CERTIFICATES

 

Philadelphia and Southern Mail Steamship Company. (Philadelphia: J. Haehnlen, ca. 1866). Transfer lithograph.

 

Business-oriented certificates, typical of lithographers’ job work, could be procured at cheaper rates. Often printed as transfer lithographs with specimens of vignettes already on-hand, this methodcomprised a substantial branch of the trade from its inception. The duplicative process eliminated the need to design in reverse. An image was transferred to stone from a less durable wood block or copper plate through specially treated ink and paper. Given the large print runs possible with lithography, this was a particularly cost effective operation, especially for job work. Lithographers also promoted transfer lithography to businessmen and merchants as a means to personalize business forms with their own handwriting and to “amateur” artists to print their own work.

 

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