314
consisted of utilizing a glass plate as the base for the
sensitized emulsion, instead of a stone, and also using
an intermediary layer of hardened gelatin to support
the gelatin matrix. It is interesting to note that early
collotypes examined under a magnifying glass do not
exhibit a reticulation pattern that is commonly seen in
variants printed after ca. 1880. The reason for this was
the introduction of accelerated drying in a stove which
caused reticulation at the last moment of drying.
Jakob Husnik of Prague introduced a process very
similar to Albert’s and was bought out by the latter to
reduce competition. The fi rst Albertype to be made in
America was produced by David Bachrach in the winter
of 1868. The following year, Edward Bierstadt made
his fi rst Albertypes and exhibited them in January 1870.
Autotype, of England, introduced collotype in 1872, al-
though “Autotype reproduction” may also have meant this
company’s own use of the carbon transfer process which
they were also exploiting at the time. Autotype was the
largest English collotype operation by the late 1880s.
Collotype became very popular for the production
of both, cheap quality postcards and high quality art
reproductions. It gradually displaced woodburytype,
although as the latter, it could not print text at the same
time as a picture. One of the advantages of the collotype
however was the ability to print an illustration on paper
with any desired amount of white margin.
In 1873, Albert introduced the fi rst rotary collotype
press. In the early 1900s a combination of collotype
and half-tone was introduced in the U.S.A. under the
Aquatone trademark. This was later renamed Optak.
About 1940, the offset press and gelatin coatings on
thin, fl exible metal sheets were adapted to collotype
printing. The patent literature mentions improvements
until at least the 1960s.
As of today, with the exception of screenless-li-
thography, aquatint photogravure and processes that
use stochastic screening, collotype is still the only pho-
tomechanical process which uses a screenless matrix.
High quality monochrome collotypes are practically
indistinguishable from original photographs, especially
if they are varnished, or if they have received a coat of
gelatin (rare). The lack of a screen allows multiple im-
pressions without the risk of moiré patterns. Collotype
printing requires high skills and the nature of the matrix
(reticulated dichromated gelatin) makes it suitable for
only a limited number of impressions, e.g., 100 to 5,000.
In England, ca. 1890, the most successful variations of
the collotype were Autotype, heliotype, phototint and
Humphrey’s processes.
Fine colored collotypes can be seen in many books,
including J.J. Tyler’s “Wall Drawings and Monuments
of El Kab: the Tomb of Paheri,” 1895. Also, F. Rath-
bone’s “Old Wedgwood, 1893–1898.” One of the most
impressive contemporary examples may be a facsimile
reproduction of the illuminated manuscript “Le livre
d’heures de Louis d’Orléans,” Paris, Ed. Seefeld, ca.
1980, which used ten colors. Contemporary artists, like
American photographer Todd Walker (1917–1998), have
used collotype to print their work.
The last collotype plant in England, the Cotswold
Collotype Company, closed in 1985.
The oldest and possibly the largest collotype plant,
was Max Jaffé in Vienna, owned by Gerhard Habarta. It
ceased operation in the 1990s. In America, a sister com-
pany, owned by Thomas Reardon, operated on a smaller
scale under the name of The Arthur Jaffé Heliochrome
Press, in Dalton, Massachusetts.
The premier collotype operation in the United
States was Nicholas G. Jannes’ Black Box Collotype,
in Chicago, which had Michael Intrator as a technical
director. Jannes, who was president of Black Box,
donated the company’s collotype presses to Arizona
State University in 2001, under the condition that they
remain in use.
There are about a half-dozen printing plants in the
world producing collotypes today. Small operations
are reported active in France (Item, Paris), Germany
(Lichtdruck Kunst, Leipzig and Lichtdruck Werkstatt,
Dresden), Italy (Fratelli Alinari, Florence), and in the
former member countries of the USSR.
Among the many people who worked on the de-
velopment of the collotype, we mention: Bolinetto,
P.A. Despaquis (Engl. Pat. 3947, Nov. 17, 1874), E.
Edwards (Engl. Pat. 3543, Dec. 8, 1869), Gemser,
Geymet, Husnig, Jacobsen, Murray, Obernetter, Thiel,
Van Monckhoven, Léon Vidal, Voigt, Waterhouse, F.R.
Window (Engl. Pat. 3049, Oct. 19, 1869), etc.
The history of the invention of the collotype process
and its variants are treated exhaustively in the brochure
by August Albert, “Die verschiedenen Methoden des
Lichtdruckes,” 1900.
Luis Nadeau
See Also: Autotype Fine Art Company; Half-tone
Printing; Photolithography; Poitevin, Alphonse Louis;
and Woodburytype, Woodburygravure.Further Reading
Chayt, S. and M., Collotype, Winter Haven, FL: Anachronic
Editions, 1983.
Edwards, E., The Heliotype Process, Boston: J.R. Osgood &
Co., 1876.
Fisch, A., La photocollographie, Paris: Charles-Mendel, n.d.
Fithian, A.W., Practical Collotype, London: Iliffe, Sons &
Sturmey, 1901.
Geymet, T., Traité pratique de phototypie, Paris: Gauthier-Vil-
lars, 1888.
Husnik, J., Das Gesamtgebiet des Lichtdrucks, Vienna: A.
Hartleben, 1880.
Kirby, Kent B., Studio Collotype, Dalton (MA): The Heliochrome
Press, 1988.