Introduction to Ancient Printing Technology: Lithography

Lithography was a kind of lithographic printing technology introduced by the Western missionaries in Shanghai during the second year of Guangxu (1876) of the Qing Dynasty. It was divided into monochrome and color. It uses the ink to write the original on a special paper, cover it with a stone surface, peel off the medicine paper, paint it with ink, and then print the book with a lithographed stone.

Traditional engraving and printing work is time-consuming, costly, and long-cycle, and the plates are easily broken and damaged. Relatively speaking, lithography is cheap, fast, and effective. Therefore, it will soon be popular in the world when it reaches China. From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, it was the most brilliant period of the lithographs.

Lithographic printing is particularly suitable for printing on rice paper, and its layout can be scaled as needed. The volume of large-scale books is thus greatly reduced. In addition, some rare words and paintings and celebrity handwritings have been copied by the stone plate, and they have been transformed into millions. This has brought great convenience to the readers in reading, appreciation, and collection.

In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, the number of lithographs was huge, and its artistic value was not comparable to that of woodcuts. Therefore, it was not until the 1980s that the lithographs were not valued by collectors. So, where is the collection value of the lithographies?

According to experts, after the introduction of lithographic technology, one was to reprint ancient books so that people at the time could use it for examinations. Their version value and economic value were not high. The second is to print the documents of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China with this advanced printing technology, reflecting the social reality of that era. The value of their historical data is very high.

Over time, the lithographs have also become "old". Since the late Qing Dynasty has passed 100 years ago, this year the State revised “Standards for the Examination and Approval of the Exit of Cultural Relics” has reduced the number of years from 1795 (60 years of Qianlong) to 1911. This includes a large number of lithographs.