Lithophone is a white pigment

Pigment

A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...

 consisting of a mixture of barium sulfate

Barium sulfate

Barium sulfate is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula BaSO4. It is a white crystalline solid that is odorless and insoluble in water. It occurs as the mineral barite, which is the main commercial source of barium and materials prepared from it...

 and zinc sulfide

Zinc sulfide

Zinc sulfide is a inorganic compound with the formula ZnS. ZnS is the main form of zinc in nature, where it mainly occurs as the mineral sphalerite...

. It is used in interior paint

Paint

Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...

s and in some enamels

Vitreous enamel

Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...

. It is widely used for white paint.

History

It was manufactured by Krebs Pigments and Chemical Company

Krebs Pigments and Chemical Company

Krebs Pigments and Chemical Company was founded in 1902 by Henrik J. Krebs and was a manufacturer of lithopone and titanium dioxide.-History:The company was founded in 1902 by Henrik J. Krebs in Newport, Delaware...

 and other companies. The material came in different "seals", which vary in percent of zinc sulfide. Gold seal and Bronze seals contain 40-50% zinc sulfide, offering more hiding power and strength.

Characteristics

It is a valuable pigment that is brilliant white with fine texture which is advantageous vs white lead.
It mixed well with oils such as linseed oil

Linseed oil

Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil, is a clear to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant . The oil is obtained by cold pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction...

or varnish, turns grey very fast in sunlight and white again in the dark (due to actinium).