Breaking the Mould

Book excerpt: This stimulating and richly illustrated volume addresses the changes brought about by lithography in the design and production of a wide range of graphic material: books, prints, music, maps, and ephemera. Underpinning the text is the view that lithographic printers and their co-workers revealed limitations in the capabilities of earlier methods of print production by exploring the range of opportunities offered by the new process. In Breaking the Mould Professor Twyman demonstrates how these print workers responded to the economy, directness, versatility, and autographic qualities of lithography, and how some of the techniques they used led to the blurring of distinctions between printing processes. He then explores the lithographically printed products of the nineteenth century, and argues that the categorisation of printing by artefact - introduced for practical reasons by museums and libraries -obscures some of the most significant contributions made by the process during its first one hundred years. Finally - bringing the debate into current thinking - Professor Twyman suggests that research into lithography across artefactual boundaries can provide guidance for anyone studying the integration of graphic communication brought about by the electronic revolution.