Wanderers Between Worlds: Story Of The Ravi Varma Press

Established in 1894, the Ravi Varma Fine Arts Lithographic Press was, for some time, the largest picture printing establishment in India, and also the most innovative.

Several German technicians looked after the servicing and working of the machines and by extension, took part in the formulation of the modern Hindu pantheon.

He introduced the infrastructure necessary to run the steam-driven lithographic machinery, and maintained the biggest capital of the press, the store of lithographic master stones.

Under Schleicher's guidance, the press dismantled, shifted and reassembled at least twice between 1898 and 1901, first moving from Girgaum to Ghatkopar, and later to Malavli near Lonavla.

Under his supervision, the press became the largest picture-printing establishment in India. The quality of prints was very high and could be favourably compared with imported prints from Germany.

For the transfer of the pictures to stone, Schleicher relied on the artistic ability of another German lithographer, P. Gerhardt, who was also a talented painter and a master at foliated backgrounds.

If Gerhardt was a master of the backdrop, then Schleicher was known as a master of rendering human figures on stone.

Schleicher and Shriram Pant, a friend of the Varma brothers, leased the press from them in 1901. The working language at the press was German, as markings on original litho stones show.

Under the strict supervision of Schleicher and his German printers, the press became a virtual goldmine. The two machines at the press could produce up to 800 impressions per hour.

It is impossible to know from available evidence the true picture of profits or losses of the press. It is likely that Varma terminated his ownership of the press without overall loss or much profit.

What is understood, though, is that a more stringent business policy and better supervision of the press might have made Ravi Varma one of the richest men in India.