Carl Trödel
Charles Troedel - pioneer lithographer and publisher
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal (steel or aluminium) plate with a completely smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German author and actor Alois Senefelder.
Charles Troedel (1835–1906) was born Johannes Theodor Carl Trödel (1835 to 1906) in Hamburg but was known in Australia as Charles Troedel. He was the son of Carl Auguste Trödel and Maria Trödel and was an apprentice lithographer to his father at age 13. He arrived in Melbourne on the ship Great Britain on the 5th of February 1860 at Hobsons Bay in Williamstown. He completed an apprenticeship at a printing business run by Augustus William Schuhkrafft, who was a Norwegian living in Melbourne. In 1863 he set up a small workshop on Collins Street in Melbourne, which was the beginning of the successful business Troedel & Co which only went into liquidation in 2013. In Victoria Trödel was able to explore the techniques of lithography without the patent limitations that constrained his European counterparts. One of his friends was Mebourne's famous botanist Ferdinand von Mueller.[1]
Grimes, Rohead & Co. Ham & Bacon Curers / Troedel & Co.
[ca. 1881 - ca. 1890]
State Library of Victoria - H2008.94/87
His most notable work was a collection of prints called “The Melbourne Album” (subtitled “containing a series of views of Melbourne and country districts”). He became most successful in commercial advertising and with product labels.[2] He maintained good employee relations in his company and organised special events for his workers. In his obituary in January 1907 he was described as a “genial and courteous gentleman” and as one of “Melbourne's pioneer printers”.[3].
Castlemaine Standard Brewing Coy's Fine Ales / Troedel & Co.
[ca. 1881 - ca. 1900]
State Library of Victoria - H2000.180/193
De Leon's toilet soaps / Troedel & Co.
[1881]
State Library of Victoria - H96.160/314
♦ Notes:
1. Scardamaglia (2020), p.21
2. Scardamaglia (2020), p.28
3. cited on p.20 of Scardamaglia (2020)
♦ References:
Scardamaglia, Amanda. (2020). Printed on stone : the lithographs of Charles Troedel. Melbourne (Victoria) : Melbourne Books.