48. Global Histories of Lithography

Over the course of the nineteenth century, lithographic printing spread rapidly across the world. Originally invented in late-eighteenth-century Bavaria, this accessible, portable, and supremely affordable print technology was rapidly adopted across Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania, catalysing dramatic cultural and political upheavals as well as stimulating novel identities, ideas, and institutions. Named after its ability to multiply marks made on stone, lithography afforded a faithful reproduction of scripts unsuited to moveable type; enabled creative new ways of integrating text and image; and chemically transferred original sketches—associating prints with a rhetoric of ‘autographic’ mark-making.

Despite the significance of this print revolution, existing work on lithography is generally limited to studies of the medium’s technical history, its position in the repertoire of satirical artists, or its status as a fine-art medium—particularly in France. In contrast, this panel will invite speakers to explore the full complexity and diversity of lithography’s global histories. We seek proposals for ten-minute papers, to be followed by a roundtable discussion.

Several core concerns will animate the session. Should lithography be conceptualised as a homogenising force, shaping common social and cultural histories across the diverse territories in which it was adopted? Or do particular contexts exhibit unique adaptations of widespread styles and genres, or specific transformations of existing cultural traditions? Does foregrounding the technomaterial affordances of the medium provide new insights into the histories of globalisation, industrial capitalism, and empire, and how might it enable novel ways of writing globally connected analyses of race, gender, and class? Or do such media-specific histories require an intermedial framing, or run the risk of technological determinism?

Themes: global art history, materiality, print culture, cultural history

Additional format comment: 10-minute paper presentation plus a roundtable at the end of the presentations.

Lead Convenor: Mariana Zegianini, University of Oslo, Norway

Co-convenors: Tom Young, The Courtauld Institute of Art, United Kingdom

To submit a Paper to this Session, please follow the guidance on our website and complete the AAH 2027 Call for Papers Proposal Submission Form.