A. Hoen & Co.
A. Hoen & Co. was a Baltimore, Maryland-based lithography firm founded by Edward Weber in the 1840s as E. Weber & Company. When August Hoen took it over following Weber's death, he changed the name and built the company into one of the most prominent in the industry at the time.
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In 1877, Hoen entered a print produced by his patented lithocaustic process in the Centennial Exposition. This work, entitled "The Continentals" was "commended for excellence in chromo-lithographic art" by the judges.[1]
August Hoen patented his lithocaustic method (originally spelled lithokaustik) in 1860. This covered etching with a mix of citric acid and gum arabic so that the lithographer could see the progress of shaded patterns as they were etched into the stone.[2] He continued to explore methods of producing fine gradations in shading. In 1880, August Hoen was granted several patents for a methods of producing halftone prints using lithography.[3][4]
Alfred Hoen, August's son, was not only an accomplished printmaker, but he also maintained a laboratory for testing lithographic limestone and carried out laboratory tests and experimental print runs using stones from promising new sources.[5]
References
- ↑ Supplement to Group XXVII, Reports of Judges on Appeals, International Exhibition, 1876, Reports and Awards, Group XXVII, United States Centennial Commission, Philadelphia, 1877; page 112.
- ↑ August Hoen, Composition for etching stone, U.S. Patent 27,981, Apr 24, 1860.
- ↑ August Hoen, Lithographic Process, U.S. Patent 227,730, May 15, 1883.
- ↑ August Hoen, Lithographic Process, U.S. Patent 227,782, May 18, 1880.
- ↑ A. B. Hoen, Discussion of the Requisite Qualities of Lithographic Limestone, with Report on Tests of the Lithographic Stone of Mitchell County, Iowa, Iowa Geological Survey Annual Report, 1902, Des Moines, 1903; pages 339-352.
Further reading
- Galkin, Elliott W.; N. Quist. "Baltimore". New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. pp. 611–612.