Lithographs

Lithographs were printed using a laborious and time consuming process. A large, flat stone was maintained at the print shop. Each color of an image was marked by an artist with a grease pencil, one at a time. The stone was covered with water followed by the oil based ink. The ink was attracted to the stone's surface containing the pencil grease, but did not stick to the surface covered with water. Paper was printed for the single color in as many copies as were commissioned. After the run, the stone was prepared for the next color. It was cleaned, the surface ground down, and then the artist marked the next color. The same paper was sent through the printer, fixing the next color to the entire run.