International Senefelder Foundation Marks Its 40th Anniversary

The author, actor and lawyer had been searching for an inexpensive way of duplicating his theater texts. While experimenting with Solnhofen limestone shale, he discovered “chemical printing,” or lithography. The discovery of lithographic printing played an important role for the art scene of the time. The world was ready for this new printing technique in other areas as well; Senefelder’s invention was a good fit for the industrial production methods which were gradually gaining ground.