later, perhaps, remainders were gathered together'.
The present amateur album contains examples from both publications, a large collection of other pen lithographs, and a quantity of various prints and ephemera. Amongst the many early lithographs are two prints by Benjamin West (Angel of the Resurrection, from: Specimens; and An Angel in the Clouds), who 'seems to have been the first artist of significance anywhere to produce a work in the new medium' (1986, p. 63). William Blake's Enoch (see previous lot) was also included in the album, but had been removed with its backing sheet prior to the consignment. Other pages from the album have been removed at an earlier point in time, with their whereabouts unknown. It is likely that the missing pages and prints have remained with the family.
The album was presumably put together by Buxton Kenrick (1770-1832) of Fishtoft Manor. Little is known about this gentleman, except that he served as town clerk of Boston, Lincolnshire. Given the unusual concentration of pen lithographs in the album, Kenrick presumably knew André, Heath or Vollweiler or moved in related circles when living in London. He appears to have been one of the few early enthusiasts of the new technique, which came to revolutionise printmaking forever.