Allen & Ginter tobacco cards
This chapter looks at an early form of lithography used to
make many popular 1800s color baseball cards. This type of printing
is commonly referred to as chromolithography. Chromolithograph
is simply a nickname coined to describe particularly colorful
lithography.
The 1800s was before the half-tone dots revolutionized lithography.
In those early days, the card images were based on the artist's
drawing skill. Many 1800s cards, like the Allen & Ginters,
resemble little paintings.
Under the microscope, the printing looks nothing like the
halftone printing of a modern card. Under the microscope, the
Allen & Ginter player image looks as if the image was painted
in watercolor paint by a tiny brush. The ink marks look like
brush strokes sometimes with irregular dots. This is a long way
from the rigid pattern of modern half-tone printing.
The ink is thin and watery, like watercolor paint, and often
has an irregular, dark rim around the edge. This is from how
the ink settled. This rim effect is typical of early chromolithography
and doesn't appear in modern or other types of lithography. This
rim often appears in the lettering or border lines on the card.
As described in a later chapter, a different printing, called
photoengraving, also produced a dark edge or rim to the ink.
The photoengraving rim is much more rigid and mechanical appearing.
Luckily, photoengraving also is an old time printing method.
Meaning, whichever the printing method, a microscopic dark rim
around the ink helps show the card is old.
If all this sounds too technical, I recommend you take a microscope
and look at Allen & Ginters and T206s yourself. You will
see that the printing simply looks nothing like the 1990 Topps
card or color magazine picture.
Artists and printers often added dots for shading and toning.
This was called 'stippling.' It was added to the printing plate
by hand or by a hand held roller with points. Stippling was especially
popular in the late 1800s and a large percentage of cards will
have it. While stippling somewhat resembles the modern half-tone
dots, it can be distinguished. While the half-tone dots would
saturate the entire image, stippling was added as an afterthought
and usually only in one color. It usually didn't encompass the
whole image, but instead was added as shading here and there.
Under the microscope the stipple dots are irregularly shaped
and sized and have the typical rim at the edges of the ink.
Chromolithography on an 1892 Trade card at 100X power. The ink
is watery and messy, like a watercolor painting. No confusing
this for a modern halftone print.
Stipple on a Victorian trade card (100X power). The dots are
irregular in shape and size and have the common dark rim around
the edges
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