Art of the Lithograph: Printing Press
1819
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1819
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
This drawing shows a wooden printing press with a long lever arm and a flat stone slab on top. The press has a few small wheels and a foot pedal at the bottom. Two trays under the stone hold printed sheets marked with simple designs. The image looks like an early guide for how lithography works. Alois Senefelder invented this printing method, which used smooth stones instead of metal plates. Check out Alois Senefelder to see how this machine changed printing forever.
