THE LEGACY OF the lithograph is understated, crowded out by our perception of the importance of the printing press. Although there were clear parallels between both processes, in terms of technical achievement and social consequence. the lithograph was responsible for changing print advertising practices around the world.

Lithography, a method of chemical printing based on the incompatibility of oil and water, was invented by Alois Senefelder sometime around 1796 in Bavaria as a cheap and efficient alternative to the existing processes for print reproduction using metal and wood engraving. Its invention had a profound impact on the categories of intellectual property, and transformed the production of print advertising in the same way the printing press transformed the production of literary works. It paved the way for the registration of commercial artifacts as trademarks for the first time. And it casts an illuminating shadow on the glow in which the printing press has basked, and especially on the prevailing accounts of how intellectual property law has developed in response to new technologies.

It is a popular myth that Senefelder invented lithography by chance: the story goes that he penned a list for his mother on a flat stone with a grease pencil and. on a hunch, covered the surface with acid, only to discover the greasy pencil protected the stone and revealed the list. In reality, Senefelder was an accomplished playwright who struggled to pay the printing fees, and was motivated to develop an affordable way to print his theatrical works.

Senefelder was conferred exclusive printing rights for 15 years from the Prince of Bavaria on 3 September 1799 for “Chemical Printing for Bavaria and the Electorate.” Soon after, he set up a number of presses in Offenbach in Germany and London, later securing patent rights across Europe, including in England, where he obtained a patent in 1801 for “A New Method and Process of Performing the Various Branches of the Art of Printing on Paper, Linen, Cotton, Woollen and other Articles.” To produce a lithograph using Senefelder's method, the artist draws on the surface of a limestone or other plate with greasy crayons or a grease-like ink. When the drawing is complete, a solution of gum arabic and nitric acid is washed across the stone to prevent the grease from bleeding.