In the Beginning There Was the Stone
The phrase “image from stone” describes a printing process first used around 1800 that revolutionised the printing trade. Franz Anton Niedermayr was the first to successfully establish lithography in Regensburg.
Lithography refers not only to the technique, but also to the printed results. In 1803, Carl von Dalberg commissioned an official city map and made use of the new technique.
Until then, printing was mainly based on relief and intaglio processes. The new method, by contrast, began with a completely flat plate. This marked the birth of planographic printing.
“Lithos” and “graphein” mean writing or drawing on stone. A stone was used as the printing block, and the printing process relied on a chemical treatment of the surface.
Franz Anton Niedermayr is without doubt one of the pioneers of this new technique. As early as 1801, he achieved remarkable results in lithography.
The phrase “image from stone” describes a printing process first used around 1800 that revolutionised the printing trade. Franz Anton Niedermayr was the first to successfully establish lithography in Regensburg.
Lithography refers not only to the technique, but also to the printed results. In 1803, Carl von Dalberg commissioned an official city map and made use of the new technique.
Until then, printing was mainly based on relief and intaglio processes. The new method, by contrast, began with a completely flat plate. This marked the birth of planographic printing.
“Lithos” and “graphein” mean writing or drawing on stone. A stone was used as the printing block, and the printing process relied on a chemical treatment of the surface.
Franz Anton Niedermayr is without doubt one of the pioneers of this new technique. As early as 1801, he achieved remarkable results in lithography.

