Electrotyping
Encyclopedia
Electrotyping is a chemical method for forming metal parts that exactly reproduce a model. The method was invented by Moritz von Jacobi in Russia in 1838, and was immediately adopted for applications in printing and several other fields. As described in an 1890 treatise, electrotyping produces "an exact facsimile of any object having an irregular surface, whether it be an engraved steel- or copper-plate, a wood-cut, or a form of set-up type, to be used for printing; or a medal, medallion, statue, bust, or even a natural object, for art purposes." Several extremely important "bronze
" sculptures from the 19th century are actually electrotyped copper, and not bronze at all. By the late 1800s, electrotyping had become a standard method for producing plates for letterpress printing
; it complemented the older technology of stereotyping
, which involved metal casting. In several countries, stereotypers and electrotypers joined together around 1900 to form labor unions. These unions persisted into the 1970s; in the US, the union had 10,500 members in the 1950s. After more than a century in widespread use, the two technologies had largely been replaced by photoengraving
technology in the late 20th century.
, a mold is first formed from the model. Since electrotyping involves wet chemical processes and is done near room temperature, the molding material can be soft. Materials such as wax, gutta-percha
(natural latex), and ultimately ozokerite
were used. The mold's surface is made electrically conducting by coating it very thinly with fine graphite powder or paint. A wire is attached to the conducting surface, and the mold is suspended in a chemical ("electrolyte") solution. Electrotyping is activated by electrical currents that flow between "anode" wires that are also immersed in the solution and the wire connected to the the coated mold (the "cathode"). For copper electrotyping, a typical aqueous electrolyte contains copper sulfate (CuSO4) and sulfuric acid
(H2SO4), and the anode is also copper. The electrical current causes metal to grow onto the mold's conducting surface; when the resulting metal layer reaches the desired thickness, the electrical current is stopped. The mold and its attached electrotype are removed from the solution, and the electrotype and the mold are separated.
Electrotyping is related to electroplating, which permanently adds a thin metallic overlayer to a metallic object instead of creating a freestanding metal part. Electrotyping and electroforming both produce metal parts, but differ in technical details. Electrotyping forms the part inside a non-conducting mold whose interior surface has been made conducting by applying a thin coating. Electroforming forms the part around a metallic mandrel. All three methods are examples of electrodeposition processes.
in the United States; Heinrich in particular gave a thorough account of the controversies surrounding the crediting of the invention, along with a short biography of Jacobi, in an article honoring the centennial of electrotyping in 1938.
The electrotyping industry was limited for some decades by the sources of the electrical currents needed to activate the deposition of metal films into the mold; the rate of film growth is proportional to the magnitude of this current. In the initial work, the Daniell cell
was used to provide these currents. The Daniell cell was complemented and to some degree replaced by the "Smee cell" after the latter's invention by Alfred Smee in 1840. Both of these cells are forerunners of contemporary electrical batteries. By the 1870s, mechanical generators (dynamos) were being used; the larger currents that could be sustained by generators enabled substantial increases in the rate of metal deposition during electrotyping.
Electrotyping was also used to produce entire printing plates directly from the formes composed from movable type and illustrations. In this application, electrotyping was a higher quality but more costly alternative to stereotyping
, which involved casting of type metal into a mold prepared from the forme. Both methods yielded plates that could be preserved in case of future needs, for example in the printing of novels and other books of unpredictable popularity. The movable type used to compose the original forme could then be re-used. In addition, both methods could be used to prepared curved plates for rotary presses, which were used for the longest print runs.
By the 1900s printing plants often incorporated electrotyping and stereotyping departments, and electrotyping and stereotyping had become trades with associated apprenticeships. In the United Kingdom, the National Society of Electrotypers and Stereotypers (NSES) formed in 1893, and continued to 1967 when it amalgamated with the National Graphic Association. In the US, the International Stereotypers and Electrotypers Union (ISEU) was formed in 1902; previously, electrotypers had belonged to the International Typographer's Union (ITU). In 1925 there were 6800 members, and in 1955 10,500. In 1973 the ISEU was absorbed into the International Printing and Graphic Communications Union. In 1978, an Occupational Outlook Handbook reported that 2000 electrotypers and stereotypers were employed in the US. However, job prospects were reported as poor. Offset printing had supplanted letterpress printing in most plants, and for offset printing photoengraving
techniques could replace electrotyping and stereotyping for production of printing plates.
One of the earliest documented large-scale (1.67 metres (5.5 ft)) electrotype sculptures was John Evan Thomas's Death of Tewdric Mawr, King of Gwent (1849). The electrotype was done by Elkington, Mason, & Co.
for the Great Exhibition of 1851
. Among the most spectacular early examples are Josef Hermann's twelve angels (1858) at the base of the cupola of Saint Isaac's Cathedral
in St. Petersburg, Russia (see photograph A below). As described in a 1901 guidebook, "They are twenty-one feet high, and were made by the galvanoplastic process in four pieces, whose welding together is invisible. They could in this manner be made so light that, in spite of their dimensions, they would not be too heavy for the cupola. This crown of gilt angels, poised amid a flood of light, and shining with rich reflections, produces an extremely rich effect." The fabrication of these angels was apparently supervised by Moritz Jacobi, the inventor of galvanoplasty. Other important sculptures followed; David A. Scott has written, "Some extremely important commissions were made in electrotypes, such as the "bronzes" that adorn the Opera, Paris, and the 320 cm high statue of Prince Albert and four accompanying figures, erected behind the Albert Hall in London as a memorial to the Great Exhibition of 1851." The statue of Prince Albert was unveiled in 1861 (see photograph B below); the electrotyping process "was one in which the Prince Consort had had great faith." The Palais Garnier
in Paris (the Opera) has two 7.5 meter tall sculptures above the main facade; the building was completed in 1869 (see photograph C below).
In the 19th century, museums often displayed electrotypes of ancient coins instead of the originals (see photograph D below), and individuals purchased electrotypes for their private collections. By 1920, the Victoria and Albert Museum
in England had acquired nearly 1000 electrotyped copies of important objects from the collections of other European museums. The most celebrated may be their copy of the Jerningham wine cooler
, which is a spectacular silverwork made in England in 1735 that has long been in the collection of the Hermitage Museum
in Russia. Many of these objects were made by Elkington & Co.
, which had an extensive business in electrotyped silver.
An important example of electrotyping's use for preservation is the electrotype of the plaster life-mask of the poet John Keats
(see photograph E below). The original life mask was made by Haydon in 1816. The plaster mask was electrotyped in 1884 by Elkington & Co., and this copper copy is now apparently in better condition than the plaster original.
From 1890 through at least 1930, the Abteilung für Galvanoplastic of the WMF Company in Germany produced many statues and other items using electrotyping. The statues in particular were significantly less expensive than bronze castings. Memorials in German cemeteries from this era often incorporated electroptyped statues from models that had been commissioned by WMF from well-known sculptors (see photograph F below). Because there was less copper used in these statues than in castings, they were less likely to be melted down for their base metal during the two world wars, and many have survived. WMF also undertook larger commissions such as the full-sized copper electrotype (1911)
of Ernst Rietschel
's 1857 statue for the Goethe–Schiller Monument
in Weimar, Germany
(see photograph at right).
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
" sculptures from the 19th century are actually electrotyped copper, and not bronze at all. By the late 1800s, electrotyping had become a standard method for producing plates for letterpress printing
Letterpress printing
Letterpress printing is relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image...
; it complemented the older technology of stereotyping
Stereotype (printing)
In printing, a stereotype, also known as a cliché, stereoplate or simply a stereo, was originally a "solid plate or type-metal, cast from a papier-mâché or plaster mould taken from the surface of a forme of type" used for printing instead of the original...
, which involved metal casting. In several countries, stereotypers and electrotypers joined together around 1900 to form labor unions. These unions persisted into the 1970s; in the US, the union had 10,500 members in the 1950s. After more than a century in widespread use, the two technologies had largely been replaced by photoengraving
Photoengraving
Photoengraving also known as photo-chemical milling is a process of engraving using photographic processing techniques. The full form of photoengraving is photo mechanical process in the graphic arts, used principally for reproducing illustrations. The subject is photographed, and the image is...
technology in the late 20th century.
Technical description
As with metal casting and stereotypingStereotype (printing)
In printing, a stereotype, also known as a cliché, stereoplate or simply a stereo, was originally a "solid plate or type-metal, cast from a papier-mâché or plaster mould taken from the surface of a forme of type" used for printing instead of the original...
, a mold is first formed from the model. Since electrotyping involves wet chemical processes and is done near room temperature, the molding material can be soft. Materials such as wax, gutta-percha
Gutta-percha
Gutta-percha is a genus of tropical trees native to Southeast Asia and northern Australasia, from Taiwan south to the Malay Peninsula and east to the Solomon Islands. The same term is used to refer to an inelastic natural latex produced from the sap of these trees, particularly from the species...
(natural latex), and ultimately ozokerite
Ozokerite
Ozokerite or ozocerite is a naturally occurring odoriferous mineral wax or paraffin found in many localities.-Sources:...
were used. The mold's surface is made electrically conducting by coating it very thinly with fine graphite powder or paint. A wire is attached to the conducting surface, and the mold is suspended in a chemical ("electrolyte") solution. Electrotyping is activated by electrical currents that flow between "anode" wires that are also immersed in the solution and the wire connected to the the coated mold (the "cathode"). For copper electrotyping, a typical aqueous electrolyte contains copper sulfate (CuSO4) and sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...
(H2SO4), and the anode is also copper. The electrical current causes metal to grow onto the mold's conducting surface; when the resulting metal layer reaches the desired thickness, the electrical current is stopped. The mold and its attached electrotype are removed from the solution, and the electrotype and the mold are separated.
Electrotyping is related to electroplating, which permanently adds a thin metallic overlayer to a metallic object instead of creating a freestanding metal part. Electrotyping and electroforming both produce metal parts, but differ in technical details. Electrotyping forms the part inside a non-conducting mold whose interior surface has been made conducting by applying a thin coating. Electroforming forms the part around a metallic mandrel. All three methods are examples of electrodeposition processes.
The invention and subsequent developments
At present, most sources credit Moritz Hermann Jacobi with the invention of "galvanoplasty" or electrotyping in 1838; Jacobi was a Prussian scientist who was working in St. Petersburg, Russia. 19th century accounts often credited Thomas Spencer or C. J. Jordan with the invention in England, or Joseph Alexander AdamsJoseph Alexander Adams
Joseph Alexander Adams was an engraver who is said to have been the first electrotyper in the United States. He was born in New Germantown, New Jersey , in 1803....
in the United States; Heinrich in particular gave a thorough account of the controversies surrounding the crediting of the invention, along with a short biography of Jacobi, in an article honoring the centennial of electrotyping in 1938.
The electrotyping industry was limited for some decades by the sources of the electrical currents needed to activate the deposition of metal films into the mold; the rate of film growth is proportional to the magnitude of this current. In the initial work, the Daniell cell
Daniell cell
The Daniell cell was invented in 1836 by John Frederic Daniell, a British chemist and meteorologist, and consisted of a copper pot filled with a copper sulfate solution, in which was immersed an unglazed earthenware container filled with sulfuric acid and a zinc electrode...
was used to provide these currents. The Daniell cell was complemented and to some degree replaced by the "Smee cell" after the latter's invention by Alfred Smee in 1840. Both of these cells are forerunners of contemporary electrical batteries. By the 1870s, mechanical generators (dynamos) were being used; the larger currents that could be sustained by generators enabled substantial increases in the rate of metal deposition during electrotyping.
Electrotyping in printing
One of the first applications of electrotyping was to reproduce the wood carvings that were used to print artwork. This preserved the original wood carving for later uses, and the electrotypes were quite accurate renditions of the original artwork. The image to the right shows a comparison done by Adams in 1841 of one printed image prepared directly from a carving and a second image printed from an electrotype. Of course the electrotyped plates could sustain much longer print runs than the carved block, which was particularly important for magazine and newspaper uses. Electrotypes could be mixed with movable type to compose the formes for printing, and were commonly used for this purpose after 1840.Electrotyping was also used to produce entire printing plates directly from the formes composed from movable type and illustrations. In this application, electrotyping was a higher quality but more costly alternative to stereotyping
Stereotype (printing)
In printing, a stereotype, also known as a cliché, stereoplate or simply a stereo, was originally a "solid plate or type-metal, cast from a papier-mâché or plaster mould taken from the surface of a forme of type" used for printing instead of the original...
, which involved casting of type metal into a mold prepared from the forme. Both methods yielded plates that could be preserved in case of future needs, for example in the printing of novels and other books of unpredictable popularity. The movable type used to compose the original forme could then be re-used. In addition, both methods could be used to prepared curved plates for rotary presses, which were used for the longest print runs.
By the 1900s printing plants often incorporated electrotyping and stereotyping departments, and electrotyping and stereotyping had become trades with associated apprenticeships. In the United Kingdom, the National Society of Electrotypers and Stereotypers (NSES) formed in 1893, and continued to 1967 when it amalgamated with the National Graphic Association. In the US, the International Stereotypers and Electrotypers Union (ISEU) was formed in 1902; previously, electrotypers had belonged to the International Typographer's Union (ITU). In 1925 there were 6800 members, and in 1955 10,500. In 1973 the ISEU was absorbed into the International Printing and Graphic Communications Union. In 1978, an Occupational Outlook Handbook reported that 2000 electrotypers and stereotypers were employed in the US. However, job prospects were reported as poor. Offset printing had supplanted letterpress printing in most plants, and for offset printing photoengraving
Photoengraving
Photoengraving also known as photo-chemical milling is a process of engraving using photographic processing techniques. The full form of photoengraving is photo mechanical process in the graphic arts, used principally for reproducing illustrations. The subject is photographed, and the image is...
techniques could replace electrotyping and stereotyping for production of printing plates.
Electrotyping in art
Electrotyping has been used for the production of metal sculptures, where it is an alternative to the casting of molten metal. These sculptures are sometimes called "galvanoplastic bronzes", although the actual metal is usually copper. It was possible to apply essentially any patina to these sculptures; gilding was also readily accomplished in the same facilities as electrotyping by using electroplating. Electrotyping has been used to reproduce valuable objects such as ancient coins, and in some cases electrotype copies have proven more durable than fragile originals.One of the earliest documented large-scale (1.67 metres (5.5 ft)) electrotype sculptures was John Evan Thomas's Death of Tewdric Mawr, King of Gwent (1849). The electrotype was done by Elkington, Mason, & Co.
Elkington & Co.
Elkington & Co. was a silver manufacturer from Birmingham, England.It was founded by George Richards Elkington and his brother, Henry Elkington, in the 1830s. It operated under the name G. R. Elkington & Co. until 1842, when a third partner, Josiah Mason, joined the firm. It operated as Elkington,...
for the Great Exhibition of 1851
The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations or The Great Exhibition, sometimes referred to as the Crystal Palace Exhibition in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held, was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, from 1 May to 15 October...
. Among the most spectacular early examples are Josef Hermann's twelve angels (1858) at the base of the cupola of Saint Isaac's Cathedral
Saint Isaac's Cathedral
Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor in Saint Petersburg, Russia is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in the city...
in St. Petersburg, Russia (see photograph A below). As described in a 1901 guidebook, "They are twenty-one feet high, and were made by the galvanoplastic process in four pieces, whose welding together is invisible. They could in this manner be made so light that, in spite of their dimensions, they would not be too heavy for the cupola. This crown of gilt angels, poised amid a flood of light, and shining with rich reflections, produces an extremely rich effect." The fabrication of these angels was apparently supervised by Moritz Jacobi, the inventor of galvanoplasty. Other important sculptures followed; David A. Scott has written, "Some extremely important commissions were made in electrotypes, such as the "bronzes" that adorn the Opera, Paris, and the 320 cm high statue of Prince Albert and four accompanying figures, erected behind the Albert Hall in London as a memorial to the Great Exhibition of 1851." The statue of Prince Albert was unveiled in 1861 (see photograph B below); the electrotyping process "was one in which the Prince Consort had had great faith." The Palais Garnier
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
in Paris (the Opera) has two 7.5 meter tall sculptures above the main facade; the building was completed in 1869 (see photograph C below).
In the 19th century, museums often displayed electrotypes of ancient coins instead of the originals (see photograph D below), and individuals purchased electrotypes for their private collections. By 1920, the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
in England had acquired nearly 1000 electrotyped copies of important objects from the collections of other European museums. The most celebrated may be their copy of the Jerningham wine cooler
Jerningham Wine Cooler
The Jerningham wine cooler is a large wine cooler made out of silver in the 18th century.- History :The original was commissioned 1734-5 in London by Henry Jernegan , a London goldsmith-banker, who wanted to create the largest ever wine cooler celebrating the pleasures of wine...
, which is a spectacular silverwork made in England in 1735 that has long been in the collection of the Hermitage Museum
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
in Russia. Many of these objects were made by Elkington & Co.
Elkington & Co.
Elkington & Co. was a silver manufacturer from Birmingham, England.It was founded by George Richards Elkington and his brother, Henry Elkington, in the 1830s. It operated under the name G. R. Elkington & Co. until 1842, when a third partner, Josiah Mason, joined the firm. It operated as Elkington,...
, which had an extensive business in electrotyped silver.
An important example of electrotyping's use for preservation is the electrotype of the plaster life-mask of the poet John Keats
John Keats
John Keats was an English Romantic poet. Along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, he was one of the key figures in the second generation of the Romantic movement, despite the fact that his work had been in publication for only four years before his death.Although his poems were not...
(see photograph E below). The original life mask was made by Haydon in 1816. The plaster mask was electrotyped in 1884 by Elkington & Co., and this copper copy is now apparently in better condition than the plaster original.
From 1890 through at least 1930, the Abteilung für Galvanoplastic of the WMF Company in Germany produced many statues and other items using electrotyping. The statues in particular were significantly less expensive than bronze castings. Memorials in German cemeteries from this era often incorporated electroptyped statues from models that had been commissioned by WMF from well-known sculptors (see photograph F below). Because there was less copper used in these statues than in castings, they were less likely to be melted down for their base metal during the two world wars, and many have survived. WMF also undertook larger commissions such as the full-sized copper electrotype (1911)
Goethe–Schiller Monument (Syracuse)
The Goethe–Schiller Monument in Syracuse, New York incorporates a copper double-statue of the German poets Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller . It was erected by the German-American organizations of Syracuse and Onondaga County, and was unveiled on October 15, 1911...
of Ernst Rietschel
Ernst Friedrich August Rietschel
Ernst Friedrich August Rietschel was a German sculptor.-Biography:Rietschel was born in Pulsnitz, Saxony. At an early age he became an art student at Dresden, and subsequently a pupil of Rauch in Berlin. He there gained an art studentship, and studied in Rome in 1827-28...
's 1857 statue for the Goethe–Schiller Monument
Goethe–Schiller Monument
The original Goethe–Schiller Monument is in Weimar, Germany. It incorporates Ernst Rietschel's 1857 bronze double statue of Johann Wolfgang Goethe and Friedrich Schiller , who are probably the two most revered figures in German literature...
in Weimar, Germany
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
(see photograph at right).