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Johann Alois Senefelder (6 November 177126 February 1834) was a German actor and playwright who invented the printing technique of lithography in the 1790s.Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1998. p 146
He joined with the André family of music publishers and gradually brought his technique into a workable form, perfecting both the chemical processes and the special form of printing press required for using the stones. He called it "stone printing" or "chemical printing", but the French name "lithography" became more widely adopted. And with the composer Franz Gleißner he started a publishing firm in 1796 using lithography.p. 432 Duckles (1980) Vincent. London "Gleissner, Franz" in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Macmillan
The value of the new cheap and exact reproduction process was recognized early by land surveying offices across Europe. Senefelder was appointed 1809 to be the Inspector of a new Institution set up for this purpose in Bavaria called the "Lithographic Institute" (Lithographische Anstalt) in Munich. Similar Institutions were subsequently set up under his supervision in Berlin, Paris, London and Vienna.
He secured patent rights across Europe and publicized his findings in 1818 in Vollstandiges Lehrbuch der Steindruckerei which was translated in 1819 into French and English. A Complete Course of Lithography combined Senefelder's history of his own invention with a practical guide to lithography, and remained in print as recently as 1977 (Da Capo Press). Abebooks search results Accessed 28 February 2014
Senefelder was also able to exploit the potential of lithography as a medium for art. Unlike previous printmaking techniques, such as engraving, that required advanced craft skills, lithography facilitated greater accuracy and textural variety, because the artist could now draw directly onto the plate with familiar pens.Lyons, Martyn. Books: A Living History. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2011. p. 135 As early as 1803 André published in London a portfolio of artists lithographs, entitled Specimens of Polyautography.
In 1837, lithography had been further developed to allow full colour printing from multiple plates, and chromolithography was the most important technique in colour printing until the introduction of process colour.
Alois Senefelder's contribution ranks alongside William Ged's invention of stereotyping, Friedrich Koenig's steam Printing press and Ottmar Mergenthaler's linotype machine in its innovative effect. It made printing more affordable and available to more people, and was important in art and newspaper printing. Senefelder lived to see his process become widely adopted both for art printmaking and as the dominant method of pictorial reproduction in the printing industry. He died in Munich, where he is buried in the Alter Südfriedhof.
Several plant taxa have been named after him as well.Lotte Burkhardt (2025). 9783946292418, Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin. . ISBN 9783946292418 The genus of Senefeldera (in the Euphorbiaceae family). and of Senefelderopsis (Euphorbiaceae).
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