John Phillips's lithographic notebook

Almost two hundred years ago the teenage John Phillips (1800-1875), who would achieve fames as a geologist, became fascinated by the emerging process of lithography. In the notebook transcribed and reproduced in facsimile here, Phillips recorded the experiments he made in the process between 1817 and 1819. The records of these experiments provide insights into the mind and working methods of a young scientist, while also revealing something about the state of lithography in Britain at the time.

"Almost two hundred years ago the teenage John Phillips (1800-75), who would achieve fame as a geologist. became fascinated by the emerging process of lithography. In one of his notebooks, reproduced here in facsimile, Phillips recorded the experiments he made in the process between 1817 and 1819. At the time he was living with one of his uncles, geologist William Smith (1769-1839). Later known as the 'father of English geology', Smith made good use of the young Phillip's precocious understanding of fossils, and must also have backed and encouraged his nephew's experiments in lithography, probably for practical reasons. Thus it was that two of the most important nineteenth-century geologists became interested in printing from stone when the process was still very much in its infancy, at least in Britain. The young Phillip's attempts to understand lithography were informed by a few sketchy published descriptions of the process and by tenuous contacts with practitioners, but above all by a series of systematically conducted experiments with materials and procedures. The records of these experiments provide insights into the mind and working methods of a young scientist, while also revealing something about the state of lithography in Britain at the time."--Dust jacket.