A Brush Stroke With Air :: Research Papers

A Brush Stroke With Air The history of the airbrush dates back further than most people imagine. Prehistoric man created some of the first airbrushed images on the cave walls of Lascaux and Pech-Merle in southern France over 35,000 years ago by blowing pigment through a hollow pipe probably made of bone. More Early History The latest findings indicate that Abner Peeler was the actual inventor of the modern airbrush in the year 1878. Peeler described his invention as a paint distributor. While the Walkup brothers ( Liberty & Charles ) promoted and manufactured the airbrush, Peeler is credited with refining and improving the airbrush. In 1889, Charles Burdick made significant improvements to the function and design of the airbrush. This led to his invention of the internal mix airbrush. Thayer and Chandler began manufacturing an internal mix airbrush in 1893. After several changes, the two file a patent for what will be known as the modern airbrush. Its patented features include a trigger mechanism that is attached to a valve used to control the airflow and a replaceable tip. Just one month after it’s invention, he had made the first airbrush picture ever. Three years later, in 1881, Mr. Peeler sold his invention, the world rights and his patents to Liberty Walkup for $700.00. In 1883, the Rockford Airbrush Company was founded by Walkup to manufacture and promote the first airbrush to the public. Further findings indicate that Peeler helped make two improvements to the airbrush for which he was paid $150.00. Liberty Walkup claims he was working on an airbrush at the same time as Peeler; however, he never seemed to be involved with inventing in any capacity while Peeler was a life-long inventor of some note. (Paschal 8) The modern airbrush was invented as a direct result of the popularity of re-rendered photographs. The airbrush can simulate the feel of a photograph due to its ability to spray very fine dots and to develop an image without brushstrokes. During the late 1890s, sepia-rendered photographs became so popular that the demand for color re-renderings led to sweat-shop-type employment for airbrush technicians. In some instances, up to one hundred technicians were employed to retouch and color photographs. The studio was set up in a Rubens-like manner, in which each technician dealt with only one particular segment of the entire composition – i.