Aesthetics

The stationary letterhead as a business convention came about through lithography. Lithography is the writing or drawing on stone-stone plates and later metal plates. Alois Senefelder was the inventor of lithography in the early 1800s. Lithography is a planeographic process where the whole plate is left flat. A drawing is applied with a greasy crayon to a calcium carbonate stone polished or left granular. After the drawing is complete, the surface is covered with a solution of gum Arabic containing a small amount of nitric acid. When this is dry, the surface gum is washed off. Next the damp stone is rolled with ink, but only the drawing receives the ink-the blank parts repel it. The process relies on the natural antipathy of grease to water.

After this method was perfected, the demand for large number of copies grew. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the process changed to one involving offset printing from the plate first to a rubber blanket and then to paper. Lithography made it possible to print quickly and inexpensively, providing a visual impact that was mass-produced.

Today, letterhead stationary sheets from this earlier time are sought after by collectors, as well as historians. Their colors and their images present a visual representation of the places they were made, the people and services they advertised, and the true artistic talent of the stationary designers.
For the reader of such a letter, the visual impact and the printed letters spoke of a certain degree of stability and affluence. The letterhead offered an easy way for the writer to transmit personal or professional information. The letterhead is also representative of the artistic trends of the time and is the place for the writer to exhibit their sense of importance and personal vanity. The following examples show some of the intricate designs and artistic talent of the stationary designers and lithographers.