Electrotyping

Electrotyping (also galvanoplasty) is a chemical method for forming metal parts that exactly reproduce a model.

The method was invented by a Prussian engineer Moritz von Jacobi in Russia in 1838, and was immediately adopted for applications in printing and several other fields.

The mold's surface is made electrically conducting by coating it very thinly with fine graphite powder or paint.

[1][4] Nineteenth-century accounts often credited Thomas Spencer or C. J. Jordan with the invention in England, or Joseph Alexander Adams 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.

Initially, electrotyping was used to make copper reproductions of engraved metal plates or wooden carvings, which were used to print artwork.

[1] 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.

These generators supplanted the whole rooms of chemical batteries (Smee cells) that were previously used to provide electricity for electrotyping.

Electrotyping was used for general-purpose type manufacture in the nineteenth century, but was a somewhat disreputable process, leading to some typefounders disdaining it (or at least claiming to).

Stephenson Blake's solution was to squash type slightly in a press or file it down to broaden it before putting it into the electrotype bath.

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).

[18] 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 by Théophile Gautier in 1867, "They are twenty-one feet high, and were made by the galvanoplastic process in four pieces, whose welding together is invisible.

"[19] 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.

"[20] 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).

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.

[25] 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).

[4] One example is the full-sized copper electrotype (1911) of Ernst Rietschel's 1857 bronze for the Goethe–Schiller Monument in Weimar, Germany, which is about 3.5 metres (11 ft) tall (see photograph at right).

Many sculptors have experimented with the technique of electrotyping a plaster form that remains as the core of the finished sculpture (Kerngalvanoplastik).

Line drawing.
Schematic apparatus for electrotyping. An electric current flows from the battery, through the copper anode, the electrolyte, and the coated mold. A copper film (the electrotype) grows onto the electrically conducting coating of the mold.
Photograph of a lithograph. It shows the head and shoulders of a middle-aged man dressed formally, and is wearing a coat, a white shirt with a high collar, and a bow tie.
1837 lithographic portrait of Moritz von Jacobi (1801–1874), who invented electrotyping in 1838.
Two similar images, each showing 2 children reading a magazine. One child is seated on a floor and holds the magazine; the second child is kneeling. The left image has the description "Wood Engraving." underneath it; the right image has the description "Electrotype Copy." underneath it. The two images are nearly identical.
1841 magazine illustration by Joseph Alexander Adams. The illustration compares direct letterpress printing from a wood carving and from a copper electrotype copy of the carving; it is among the earliest uses of electrotypes in printing.
Photograph of a large workshop crowded with machinery. There are at least four men working there. There are belts coming down from the ceiling that drive the machinery. Two electric lighting fixtures are also hung from the ceiling.
The electrotyping department of the New York Herald in 1902.
Photograph of a statue of Goethe and Schiller standing side by side, each looking forward. There are trees and blue sky visible behind the statue. The two figures are of nearly the same height. Goethe appears middle-aged; Schiller is noticeably younger. They are dressed in nineteenth century clothing. Goethe is wearing a knee-length formal coat, and Schiller is wearing a calf-length coat. Both men wear breeches. Goethe's left hand rests lightly on Schiller's shoulder; his right hand holds a laurel wreath near his waist. Schiller's right hand is nearly touching the wreath, which may suggest that Goethe is passing the wreath to Schiller. Schiller's left hand extends loosely below his waist, and grasps a rolled sheet of paper.
Copper electrotype (1911) of Ernst Rietschel 's 1857 sculpture for the Goethe–Schiller Monument in Syracuse, New York USA. This sculpture is about 3.5 metres (11 ft) tall, and was produced by the WMF Company in Germany.