Senefelder Club

The Senefelder Club is an organisation formed in London in 1909 to promote the craft of art reproduction by the process of lithography.

The club was named in honour of Aloys Senefelder, who in 1798 invented the lithographic process.

The process was slow in development and even slower in gain acceptance in the art world. At the turn of the century it began to flower and to be considered as an art form in its own right. The principles of lithography are still in practice around the world today. The club provided a forum for the artists to meet and exchange information on this heretofore semi secret process. Further it provided a means to instruct artists and their patrons that lithography was an art as well as a craft.

Founding members were Archibald Standish Hartrick, and John Copley (1875-1950). Copley helped Joseph Pennell set up the Club with the aim of reviving lithography as an artistic medium. He became Hon. Secretary between the years 1910-1916. It was here that he met his future wife Ethel Gabain, who was also a founder member.

The British watercolourist and lithographer Anthony Raine Barker was an enthusiastic supporter and member of the club's committee in the 1920s.

Sources

• Archibald Standish Hartrick, BM, RSW, OBE by Lester J. Hartrick
• Artists Index Roe and Moore

'The Adventures of an Illustrator' by Joseph Pennell, 1925, p.169