Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Electrotyping" in English language version.
Some extremely important commissions were made in electrotypes, such as the "bronzes" that adorn the Opera, Paris, and the 320 cm high statue of Prince Albert and four accompanying figures, erected behind the Albert Hall in London as a memorial to the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Prince Albert statue was electrotyped by Elkington & Company of Birmingham, England, in 1861 and has recently been restored.The Memorial to the Great Exhibition was originally erected in the garden of the Royal Horticultural Society, and moved to its present location around 1890.
Perhaps one of the greatest forward steps in connection with electrotyping was made when the plating dynamo was invented. The first adoption of a dynamo, in place of the Smee type of battery, was by Leslie, of New York, in 1872.Primer for apprentices in the printing industry. Good short introduction to the history of electrotyping.
electroplating. The deposition of an adherent metal coating on a conductive object for protection, decoration, or other purposes, such as securing a surface with properties or dimensions different from those of the base metal. The object to be plated is placed in an electrolyte and connected to one terminal of a dc voltage source. The metal to be deposited is similarly immersed and connected to the other terminal.
electroforming. 3. The production or reproduction of articles by electrodeposition on a mandrel or mold that is subsequently separated from the deposit.
Twelve great gilt angels, taking the part of the caryatides, support consoles on which stand the bases of the pilasters which form the interior row of the dome and separate the windows. They are twenty-one feet high, and were made by the galvanoplastic process in four pieces, whose welding together is invisible. They could in this manner be made so light that, in spite of their dimensions, they would not be too heavy for the cupola. This crown of gilt angels, poised amid a flood of light, and shining with rich reflections, produces an extremely rich effect.This book incorporates a translation of Gautier, Théophile (1866). Voyage en Russie [Voyage in Russia] (in French). Charpentier. The angels were sculpted by Josef Hermann; see Rice, Christopher; Rice, Melanie (2010). DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: St. Petersburg. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-7566-6493-0..
Electrotypes generally cost some 25-30% less than traditionally cast work. Apart from this cost saving, it was argued that there were advantages to be had in the finishing process: 'It is not necessary to relieve the surface of that general roughness which is always the result of ordinary metal castings, and which, when not effected by an artist, often destroys the beauty of the modelling.' ('Electro-metallurgy', Art Journal, 1866, vol.5, pp.286-7). There were however adverse comments about the appearance of electrotypes which could seem rather bright until the surface gained a patina.
Charles-Alphonse-Achille Gumery, Harmony, 1869. Gilded galvanoplastic bronze, height: 24' 7 1/4, west facade attic group.
