The process of lithography was invented by the playwright, Alois Senefelder in 1796. He could not afford to have his plays published so he began experimenting with printing techniques until he succeeded with lithography. The process involved drawing an image, text, or music on a smooth piece of limestone with an oil-based ink. Acid was then poured onto the stone to burn the image onto the surface. A water soluble solution such as gum arabic was then applied, sticking only to the non-oily surface and sealing it. For printing, the water adhered to the gum arabic. The oily ink, however, repelled the water, thereby allowing for the printing of the images. As technology advanced, lithography evolved into other processes such as chromolithography, photolithography, and microlithography.

A lithograph of music by Richard Wagner in the composer's own handwriting.