NALC History
The formation of the National Association of Litho Clubs began in 1945 when five individual litho clubs and two members of the trade press met to discuss the formation of a united, national organization. It was felt that a strong national unit could assist the welfare of each member club and extend the Litho Club movement. Instrumental in the effort to unite independent litho clubs in a national organization was W.W. Sullivan, president of the New York Litho Club in 1945. Sullivan initiated a July 27, 1945 meeting held, appropriately, at the Benjamin Franklin Hotel in Philadelphia. Attendees included representatives of the New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Connecticut Valley and Washington, D.C. litho clubs and the National Lithographer and Modern Lithography trade publications.
The first official organizational meeting was held on January 19, 1946 in New York. The meeting was called to order by the temporary chairman Al Rossotti of the New York Club at 10:45 am. and soon after that the National Association of Litho Clubs was born.
In addition to the five clubs which participated in the preliminary organizational meetings, the St. Louis, Cincinnati, Milwaukee and Dayton litho clubs were admitted as charter members. Chicago was the tenth club admitted at a later date. The first set of officers of the fledgling organization included Rossotti, president; William Stevens, Philadelphia, first vice-president; Ken Bitter, Baltimore, secretary; and Albert Tucker, Washington, treasurer.
Today there are 18 organizations officially recognized by the National Association of Litho Clubs. These organizations include 1,000 active and associate members. There are local clubs in Ann Arbor, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Connecticut Valley, East Bay, Fort Worth, High Desert, Kansas City (MO.), Kentucky/Indiana, Milwaukee, Mid-West, Redwood Empire, San Francisco, Reno, Twin Cities and Yosemite Area.
Alois Senefelder
The Litho Clubs of the NALC have recognized Alois Senefelder as their "patron saint" since 1954, when WD. Morgan, first vice president of the NALC urged the organization to honor Senefelder for his contributions to lithography. Senefelder invented the lithographic process, opening new vistas for thousands of men and women to accomplish their ideals as artists, cameramen, platemakers, pressmen and others associated with the lithographic industry.
The copyright for the Senefelder statuette was turned over to the NALC by Morgan and Rae Goss, then president of the Chicago Litho Club in 1956. Since that time, the Senefelder bust has been awarded to past Litho Club presidents with the stipulation that recipients must meet NALC's high standards for its club presidents.