Matter and Memory

Unless you are ready for it, your first sight of a lithographic stone will astonish you. Thus Lily, at first, complained politely that this room has been turned into a cemetery for small dogs. And it is true that the studio of a printer-lithographer, that of Messrs Mourlot freres, rue de Chabrol, Paris, for example (the best example) much more even than a branch of the British Museum, Department of Ancient Architecture, resembles a depot or library of miniature gravestones. Several workmen or artists are employed there in a leisurely way. Nevertheless, you hear neither hammer, nor cold chisel. A music more discreet-like bedside music. Soft millstones, tender drills, big winches, little fans; and long looks, sprinklings, careful pressures: these stones are treated gently. A conservatory rather or the basement-shop of a seller of musical instruments. But the writer or draughtsman: 'What notepads !' Expecting a stone, he is slightly disappointed to find a page. Such a square one. So smooth. Yet he should look at it (or feel it) more closely. Beneath the page, he will soon find the stone again. A strange stone, it's true, pumiced with the utmost care. Gently flayed. The finest grain of its skin has been bared. It has been sensitized. Made like a mucous membrane. In the most merciful way, by polishing. And here again may be seen in it something resembling a lute. Asked about the provenance of these stones, M. Mourlot states that they have been here for a very long time (as far back as his father . . .). When he wants to add to his collection, he has stones sent from Central Europe: the banks of the Danube, near Pappenheim, the quarry at Solhofen .... Thus, these are German stones. Philosophic, with a taste for the arts. Hard, yet soft. Compact, heavy, slightly servile. Good: this will be useful later. These are not stones to sculpt, nor even to engrave. They are not meant to have their form modified by the artist. He must not turn them over, or look at them from behind. Nor must he lacerate them. These are not stones for the light, the sun. They are not at all like the stones of Alyscamps. No. Each must be treated like a page. But here, a warning! It concerns a very peculiar page. As