Rock
Lithographic limestone
Litografya taşı
The extraordinarily fine-grained limestone on which lithography was born, and which also gave us the fossils of Archaeopteryx.
Also known as: Lithographic stone · Litho stone
- Popularly: Natural stone (building and decor)
In short
Lithographic limestone is a limestone fine-grained, even and flawless enough to be used for printing from stone (lithography). The most famous comes from Solnhofen in Bavaria, Germany, where Alois Senefelder developed lithography with it in 1796. Formed in calm, salty lagoons, the rock has also preserved some of the world's most famous fossils, such as Archaeopteryx. Today it is used mostly for floor tiles and cladding.
Photos
How does it form?
Lithographic limestones formed from extremely fine lime mud (micrite) that settled on the floors of shallow, stagnant coastal lagoons. According to the accepted explanation, the lagoon water was too salty and too poor in oxygen for bottom-dwelling animals or microbial mats to thrive. With no creatures, currents or waves to churn it up, the mud built up in smooth, even layers. Had it been churned by animals, the result would have been a fossil-rich but far less uniform rock.
The famous Solnhofen stone formed in the Tithonian stage of the Late Jurassic. The area was then an archipelago on the edge of the Tethys Sea, fringed by lagoons with little access to the open sea and so salty that the brine could not support life. Anything that fell, drifted or was washed into the lagoons was buried in the soft lime mud and preserved remarkably well in the oxygen-free water. The Cerin stone in France also dates from the Late Jurassic, the Montsec stone in Spain formed in a large coastal lake in the Early Cretaceous, and the Iowa and Kentucky stones in the USA are much older, from the Palaeozoic.
What is it used for?
- Lithography: In 1796 Alois Senefelder found that by drawing on Solnhofen limestone with a greasy, acid-resistant ink he could print from the flat surface. The method was first used for music scores and maps, then became the main way of reproducing pictures; artists such as Théophile Steinlen used such stones for their posters. In the 20th century it gave way to offset printing with metal or plastic plates, and today stone lithography is kept alive mostly by artists.
- Building stone: Solnhofen stone is now made into floor tiles, stair treads, window sills and interior and exterior wall cladding.
- Sculpture and relief: Renaissance and later artists used it for small reliefs; the Bode Museum in Berlin holds pieces dated 1514–1648.
- Science: Its fossils, which preserve even traces of soft tissue, are a unique window on ancient life and environments.
A treasure trove of fossils
More than 600 species have been described from the Solnhofen Limestone, including 29 kinds of flying reptile (pterosaur) ranging from the size of a sparrow to 1.2 metres. All the fossils of Archaeopteryx, regarded as one of the earliest birds, have come from the quarries of this area. The heavy quarrying for lithography in the 19th century brought many fossils to light. The Cerin quarry in France is known for fossil fish, reptiles, crustaceans and plants, and the Montsec stones in Spain for insects and small vertebrates.
Where is it found?
For many years the only source was the quarries around Solnhofen and Eichstätt, between Nuremberg and Munich in Germany. In the 19th century quarries opened in France at Montdardier (Gard) and Cerin (Ain). In Spain such stone was quarried around Santa Maria de Meià in the Serra del Montsec. In the USA, after early attempts in Tennessee, the quarries of Brandenburg (Kentucky) and Lithograph City (Iowa) tried to replace German stone, especially during the First World War.
In Türkiye
Lithography was brought to the Ottoman Empire in 1831 by the Frenchman Henri Cayol; the first work printed was Nuhbetü’t-ta’lîm, a book on military training. For a long time the main materials needed for stone printing were brought in from abroad. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, lithographic stone was found in 1892 at Mihaliç (today Karacabey, Bursa), and the Ottoman Bank obtained the concession to work the deposit. The exact site of the quarry and how much it was worked are not known.
What determines its value?
For lithography, value depended on how fine and even the grain was, on freedom from flaws such as veins, cracks and fossils, and on how large a single slab could be cut; only a small part of the quarried stone was ever good enough. Today it is sold mostly as flooring and cladding, so colour consistency, strength and slab size set its value. Old printing stones and slabs with well-preserved fossils are also prized by collectors and museums.
This information is educational, not buying, selling or investment advice. Value varies enormously with quality and treatment.
How to recognise it
- 1
Its grains are too fine to see even with a hand lens; a broken surface is smooth and uniform.
- 2
It is usually cream, yellowish beige or light grey, and in most deposits it splits into thin, flat plates.
- 3
Bedding surfaces often carry black, fern-like manganese oxide dendrites.
- 4
Being a limestone, it fizzes in dilute hydrochloric acid and can be scratched with a steel knife.
Myths and misconceptions
MythIn lithography the picture is carved or engraved into the stone.
FactLithography is not carving but printing from a flat surface: the picture is drawn on the stone in greasy ink, and the print is taken from the flat face, using the fact that grease and water do not mix. Senefelder's method was the first such flat (planographic) printing process.
MythAny fine limestone will do for lithography.
FactSuitable stone is very scarce. Even in the famous Solnhofen deposits only a small part of the plate limestone is fine, even and flawless enough for printing, which is why Solnhofen long remained the world's only source.
MythThe black, fern-like patterns on the stone are fossil plants.
FactMost of them are not plants at all but manganese oxide dendrites, which crystallise in branching patterns along bedding surfaces and cracks. Such fossil-like features that are not the remains of living things are called pseudofossils.
Did you know?
The scientific name of Archaeopteryx, one of the world's most famous fossils, is Archaeopteryx lithographica, a reference to the lithographic stone it came from.
When the First World War cut off stone from Germany, the United States began looking for its own lithographic stone; Lithograph City in Iowa, built around one such bed, emptied once metal printing plates replaced stone and had vanished completely by 1938.
In October 2022 the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) named the Solnhofen-Eichstätt Archaeopteryx sites one of the world's first 100 geological heritage sites.
Where is it found?
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- Solnhofen, Bavaria, Germany · Type localityThe first and most famous source of lithographic stone: the Late Jurassic (Tithonian) Solnhofen Limestone (Altmühltal Formation). Alois Senefelder developed lithography with this stone, and the Archaeopteryx fossils came from the quarries of this area.
- Montdardier, Gard, France · Historic sourceEarly Jurassic stone from quarries about 6 km south of Le Vigan was shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and received an honourable mention; the largest stone quarried measured 230 × 150 cm.
- Cerin (Marchamp), Ain, France · Historic sourceA quarry in late Kimmeridgian (about 153 million years old) lithographic limestone, worked intensively for lithography in the 19th century and known as a rich fossil site.
- La Pedrera de Meià, Montsec, Lleida, Spain · Known localityEarly Cretaceous lithographic limestone quarried near Santa Maria de Meià on the south flank of the Serra del Montsec; laid down in a large, shallow coastal lake, it is famous for fossils of insects and small vertebrates.
- Brandenburg, Meade County, Kentucky, USA · Historic sourceAt the turn of the 20th century the only commercial source of lithographic stone in the United States; when the First World War cut off German stone, it produced 20 tons of finished stone in 1916.
- Lithograph City (near Orchard), Mitchell County, Iowa, USA · Historic sourceA now-abandoned town built around a bed of Devonian lithographic limestone that Clement L. Webster found in 1903 about 3 km south-west of Orchard; its quarries became important during the First World War.
- Mihaliç (today Karacabey), Bursa, Türkiye · Historic sourceLithographic stone was found here in 1892, and the Ottoman Bank obtained the concession to work it. The exact site of the quarry is not known; the point marks the district centre.
Locations are approximate to protect sites. Red dots mark places in Türkiye. Open in the big map →
Frequently asked questions
What is lithographic limestone?
Lithographic limestone is a limestone fine-grained, even and flawless enough to be used for printing from stone (lithography). The most famous comes from Solnhofen in Bavaria, Germany, where Alois Senefelder developed lithography with it in 1796. Formed in calm, salty lagoons, the rock has also preserved some of the world's most famous fossils, such as Archaeopteryx. Today it is used mostly for floor tiles and cladding.
Why is limestone used for lithography?
Lithography relies on grease and water repelling each other. On a very fine-grained, smooth limestone, a picture drawn in greasy ink holds the printing ink, while the wetted blank surface rejects it. A print can then be pulled from the flat face of the stone.
What is lithographic limestone used for?
Lithography: In 1796 Alois Senefelder found that by drawing on Solnhofen limestone with a greasy, acid-resistant ink he could print from the flat surface. The method was first used for music scores and maps, then became the main way of reproducing pictures; artists such as Théophile Steinlen used such stones for their posters. In the 20th century it gave way to offset printing with metal or plastic plates, and today stone lithography is kept alive mostly by artists.
How hard is lithographic limestone?
It has a hardness of 3 on the Mohs scale. A fingernail cannot scratch it, but a steel knife can. Its specific gravity is 2.5–2.6 g/cm³.
Where is lithographic limestone found?
Its best-known localities: Solnhofen, Bavaria, Germany; Montdardier, Gard, France; Cerin (Marchamp), Ain, France; Brandenburg, Meade County, Kentucky, USA; Lithograph City (near Orchard), Mitchell County, Iowa, USA.
Where is lithographic limestone found in Türkiye?
Known localities in Türkiye: Mihaliç (today Karacabey), Bursa, Türkiye.
How can you tell if lithographic limestone is real?
Its grains are too fine to see even with a hand lens; a broken surface is smooth and uniform. It is usually cream, yellowish beige or light grey, and in most deposits it splits into thin, flat plates. Bedding surfaces often carry black, fern-like manganese oxide dendrites.
Is lithographic limestone valuable?
On the “street to diamond” value ladder it sits on step 4 of nine: Fine dimension stone and ore. For lithography, value depended on how fine and even the grain was, on freedom from flaws such as veins, cracks and fossils, and on how large a single slab could be cut; only a small part of the quarried stone was ever good enough. Today it is sold mostly as flooring and cladding, so colour consistency, strength and slab size set its value. Old printing stones and slabs with well-preserved fossils are also prized by collectors and museums.
Sources
- Lithographic limestone · Wikipedia
- Solnhofen Limestone · Wikipedia
- Solnhofen · Wikipedia
- Alois Senefelder · Wikipedia
- Lithography · Wikipedia
- Cerin Lagerstätte · Wikipedia
- La Pedrera de Rúbies Formation · Wikipedia
- Montdardier · Wikipedia
- Brandenburg, Kentucky · Wikipedia
- Orchard, Iowa · Wikipedia
- Pseudofossil · Wikipedia
- Taş Basması (Alim Kahraman), TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, c. 40 · Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı, 2011
- Litografi · Vikipedi
- Karacabey · Vikipedi
- Solnhofen Kalkstein / Solnhofen limestone: technical data · Solnhofen (Barcelona), via Construmatica
- Limestone · Geology.com
External links
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