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  In 1891, Pierre Giffard, the publisher of the French newspaper Le Petit Journal, sensed that something had to be done to boost the sagging French morale. Unlike some more conservative journalists of the day who thought the bicycle was an oddity quickly to be disposed of, Giffard was a dyed-in-the-wool cyclist. This was easy in Giffard’s day since Lycra hadn’t been invented yet. What had been invented in 1885 was the “safety bicycle,” the basic form of the bicycle we know today.Althou …

Stone Lithography was invented in 1798 by Aloys Senefelder. The printing process is based on the principle that oil and water do not mix. The artist begins with a smooth block of limestone ("lithos" is Greek for stone). Stone from the Bavarian quarries where Senefelder developed the process is preferred because of it’s qualities. The artist begins by drawing an image on the stone with a greasy crayon, or with a strong liquid called "tusche". Tusche can be brushed on like ink or applied with a pe …