Study of Trees and Shrubs with a Seated Figure
William Havell British
Publisher Georg Jacob Vollweiler German
Not on view
"Specimens of Polyautography" contains the first lithographs issued in Britain. The new technique had been invented between 1796 and 1799 by Alois Senefelder, a Munich dramatist seeking an inexpensive method to reproduce his plays. Experiments led him to discover that drawing on limestone with a greasy crayon or ink produced an image that could be lightly etched and then printed, if the surface was moistened with a solution of water and gum arabic. After perfecting the process, Senefelder received a Bavarian patent, then traveled to London in 1800 with Friedrich André to introduce his new method. After obtaining a British patent in 1801, André set up a lithographic press with his brother Philipp and persuaded London artists to try the new technique, issuing twelve "polyautographs" in 1803. Two years later, G. J. Vollweiller, one of André's assistants from Offenbach am Main, arrived in London. Assuming the patent, he expanded the original set to thirty-six prints, issued in groups of six between 1806 and 1807, Havell's print among them.
