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Title: The Evolution of Photography 

       With a Chronological Record of Discoveries, Inventions, etc., Contributions to Photographic Literature, and Personal Reminescences Extending over Forty Years





Author: John Werge







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  [Illustration: FIRST PERIOD.



  PAPER, ASPHALTUM, &C.



  THOMAS WEDGWOOD.

  _From a Plaster Cast._



  JOSEPH NICEPHORE NIEPCE.

  _From a Painting by L. Berger._



  Rev. J. B. READE.

  _From a Photograph

  by Maull & Fox._



  HENRY FOX TALBOT.

  _From a Calotype._



  SIR JOHN HERSCHEL.

  _From a Daguerreotype._]





THE EVOLUTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY.



With a Chronological Record of Discoveries, Inventions, Etc.,

Contributions to Photographic Literature, and

Personal Reminiscences Extending over Forty Years.



by



JOHN WERGE.



Illustrated.















London: Piper & Carter, 5, Furnival Street, Holborn, E.C.;

and John Werge, 11A, Berners Street, Oxford Street, W.

1890.



[All Rights Reserved.]



Printed by Piper & Carter, 5, Furnival Street, Holborn, London, E.C.









PREFACE.





No previous history of photography, that I am aware of, has ever assumed

the form of a reminiscence, nor have I met with a photographic work, of

any description, that is so strictly built upon a chronological

foundation as the one now placed in the hands of the reader. I therefore

think, and trust, that it will prove to be an acceptable and readable

addition to photographic literature.



It was never intended that this volume should be a text-book, so I have

not entered into elaborate descriptions of the manipulations of this or

that process, but have endeavoured to make it a comprehensive and

agreeable summary of all that has been done in the past, and yet convey

a perfect knowledge of all the processes as they have appeared and

effected radical changes in the practice of photography.



The chronological record of discoveries, inventions, appliances, and

publications connected with the art will, it is hoped, be received and

considered as a useful and interesting table of reference; while the

reminiscences, extending over forty years of unbroken contact with every

phase of photography, and some of its pioneers, will form a vital link

between the long past and immediate present, which may awaken pleasing

recollections in some, and give encouragement to others to enter the

field of experiment, and endeavour to continue the work of evolution.



At page 10 it is stated, on the authority of the late Robert Hunt, that

some of Niepce's early pictures may be seen at the British Museum. That

was so, but unfortunately it is not so now. On making application, very

recently, to examine these pictures, I ascertained that they were never

placed in the care of the curator of the British Museum, but were the

private property of the late Dr. Robert Brown, who left them to his

colleague, John Joseph Bennett, and that at the latter's death they

passed into the possession of his widow. I wrote to the lady making

enquiries about them, but have not been able to trace them further;

there are, however, two very interesting examples of Niepce's

heliographs, and one photo-etched plate and print, lent by Mr. H. P.

Robinson, on view at South Kensington, in the Western Gallery of the

Science Collection.



For the portrait of Thomas Wedgwood, I am indebted to Mr. Godfrey

Wedgwood; for that of Joseph Nicephore Niepce, to the Mayor of

Chalons-sur-Saone; for the Rev. J. B. Reade's, to Mr. Fox; for Sir John

Herschel's, to Mr. H. H. Cameron; for John Frederick Goddard's, to Dr.

Jabez Hogg; and for Frederick Scott Archer's, to Mr. Alfred Cade; and to

all those gentlemen I tender my most grateful acknowledgments. Also to

the Autotype Company, for their care and attention in carrying out my

wishes in the reproduction of all the illustrations by their beautiful

Collotype Process.



JOHN WERGE.



_London, June, 1890._









CONTENTS.





  INTRODUCTION                                                     1



  FIRST PERIOD.

    The Dark Ages                                                  3



  SECOND PERIOD.

    Publicity and Progress                                        27



  THIRD PERIOD.

    Collodion Triumphant                                          58



  FOURTH PERIOD.

    Gelatine Successful                                           95



  CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD.

    Inventions, Discoveries, etc.                                126



  CONTRIBUTIONS TO PHOTOGRAPHIC LITERATURE.                      140









LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.





  Frontispiece     Portrait of Thomas Wedgwood.



      "            Portrait of Joseph Nicephore Niepce.



      "            Portrait of Rev. J. B. Reade.



      "            Portrait of Henry Fox Talbot.



      "            Portrait of Sir John Herschel.



     27            Portrait of L. J. M. Daguerre.



     27            Portrait of John Frederick Goddard.



     27            Copy of Instantaneous Daguerreotype.



     58            Portrait of Frederick Scott Archer.



     58            Hever Castle, Kent.



     95            Portrait of Dr. R. L. Maddox.



     95            Portrait of Richard Kennett.









INDEX.





  Archer, Frederick Scott, 58-69

  Argentic Gelatino-Bromide Paper, 106

  Abney's Translation of Pizzighelli and Hubl's Booklet, 109

  A String of Old Beads, 309



  Bacon, Roger, 3

  Bennett, Charles, 102

  Boston, 51

  Bromine Accelerator, 29

  Bingham, Robert J., 87

  Burgess, J., 93



  Cabinet Portraits, 84

  Camera-Obscura, 3

  Chronological Record, 126-139

  Convention of 1889, 122

  Claudet, A. F. J., 29, 86

  Chlorine Accelerator, 29

  Collodion Process (Archer's), 68

  Collodio-Chloride Printing Process, 81



  Davy, Sir H., 9

  Daguerre, L. J. M., 9, 43

  Daguerreotype Process, 23, 24, 25

  ---- Apparatus Imported, 29

  Diaphanotypes, 71

  Dolland, J., 4

  Donkin, W. F., 120

  Draper, Dr., 107

  Dublin Exhibition, 205-226



  Eburneum Process, 82

  Elliott & Fry, 96

  Eosine, &c., 109

  Errors in Pictorial Backgrounds, 231



  First Photographic Portrait, 107

  Fizeau, M., 6, 28

  Flash-light Pictures, 118



  Gelatino-Bromide Experiments, 91

  Globe Lens, 78

  Goddard, John Frederick, 28, 79



  Harrison, W. H., 87

  Heliographic Process, 11, 12, 13

  Heliochromy, 88

  Herschel, Dr., 6

  Herschel, Sir John, 94

  Hillotypes, 71

  Hughes, Jabez, 55, 75

  Hunt, Robert, 117



  International Exhibitions, 42, 77, 82, 111



  Johnson, J. R., 107



  Kennett, R., 96



  Lambert, Leon, 98

  Laroche, Sylvester, 116

  Lea, Carey, 101

  "Lux Graphicus" on the Wing, 273-299

  Lights and Lighting, 311



  Maddox, Dr. R. L., 91

  Magic Photographs, 83

  Mawson, John, 85

  Mayall, J. E., 54

  Macbeth, Norman, 120

  Montreal, 51

  Morgan and Kidd, 106



  Newton, Sir Isaac, 3

  New York, 48, 71

  Niagara, 50

  Niepce, J. Nicephore, 9, 11

  Niepce de St. Victor, 88

  Niagara, Pictures of, 140-158

  Notes on Pictures in National Gallery, 245



  Orthochromatic Plates, 115



  Panoramic Lens and Camera, 76

  Pistolgraph, 76

  Pensions to Daguerre and Niepce, 33

  Philadelphia, 49

  Ponton, Mungo, 22, 103

  Poitevin, M., 85, 108

  Porta, Baptista G., 3

  Potash Bichromate, 22

  Pouncy Process, 78

  Pictures of the St. Lawrence, 158-169

  Pinhole Camera, 117

  Pizzighelli's Platinum Printing, 118

  Pictures of the Potomac, 183-196

  Photography in the North, 226-231

  Perspective, 237-244

  Photography and the Immured Pompeiians, 303



  Rambles among Studios, 196-204

  Reade, Rev. J. B., 15-22, 90

  Rejlander, O. G., 98

  Ritter, John Wm., 5

  Rumford, Count, 5

  Russell, Col., 117



  Sable Island, 47

  Salomon, Adam, 84

  Sawyer, J. R., 121

  Scheele, C. W., 4, 5

  Senebier, 5

  Simpson, George Wharton, 75, 103

  Soda Sulphite, 109

  Swan's Carbon Process, 80

  Stannotype, 107

  Sutton, Thomas, 100

  Spencer, J. A., 102

  Stereoscopic Pictures, 119

  Sharpness and Softness _v._ Hardness, 249

  Simple Mode of Intensifying Negatives, 307



  Talbot, Henry Fox, 14, 101

  Talbot versus Laroche, 54

  Taylor, Professor Alfred Swaine, 104

  The Hudson River, 169-183

  The Society's Exhibition, 260

  The Use of Clouds in Landscapes, 265

  ---- as Backgrounds in Portraiture, 269



  Union of the North and South London Societies, 253



  Vogel, Dr. H. W., 109



  Washington, 49

  Wedgwood Controversy, 80

  Wedgwood, Thomas, 7, 8, 9

  Whipple Gallery, 52

  Wolcott Reflecting Camera, 28

  Wollaston's Diaphragmatic Shutter, 115

  Wollaston, Dr., 6

  Woodbury Process, 82

  Wothlytype Printing Process, 81









INTRODUCTION.





Photography, though young in years, is sufficiently aged to be in danger

of having much of its early history, its infantile gambols, and vigorous

growth, obscured or lost sight of in the glitter and reflection of the

brilliant success which surrounds its maturity. Scarcely has the period

of an average life passed away since the labours of the successful

experimentalists began; yet, how few of the present generation of

workers can lay their fingers on the dates of the birth, christening,

and phases of the delightful vocation they pursue. Many know little or

nothing of the long and weary travail the minds of the discoverers

suffered before their ingenuity gave birth to the beautiful art-science

by which they live. What form the infant art assumed in the earlier

stages of its life; or when, where, and how, it passed from one phase to

another until it arrived at its present state of mature and profitable

perfection. Born with the art, as I may say, and having graduated in it,

I could, if I felt so disposed, give an interesting, if not amusing,

description of its rise and progress, and the many difficulties and

disappointments that some of the early practitioners experienced at a

time when photographic A B C's were not printed; its "principles and

practice" anything but familiarly explained; and when the "dark room"

was as dark as the grave, and as poisonous as a charnel-house, and only

occasionally illumined by the glare of a "bull's-eye." But it is not my

intention to enter the domain of romance, and give highly coloured or

extravagant accounts of the growth of so beautiful and fascinating an

art-science. Photography is sufficiently facetious in itself, and too

versatile in its powers of delineation of scenes and character, to

require any verbose effort of mine to make it attractive. A record of

bare facts is all I aim at. Whatever is doubtful I shall leave to the

imagination of the reader, or the invention of the romance writer. To

arrange in chronological order the various discoveries, inventions, and

improvements that have made photography what it is; to do honour to

those who have toiled and given, or sold, the fruits of their labour for

the advancement of the art; to set at rest, as far as dates can succeed

in doing so, any questionable point or order of precedence of merit in

invention, application, or modification of a process, and to enable the

photographic student to make himself acquainted with the epochs of the

art, is the extent of my ambition in compiling these records.



With the hope of rendering this work readily referable and most

comprehensive, I shall divide it into four periods. The first will deal

broadly and briefly with such facts as can be ascertained that in any

way bear on the accidental discovery, early researches, and ultimate

success of the pioneers of photography.



The second will embrace a fuller description of their successes and

results. The third will be devoted to a consideration of patents and

impediments; and the fourth to the rise and development of photographic

literature and art. A strict chronological arrangement of each period

will be maintained, and it is hoped that the advantages to be derived

from travelling some of the same ground over again in the various

divisions of the subject will fully compensate the reader, and be

accepted as sufficient excuse for any unavoidable repetition that may

appear in the work. With these few remarks I shall at once enter upon

the task of placing before the reader in chronological order the origin,

rise, progress, and development of the science and art of photography.









FIRST PERIOD.



THE DARK AGES.





More than three hundred years have elapsed since the influence and

actinism of light on chloride of silver was observed by the alchemists

of the sixteenth century. This discovery was unquestionably the first

thing that suggested to the minds of succeeding chemists and men of

science the possibility of obtaining pictures of solid bodies on a plane

surface previously coated with a silver salt by means of the sun's rays;

but the alchemists were too much absorbed in their vain endeavours to

convert the base metals into royal ones to seize the hint, and they lost

the opportunity of turning the silver compounds with which they were

acquainted into the mine of wealth it eventually became in the

nineteenth century. Curiously enough, a mechanical invention of the same

period was afterwards employed, with a very trifling modification, for

the production of the earliest sun-pictures. This was the camera-obscura

invented by Roger Bacon in 1297, and improved by a physician in Padua,

Giovanni Baptista Porta, about 1500, and afterwards remodelled by Sir

Isaac Newton.



Two more centuries passed away before another step was taken towards the

revelation of the marvellous fact that Nature possessed within herself

the power to delineate her own beauties, and, as has recently been

proved, that the sun could depict his own terrible majesty with a

rapidity and fidelity the hand of man could never attain. The second

step towards this grand achievement of science was the construction of

the double achromatic combination of lenses by J. Dolland. With single

combinations of lenses, such pictures as we see of ourselves to-day, and

such portraits of the sun as the astronomers obtained during the late

total eclipse, could never have been produced. J. Dolland, the eminent

optician, was born in London 1706, and died 1762; and had he not made

that important improvement in the construction of lenses, the eminent

photographic opticians of the present day might have lived and died

unknown to wealth and fame.



The observations of the celebrated Swedish chemist, Scheele, formed the

next interesting link between the simple and general blackening of a

lump of chloride of silver, and the gradations of blackening which

ultimately produced the photographic picture on a piece of paper

possessing a prepared surface of nitrate of silver and chloride of

sodium in combination. Scheele discovered in 1777 that the blackening of

the silver compound was due to the reducing power of light, and that the

black deposit was _reduced silver_; and it is precisely the same effect

of the action of light upon chloride of silver passing through the

various densities of the negative that produces the beautiful

photographic prints with which we are all familiar at the present time.

Scheele was also the first to discover and make known the fact that

chloride of silver was blackened or reduced to various depths by the

varying action of the prismatic colours. He fixed a glass prism in a

window, allowed the refracted sunbeams to fall on a piece of paper

strewn with _luna cornua_--fused chloride of silver--and saw that the

violet ray was more active than any of the other colours. Anyone, with a

piece of sensitised paper and a prism, or piece of a broken lustre, can

repeat and see for themselves Scheele's interesting discovery; and

anyone that can draw a head or a flower may catch a sunbeam in a small

magnifying glass, and make a drawing on sensitised paper with a pencil,

as long as the sun is distant from the earth. It is the old story of

Columbus and the egg--easy to do when you are shown or told how.



Charles William Scheele was born at Stralsund, Sweden, December 19th,

1742, and died at Koeping, on lake Moeler, May 21st, 1786. He was the

real father of photography, for he produced the first photographic

picture on record without camera and without lens, with the same

chemical compound and the same beautiful and wonderful combination of

natural colours which we now employ. Little did he dream what was to

follow. But photography, like everything else in this world, is a

process of evolution.



Senebier followed up Scheele's experiments with the solar spectrum, and

ascertained that chloride of silver was darkened by the violet ray in

fifteen minutes, while the red rays were sluggish, and required twenty

minutes to produce the same result.



John Wm. Ritter, born at Samitz, in Silesia, corroborated the

experiments of Scheele, and discovered that chloride of silver was

blackened beyond the spectrum on the violet side. He died in 1810; but

he had observed what is now called the fluorescent rays of the

spectrum--invisible rays which unquestionably exert themselves in the

interests and practice of photography.



Many other experiments were made by other chemists and philosophers on

the influence of light on various substances, but none of them had any

direct bearing on the subject under consideration until Count Rumford,

in 1798, communicated to the Royal Society his experiments with chloride

of gold. Count Rumford wetted a piece of taffeta ribbon with a solution

of chloride of gold, held it horizontally over the clear flame of a wax

candle, and saw that the heat decomposed the gold solution, and stained

the ribbon a beautiful purple. Though no revived gold was visible, the

ribbon appeared to be coated with a rich purple enamel, which showed a

metallic lustre of great brilliancy when viewed in the sunlight; but its

photographic value lay in the circumstance of the hint it afterwards

afforded M. Fizeau in applying a solution of chloride of gold, and, by

means of heat, depositing a fine film of metallic gold on the surface of

the Daguerreotype image, thereby increasing the brilliancy and

permanency of that form of photographic picture. A modification of M.

Fizeau's chloride of gold "fixing process" is still used to tone, and

imparts a rich purple colour to photographic prints on plain and

albumenized papers.



In 1800, Dr. Herschel's "Memoirs on the Heating Power of the Solar

Spectrum" were published, and out of his observations on the various

effects of differently coloured darkening glasses arose the idea that

the chemical properties of the prismatic colours, and coloured glass,

might be as different as those which related to heat and light. His

suspicions were ultimately verified, and hence the use of yellow or ruby

glass in the windows of the "dark room," as either of those coloured

glasses admit the luminous ray and restrain the violet or active

photographic ray, and allow all the operations that would otherwise have

to be performed in the dark, to be seen and done in comfort, and without

injury to the sensitive film.



The researches of Dr. Wollaston, in 1802, had very little reference to

photography beyond his examination of the chemical action of the rays of

the spectrum, and his observation that the yellow stain of gum guaiacum

was converted to a green colour in the violet rays, and that the red

rays rapidly destroyed the green tint the violet rays had generated.



1802 is, however, a memorable year in the dark ages of photography, and

the disappointment of those enthusiastic and indefatigable pursuers of

the sunbeam must have been grievous indeed, when, after years of labour,

they found the means of catching shadows as they fell, and discovered

that they could not keep them.



Thomas Wedgwood, son of the celebrated potter, was not only the first

that obtained photographic impressions of objects, but the first to make

the attempt to obtain sun-pictures in the true sense of the word.

Scheele had obtained the first photographic picture of the solar

spectrum, but it was by accident, and while pursuing other chemical

experiments; whereas Wedgwood went to work avowedly to make the sunbeam

his slave, to enlist the sun into the service of art, and to compel the

sun to illustrate art, and to depict nature more faithfully than art had

ever imitated anything illumined by the sun before. How far he succeeded

everyone should know, and no student of photography should ever tire of

reading the first published account of his fascinating pastime or

delightful vocation, if it were but to remind him of the treasures that

surround him, and the value of hyposulphite of soda. What would Thomas

Wedgwood not have given for a handful of that now common commodity?

There is a mournfulness in the sentence relative to the evanescence of

those sun-pictures in the Memoir by Wedgwood and Davy that is peculiarly

impressive and desponding contrasted with our present notions of

instability. We know that sun-pictures will, at the least, last for

years, while they knew that at the most they would endure but for a few

hours. The following extracts from the Memoir published in June, 1802,

will, it is hoped, be found sufficiently interesting and in place here

to justify their insertion.



"White paper, or white leather moistened with solution of nitrate of

silver, undergoes no change when kept in a dark place, but on being

exposed to the daylight it speedily changes colour, and after passing

through different shades of grey and brown becomes at length nearly

black.... In the direct beams of the sun, two or three minutes are

sufficient to produce the full effect, in the shade several hours are

required, and light transmitted through different coloured glasses acts

upon it with different degrees of intensity. Thus it is found that red

rays, or the common sunbeams passed through red glass, have very little

action upon it; yellow and green are more efficacious, but blue and

violet light produce the most decided and powerful effects.... When the

shadow of any figure is thrown upon the prepared surface, the part

concealed by it remains white, and the other parts speedily become dark.

For copying paintings on glass, the solution should be applied on

leather, and in this case it is more readily acted on than when paper is

used. After the colour has been once fixed on the leather or paper, it

cannot be removed by the application of water, or water and soap, and it

is in a high degree permanent. The copy of a painting or the profile,

immediately after being taken, must be kept in an obscure place; it may

indeed be examined in the shade, but in this case the exposure should be

only for a few minutes; by the light of candles or lamps as commonly

employed it is not sensibly affected.



"No attempts that have been made to prevent the uncoloured parts of the

copy or profile from being acted upon by the light have as yet been

successful. They have been covered by a thin coating of fine varnish,

but this has not destroyed their susceptibility of becoming coloured,

and even after repeated washings, sufficient of the active part of the

saline matter will adhere to the white parts of leather or paper to

cause them to become dark when exposed to the rays of the sun....



"The images formed by means of a camera-obscura have been found to be too

faint to produce, in any moderate time, an effect upon the nitrate of

silver. To copy these images was the first object of Mr. Wedgwood, in

his researches on the subject, and for this purpose he first used the

nitrate of silver, which was mentioned to him by a friend, as a

substance very sensible to the influence of light; but all his numerous

experiments as to their primary end proved unsuccessful."



From the foregoing extracts from the first lecture on photography that

ever was delivered or published, it will be seen that those two eminent

philosophers and experimentalists despaired of obtaining pictures in the

camera-obscura, and of rendering the pictures obtained by superposition,

or cast shadows, in any degree permanent, and that they were utterly

ignorant and destitute of any fixing agents. No wonder, then, that all

further attempts to pursue these experiments should, for a time, be

abandoned in England. Although Thomas Wedgwood's discoveries were not

published until 1802, he obtained his first results in 1791, and does

not appear to have made any appreciable advance during the remainder of

his life. He was born in 1771, and died in 1805. Sir Humphry Davy was

born at Penzance 1778, and died at Geneva in 1828, so that neither of

them lived to see the realization of their hopes.



From the time that Wedgwood and Davy relinquished their investigation,

the subject appears to have lain dormant until 1814, when Joseph

Nicephore Niepce, of Chalons-sur-Saone, commenced a series of experiments

with various resins, with the object of securing or retaining in a

permanent state the pictures produced in the camera-obscura, and in

1824, L. J. M. Daguerre turned his attention to the same subject. These

two investigators appear to have carried on their experiments in

different ways, and in total ignorance of the existence and pursuits of

the other, until the year 1826, when they accidentally became acquainted

with each other and the nature of their investigations. Their

introduction and reciprocal admiration did not, however, induce them to

exchange their ideas, or reveal the extent of their success in the

researches on which they were occupied, and which both were pursuing so

secretly and guardedly. They each preserved a marked reticence on the

subject for a considerable time, and it was not until a deed of

partnership was executed between them that they confided their hopes and

fears, their failures with this substance, and their prospects of

success with that; and even after the execution of the deed of

partnership they seem to have jealously withheld as much of their

knowledge as they decently could under the circumstances.



Towards the close of 1827 M. Niepce visited England, and we receive the

first intimation of his success in the production of light-drawn

pictures from a note addressed to Mr. Bauer, of Kew. It is rather

curious and flattering to find that the earliest intimation of the

Frenchman's success is given in England. The note which M. Niepce wrote

to Mr. Bauer is in French, but the following is a translation of the

interesting announcement:--"Kew, 19th November, 1827. Sir,--When I left

France to reside here, I was engaged in researches on the way to retain

the image of objects by the action of light. I have obtained some

results which make me eager to proceed.... Nicephore Niepce." This is

the first recorded announcement of his partial success.



In the following December he communicated with the Royal Society of

London, and showed several pictures on metal plates. Most of these

pictures were specimens of his successful experiments with various

resins, and the subjects were rendered visible to the extent which the

light had assisted in hardening portions of the resin-covered plates.

Some were etchings, and had been subjected to the action of acid after

the design had been impressed by the action of light. Several of these

specimens, I believe, are still extant, and may be seen on application

to the proper official at the British Museum. M. Niepce named these

results of his researches Heliography, and Mr. Robert Hunt gives their

number, and a description of each subject, in his work entitled,

"Researches on Light." M. Niepce met with some disappointment in England

on account of the Royal Society refusing to receive his communication as

a secret, and he returned to France rather hurriedly. In a letter dated

"Chalons-sur-Saone, 1st March, 1828," he says, "We arrived here 26th

February"; and, in a letter written by Daguerre, February 3rd, 1828, we

find that savant consoling his brother experimentalist for his lack of

encouragement in England.



In December, 1829, the two French investigators joined issue by

executing a deed of co-partnery, in which they agreed to prosecute their

researches in future in mutual confidence and for their joint advantage;

but their interchange of thought and experience does not appear to have

been of much value or advantage to the other; for an examination of the

correspondence between MM. Niepce and Daguerre tends to show that the

one somewhat annoyed the other by sticking to his resins, and the other

one by recommending the use of iodine. M. Niepce somewhat ungraciously

expresses regret at having wasted so much time in experimenting with

iodine at M. Daguerre's suggestion, but ultimate results fully justified

Daguerre's recommendation, and proved that he was then on the right

track, while M. Niepce's experiments with resins, asphaltum, and

other substances terminated in nothing but tedious manipulations,

lengthy exposures, and unsatisfactory results. To M. Niepce, most

unquestionably, is due the honour of having produced the first permanent

sun-pictures, for we have seen that those obtained by Wedgwood and Davy

were as fleeting as a shadow, while those exhibited by M. Niepce in 1827

are still in their original condition, and, imperfect as they are, they

are likely to retain their permanency for ever. Their fault lay in

neither possessing beauty nor commercial applicability.



As M. Niepce died at Chalons-sur-Saone in 1833, and does not appear to

have improved his process much, if any, after entering into partnership

with M. Daguerre, and as I may not have occasion to allude to him or his

researches again, I think this will be the most fitting place to give a

brief description of his process, and his share in the labours of

bringing up the wonderful baby of science, afterwards named Photography,

to a safe and ineffaceable period of its existence.



The Heliographic process of M. Niepce consists of a solution of

asphaltum, bitumen of Judea, being spread on metal or glass plates,

submitted to the action of light either by superposition or in the

camera, and the unaffected parts dissolved away afterwards by means of a

suitable solvent. But, in case any student of photography should like to

produce one of the first form of permanent sun-pictures, I shall give

here the details of M. Niepce's own _modus operandi_ for preparing the

solution of bitumen and coating the plate:--



"I about half fill a wine-glass with this pulverised bitumen; I pour

upon it, drop by drop, the essential oil of lavender until the bitumen

is completely saturated. I afterwards add as much more of the essential

oil as causes the whole to stand about three lines above the mixture,

which is then covered and submitted to a gentle heat until the essential

oil is fully impregnated with the colouring matter of the bitumen. If

this varnish is not of the required consistency, it is to be allowed to

evaporate slowly, without heat, in a shallow dish, care being taken to

protect it from moisture, by which it is injured and at last decomposed.

In winter, or in rainy weather, the precaution is doubly necessary. A

tablet of plated silver, or well cleaned and warm glass, is to be highly

polished, on which a thin coating of the varnish is to be applied cold,

with a light roll of very soft skin; this will impart to it a fine

vermilion colour, and cover it with a very thin and equal coating. The

plate is then placed upon heated iron, which is wrapped round with

several folds of paper, from which, by this method, all moisture had

been previously expelled. When the varnish has ceased to simmer, the

plate is withdrawn from the heat, and left to cool and dry in a gentle

temperature, and protected from a damp atmosphere. In this part of the

operation a light disc of metal, with a handle in the centre, should be

held before the mouth, in order to condense the moisture of the breath."



In the foregoing description it will be observed how much importance M.

Niepce attached to the necessity of protecting the solution and prepared

plate from moisture, and that no precautions are given concerning the

effect of white light. It must be remembered, however, that the

material employed was very insensitive, requiring many hours of exposure

either in the camera or under a print or drawing placed in contact with

the prepared surface, and consequently such precaution might not have

been deemed necessary. Probably M. Niepce worked in a subdued light, but

there can be no doubt about the necessity of conducting both the

foregoing operations in yellow light. Had M. Niepce performed his

operations in a non-actinic light, the plates would certainly have been

more sensitive, and the unacted-on parts would have been more soluble;

thus rendering both the time of exposure and development more rapid.



After the plate was prepared and dried, it was exposed in the camera, or

by superposition, under a print, or other suitable subject, that would

lie flat. For the latter, an exposure of two or three hours in bright

sunshine was necessary, and the former required six or eight hours in a

strong light. Even those prolonged exposures did not produce a visible

image, and the resultant picture was not revealed to view until after a

tedious process of dissolving, for it could scarcely be called

development. M. Niepce himself says, "The next operation then is to

disengage the _shrouded_ imagery, and this is accomplished by a

solvent." The solvent consisted of one measure of the essential oil of

lavender and ten of oil of white petroleum or benzole. On removing the

tablet from the camera or other object, it was plunged into a bath of

the above solvent, and left there until the parts not hardened by light

were dissolved. When the picture was fully revealed, it was placed at an

angle to drain, and finished by washing it in water.



Except for the purpose of after-etching, M. Niepce's process was of

little commercial value then, but it has since been of some service in

the practice of photo-lithography. That, I think, is the fullest extent

of the commercial or artistic advantages derived from the utmost success

of M. Niepce's discoveries; but what he considered his failures, the

fact that he employed copper plates coated with silver for his

heliographic tablets, and endeavoured to darken the clean or clear parts

of the silvered plates with the fumes of iodine for the sake of contrast

only, may be safely accepted as the foundation of Daguerre's ultimate

success in discovering the extremely beautiful and workable process

known as the Daguerreotype.



M. Niepce appears to have done very little more towards perfecting the

heliographic process after joining Daguerre; but the latter effected

some improvements, and substituted for the bitumen of Judea the residuum

obtained by evaporating the essential oil of lavender, without, however,

attaining any important advance in that direction. After the death of M.

Nicephore Niepce, a new agreement was entered into by his son, M.

Isidore Niepce, and M. Daguerre, and we must leave those two

experimentalists pursuing their discoveries in France while we return to

England to pick up the chronological links that unite the history of

this wonderful discovery with the time that it was abandoned by Wedgwood

and Davy, and the period of its startling and brilliant realization.



In 1834, Mr. Henry Fox Talbot, of Lacock Abbey, Wilts, "began to put in

practice," as he informs us in his memoir read before the Royal Society,

a method which _he_ "had _devised_ some time previously, for employing

to purposes of utility the very curious property which has been long

known to chemists to be possessed by the nitrate of silver--namely, to

discolouration when exposed to the violet rays of light." The statement

just quoted places us at once on the debateable ground of our subject,

and compels us to pause and consider to what extent photography is

indebted to Mr. Talbot for its further development at this period and

five years subsequently. In the first place, it is not to be supposed

for a moment that a man of Mr. Talbot's position and education could

possibly be ignorant of what had been done by Mr. Thomas Wedgwood and

Sir Humphry Davy. Their experiments were published in the Journal of

the Royal Institution of Great Britain in June, 1802, and Mr. Talbot or

some of his friends could not have failed to have seen or heard of those

published details; and, in the second place, a comparison between the

last records of Wedgwood and Davy's experiments, and the first published

details of Mr. Talbot's process, shows not only that the two processes

are identically the same, but that Mr. Talbot published his process

before he had made a single step in advance of Wedgwood and Davy's

discoveries; and that his fixing solution was not a fixer at all, but

simply a retardant that delayed the gradual disappearance of the picture

only a short time longer. Mr. Talbot has generally been credited with

the honour of producing the first permanent sun-pictures on paper; but

there are grave reasons for doubting the justice of that honour being

entirely, if at all, due to him, and the following facts and extracts

will probably tend to set that question at rest, and transfer the laurel

to another brow.



To the late Rev. J. B. Reade is incontestably due the honour of having

first applied tannin as an accelerator, and hyposulphite of soda as a

fixing agent, to the production and retention of light-produced

pictures; and having first obtained an ineffaceable photograph upon

paper. Mr. Talbot's gallate of silver process was not patented or

published till 1841; whereas the Rev. J. B. Reade produced paper

negatives by means of gallic acid and nitrate of silver in 1837. It will

be remembered that Mr. Wedgwood had discovered and stated that the

chloride of silver was more sensitive when applied to white leather, and

Mr. Reade, by inductive reasoning, came to the conclusion that tanned

paper and silver would be more sensitive to light than ordinary paper

coated with nitrate of silver could possibly be. As the reverend

philosopher's ideas on that subject are probably the first that ever

impregnated the mind of man, and as his experiments and observations are

the very earliest in the pursuit of a gallic acid accelerator and

developer, I will give them in his own words.--"No one can dispute my

claim to be the first to suggest the use of gallic acid as a sensitiser

for prepared paper, and hyposulphite of soda as a fixer. These are the

keystones of the arch at which Davy and Young had laboured--or, as I may

say in the language of another science, we may vary the tones as we

please, but here is the fundamental base. My use of gallate of silver

was the result of an inference from Wedgwood's experiments with leather,

'which is more readily acted upon than paper' (_Journal of the Royal

Institution_, vol. i., p. 171). Mrs. Reade was so good as to give me a

pair of light-coloured leather gloves, that I might repeat Wedgwood's

experiment, and, as my friend Mr. Ackerman reminds me, her little

objection to let me have a second pair led me to say, 'Then I will tan

paper.' Accordingly I used an infusion of galls in the first instance in

the early part of the year 1837, when I was engaged in taking

photographs of microscopic objects. By a new arrangement of lenses in

the solar microscope, I produced a convergence of the rays of light,

while the rays of heat, owing to their different refractions, were

parallel or divergent. This fortunate dispersion of the calorific rays

enabled me to use objects mounted in balsam, as well as cemented

achromatic object glasses; and, indeed, such was the coolness of the

illumination, that even _infusoria_ in single drops of water were

perfectly happy and playful (_vide_ abstracts of the 'Philosophical

Transactions,' December 22nd, 1836). The continued expense of an

artist--though, at first, I employed my friend, Lens Aldons--to copy the

pictures on the screen was out of the question. I therefore fell back,

but without any sanguine expectations as to the result, upon the

photographic process adopted by Wedgwood, with which I happened to be

well acquainted. It was a _weary while_, however, before any

satisfactory impression was made, either on chloride or nitrate paper. I

succeeded better with the leather; but my fortunate inability to

replenish the little stock of this latter article induced me to apply

the tannin solution to paper, and thus I was at once placed, by a very

decided step, in advance of earlier experimenters, and I had the

pleasure of succeeding where Talbot acknowledges that he failed.



"Naturally enough, the solution which I used at first was too strong,

but, if you have ever been in what I may call _the agony of a find_, you

can conceive my sensations on witnessing the unwilling paper become in a

few seconds almost as black as my hat. There was just a passing glimpse

of outline, 'and in a moment all was dark.' It was evident, however,

that I was in possession of all, and more than all, I wanted, and that

the dilution of so powerful an accelerator would probably give

successful results. The large amount of dilution greatly surprised me;

and, indeed, before I obtained a satisfactory picture, the quantity of

gallic acid in the infusion must have been quite homoeopathic; but

this is in exact accordance with modern practice and known laws. In

reference to this point, Sir John Herschel, writing from Slough, in

April, 1840, says to Mr. Redman, then of Peckham (where I had resided),

'I am surprised at the weak solution employed, and how, with such, you

have been able to get a depth of shadow sufficient for so very sharp a

re-transfer is to me marvellous.' I may speak of Mr. Redmond as a

photographic pupil of mine, and at my request, he communicated the

process to Sir John, which, 'on account of the extreme clearness and

sharpness of the results,' to use Sir John's words, much interested him.



"Dr. Diamond also, whose labours are universally appreciated, first saw

my early attempts at Peckham in 1837, and heard of my use of gallate of

silver, and was thus led to adopt what Admiral Smyth then called 'a

quick mode of taking bad pictures'; but, as I told the Admiral in reply,

he was born a _baby_. Whether our philosophical baby is 'out of its

teens' may be a question; at all events, it is a very fine child, and

handles the pencil of nature with consummate skill.



"But of all the persons who heard of my new accelerator, it is most

important to state that my old and valued friend, the late Andrew Ross,

told Mr. Talbot how first of all, by means of the solar microscope, I

threw the image of the object on prepared paper, and then, while the

paper was yet wet, washed it over with the infusion of galls, when a

sufficiently dense negative was quickly obtained. In the celebrated

trial, "Talbot _versus_ Laroche," Mr. Talbot, in his cross-examination,

and in an almost breathless court, acknowledged that he had received

this information from Ross, and from that moment it became the

unavoidable impression that he was scarcely justified in taking out a

patent for applying my accelerator to any known photogenic paper.



"The three known papers were those impregnated with the nitrate,

chloride, and the iodide of silver--the two former used by Wedgwood and

Young, and the latter by Davy. It is true that Talbot says of the iodide

of silver that it is quite insensitive to light, and so it is as he

makes it; but when he reduces it to the condition described by

Davy--viz., affected by the presence of a little free nitrate of

silver--then he must acknowledge, with Davy, that 'it is far more

sensitive to the action of light than either the nitrate or the muriate,

and is evidently a distinct compound.' In this state, also, the infusion

of galls or gallic acid is, as we all know, most decided and

instantaneous, and so I found it to be in my early experiments. Of

course I tried the effects of my accelerator on many salts of silver,

but especially upon the iodide, in consequence of my knowledge of Davy's

papers on iodine in the 'Philosophical Transactions.' These I had

previously studied, in conjunction with my chemical friend, Mr. Hodgson,

then of Apothecaries' Hall. I did not, however, use iodised paper, which

is well described by Talbot in the _Philosophical Magazine_ for March,

1838, as a _substitute_ for other sensitive papers, but only as one

among many experiments alluded to in my letter to Mr. Brayley.



"My pictures were exhibited at the Royal Society, and also at Lord

Northampton's, at his lordship's request, in April, 1839, when Mr.

Talbot also exhibited his. In my letter to Mr. Brayley, I did not

describe iodised pictures, and, therefore, it was held that exhibition

in the absence of description left the process legally unknown. Mr.

Talbot consequently felt justified in taking out a patent for uniting my

_known_ accelerator with Davy's _known_ sensitive silver compound,

adopting my method (already communicated to him) with reference to

Wedgwood's papers, and adding specific improvements in manipulation.

Whatever varied opinion may consequently be formed as to the defence of

the patent in court, there can be but one as to the skill of the

patentee.



"It is obvious that, in the process so conducted by me with the solar

microscope, I was virtually _within_ my camera, standing between the

object and the prepared paper. Hence the exciting and developing

processes were conducted under _one operation_ (subsequently patented by

Talbot), and the fact of a latent image being brought out was not forced

upon my attention. I did, however, perceive this phenomenon upon one

occasion, after I had been suddenly called away, when taking an

impression of the _Trientalis Europaea_--and surprised enough I was, and

stood in astonishment to look at it. But with all this, I was only, as

the judge said, "_very hot_." I did not realize the _master fact_ that

the latent image which had been developed was the basis of photographic

manipulation. The merit of this discovery is Talbot's, and his only, and

I honour him greatly for his skill and earlier discernment. I was,

indeed, myself fully aware that the image darkened under the influence

of my sensitiser, while I placed my hand before the lens of the

instrument to stop out the light; and my solar mezzotint, as I then

termed it, was, in fact, brought out and perfected under my own eye by

the agency of gallic acid in the infusion, rather than by the influence

of direct solar action. But the notion of developing a latent image in

these microscopic photographs never crossed my mind, even after I had

witnessed such development in the _Trientalis Europaea_. My original

notion was that the infusion of galls, added to the wet chloride or

nitrate paper while the picture was thrown upon it, produced only a new

and highly sensitive compound; whereas, by its peculiar and continuous

action after the first impact of light on the now sensitive paper, I was

also, as Talbot has shown, employing its property of development as well

as excitement. My ignorance of its properties was no bar to its action.

However, I threw the _ball_, and Talbot caught it, and no man can be

more willing than myself to acknowledge our obligations to this

distinguished photographer. He compelled the world to listen to him, and

he had something worth hearing to communicate; and it is a sufficient

return to me that he publicly acknowledged his obligation to me, with

reference to what Sir David Brewster calls 'an essential part of his

patent' (_vide North British Review_, No. 14 article--'Photography').



"Talbot did not patent my valuable fixer. Here I had the advantage of

having published my use of hyposulphite of soda, which Mr. Hodgson made

for me in 1837, when London did not contain an ounce of it for sale. The

early operators had no fixer; that was _their fix_; and, so far as any

record exists, they got no further in this direction than 'imagining

some experiments on the subject!' I tried ammonia, but it acted too

energetically on the picture itself to be available for the purpose. It

led me, however, to the ammonia nitrate process of printing positives, a

description of which process (though patented by Talbot in 1843) I sent

to a photographic brother in 1839, and a quotation from my letter of

that date has already appeared in one of my communications to _Notes and

Queries_. On examining Brande's Chemistry, under the hope of still

finding the desired solvent which should have a greater affinity for the

simple silver compound on the uncoloured part of the picture than for

the portion blackened by light, I happened to see it stated, on Sir John

Herschel's authority, that hyposulphite of soda dissolves chloride of

silver. I need not now say that I used this fixer with success. The

world, however, would not have been long without it, for, when Sir John

himself became a photographer in the following year, he first of all

used hyposulphite of ammonia, and then permanently fell back upon the

properties of his other compound. Two of my solar microscope negatives,

taken in 1837, and exhibited with several others by Mr. Brayley in 1839

as illustrations of my letter and of his lecture at the London

Institution, are now in the possession of the London Photographic

Society. They are, no doubt, the earliest examples of the agency of two

chemical compounds which will be co-existent with photography itself,

viz., gallate of silver and hyposulphite of soda, and my use of them, as

above described, will sanction my claim to be the first to take paper

pictures rapidly, and to fix them permanently.



"Such is a short account of my contribution to this interesting branch

of science, and, in the pleasure of the discovery, I have a sufficient

reward."



These lengthy extracts from the Rev. Mr. Reade's published letter render

further comment all but superfluous, but I cannot resist taking

advantage of the opportunity here afforded of pointing out to all lovers

of photography and natural justice that the progress of the discovery

has advanced to a far greater extent by Mr. Reade's reasoning and

experiments than it was by Mr. Talbot's ingenuity. The latter, as Mr.

Reade observes, only "caught the ball" and threw it into the Patent

Office, with some improvements in the manipulations. Mr. Reade

generously ascribes all honour and glory to Mr. Talbot for his

shrewdness in seizing what he had overlooked, viz., the development of

the latent image; but there is a quiet current of rebuke running all

through Mr. Reade's letter about the justice of patenting a known

sensitiser and a known accelerator, which he alone had combined and

applied to the successful production of a negative on paper. Mr.

Talbot's patent process was nothing more, yet he endeavoured to secure

a monopoly of what was in substance the discovery and invention of

another. Mr. Talbot was either very precipitate, or ill-advised, to rush

to the Patent Office with his modification, and even at this distant

date it is much to be regretted that he did so, for his rash act has,

unhappily for photography, proved a pernicious precedent. Mr. Reade gave

his discoveries to the world freely, and the "pleasure of the discovery"

was "a sufficient reward." All honour to such discoverers. They, and

they only, are the true lovers of science and art, who take up the torch

where another laid it down, or lost it, and carry it forward another

stage towards perfection, without sullying its brightness or dimming the

flame with sordid motives.



The Rev. J. B. Reade lived to see the process _he_ discovered and

watched over in its embryo state, developed with wondrous rapidity into

one of the most extensively applied arts of this marvellous age, and

died, regretted and esteemed by all who knew him, December 12th, 1870.

Photographers, your occupations are his monument, but let his name be a

tablet on your hearts, and his unselfishness your emulation!



The year 1838 gave birth to another photographic discovery, little

thought of and of small promise at the time, but out of which have

flowed all the various modifications of solar and mechanical carbon

printing. This was the discovery of Mr. Mungo Ponton, who first observed

and announced the effects of the sun's rays upon bichromate of potash.

But that gentleman was unwise in his generation, and did not patent his

discovery, so a whole host of patent locusts fell upon the field of

research in after years, and quickly seized the manna he had left, to

spread on their own bread. Mr. Mungo Ponton spread a solution of

bichromate of potash upon paper, submitted it under a suitable object to

the sun's rays, and told all the world, without charge, that the light

hardened the bichromate to the extent of its action, and that the

unacted-upon portions could be dissolved away, leaving the object

_white_ upon a yellow or orange ground. Other experimenters played

variations on Mr. Ponton's bichromate scale, and amongst the performers

were M. E. Becquerel, of France, and our own distinguished countryman,

Mr. Robert Hunt.



During the years that elapsed between the death of M. Niepce and the

period to which I have brought these records, little was heard or known

of the researches of M. Daguerre, but he was not idle, nor had he

abandoned his iodine ideas. He steadily pursued his subject, and worked

with a continuity that gained him the unenviable reputation of a

lunatic. His persistency created doubts of his sanity, but he toiled on

_solus_, confident that he was not in pursuit of an impossibility, and

sanguine of success. That success came, hastened by lucky chance, and

early in January, 1839, M. Daguerre announced the interesting and

important fact that the problem was solved. Pictures in the

camera-obscura could be, not only seen, but caught and retained. M.

Daguerre had laboured, sought, and found, and the bare announcement of

his wonderful discovery electrified the world of science.



The electric telegraph could not then flash the fascinating intelligence

from Paris to London, but the news travelled fast, nevertheless, and the

unexpected report of M. Daguerre's triumph hurried Mr. Talbot forward

with a similar statement of success. Mr. Talbot declared his triumph on

the 31st of January, 1839, and published in the following month the

details of a process which was little, if any, in advance of that

already known.



Daguerre delayed the publication of his process until a pension of six

thousand francs per annum had been secured to himself, and four thousand

francs per annum to M. Isidore Niepce for life, with a reversion of

one-half to their widows. In the midst of political and social struggles

France was proud of the glory of such a marvellous discovery, and

liberally rewarded her fortunate sons of science with honourable

distinction and substantial emolument. She was proud and generous to a

chivalrous extent, for she pensioned her sons that she might have the

"glory of endowing the world of science and of art with one of the most

surprising discoveries" that had been made on her soil; and, because she

considered that "the invention did not admit of being secured by

patent;" but avarice and cupidity frustrated her noble and generous

intentions in this country, and England alone was harassed with

injunctions and prosecutions, while all the rest of the world

participated in the pleasure and profits of the noble gift of France.



In July, 1839, M. Daguerre divulged his secret at the request and

expense of the French Government, and the process which bore his name

was found to be totally different, both in manipulation and effect, from

any sun-pictures that had been obtained in England. The Daguerreotype

was a latent image produced by light on an iodised silver plate, and

developed, or made visible, by the fumes of mercury; but the resultant

picture was one of the most shimmering and vapoury imaginable, wanting

in solidity, colour, and firmness. In fact, photography as introduced by

M. Daguerre was in every sense a wonderfully shadowy and all but

invisible thing, and not many removes from the dark ages of its

creation. The process was extremely delicate and difficult, slow and

tedious to manipulate, and too insensitive to be applied to portraiture

with any prospect of success, from fifteen to twenty minutes' exposure

in bright sunshine being necessary to obtain a picture. The mode of

proceeding was as follows:--A copper plate with a coating of silver was

carefully cleaned and polished on the silvered side, that was placed,

silver side downwards, over a vessel containing iodine in crystals,

until the silvered surface assumed a golden-yellow colour. The plate was

then transferred to the camera-obscura, and submitted to the action of

light. After the plate had received the requisite amount of exposure, it

was placed over a box containing mercury, the fumes of which, on the

application of a gentle heat, developed the latent image. The picture

was then washed in salt and water, or a solution of hyposulphite of

soda, to remove the iodide of silver, washed in clean water afterwards,

and dried, and the Daguerreotype was finished according to Daguerre's

first published process.



The development of the latent image by mercury subliming was the most

marvellous and unlooked-for part of the process, and it was for that

all-important thing that Daguerre was entirely indebted to chance.

Having put one of his apparently useless iodized and exposed silver

plates into a cupboard containing a pot of mercury, Daguerre was greatly

surprised, on visiting the cupboard some time afterwards, to find the

blank looking plate converted into a visible picture. Other plates were

iodized and exposed and placed in the cupboard, and the same mysterious

process of development was repeated, and it was not until this thing and

the other thing had been removed and replaced over and over again, that

Daguerre became aware that quicksilver, an article that had been used

for making mirrors and reflecting images for years, was the developer of

the invisible image. It was indeed a most marvellous and unexpected

result. Daguerre had devoted years of labour and made numberless

experiments to obtain a transcript of nature drawn by her own hand, but

all his studied efforts and weary hours of labour had only resulted in

repeated failures and disappointments, and it appeared that Nature

herself had grown weary of his bungling, and resolved to show him the

way.



The realization of his hopes was more accidental than inferential. The

compounds with which he worked, neither produced a visible nor a latent

image capable of being developed with any of the chemicals with which he

was experimenting. At last accident rendered him more service than

reasoning, and occult properties produced the effect his mental and

inductive faculties failed to accomplish; and here we observe the great

difference between the two successful discoverers, Reade and Daguerre.

At this stage of the discovery I ignore Talbot's claim in _toto_. Reade

arrived at his results by reasoning, experiment, observation, and

judiciously weakening and controlling the re-agent he commenced his

researches with. He had the infinite pleasure and disappointment of

seeing his first picture flash into existence, and disappear again

almost instantly, but in that instant he saw the cause of his success

and failure, and his inductive reasoning reduced his failure to success;

whereas Daguerre _found_ his result, was puzzled, and utterly at a loss

to account for it, and it was only by a process of blind-man's bluff in

his chemical cupboard that he laid his hands on the precious pot of

mercury that produced the visible image.



That was a discovery, it is true; but a bungling one, at best. Daguerre

only worked intelligently with one-half of the elements of success; the

other was thrust in his way, and the most essential part of his

achievement was a triumphant accident. Daguerre did half the work--or,

rather, one-third--light did the second part, and chance performed the

rest, so that Daguerre's share of the honour was only one-third. Reade

did two-thirds of the process, the first and third, intelligently;

therefore to him alone is due the honour of discovering practical

photography. His was a successful application of known properties, equal

to an invention; Daguerre's was an accidental result arising from

unknown causes and effects, and consequently a discovery of the lowest

order. To England, then, and not to France, is the world indebted for

the discovery of photography, and in the order of its earliest,

greatest, and most successful discoverers and advancers, I place the

Rev. J. B. Reade first and highest.





  [Illustration: SECOND PERIOD.



  DAGUERREOTYPE.



  L. J. M. DAGUERRE.

  _Used Iodine, 1839._



  JOHN FREDERICK GODDARD.

  _Applied Bromine, 1840._



  NEW YORK.

  _Copy of Instantaneous Daguerreotype, 1854._]









SECOND PERIOD.



PUBLICITY AND PROGRESS.





1839 has generally been accepted as the year of the birth of Practical

Photography, but that may now be considered an error. It was, however,

the Year of Publicity, and the progress that followed with such

marvellous rapidity may be freely received as an adversely eloquent

comment on the principles of secrecy and restriction, in any art or

science, like photography, which requires the varied suggestions of

numerous minds and many years of experiment in different directions

before it can be brought to a state of workable certainty and artistic

and commercial applicability. Had Reade concealed his success and the

nature of his accelerator, Talbot might have been bungling on with

modifications of the experiments of Wedgwood and Davy to this day; and

had Daguerre not sold the secret of his iodine vapour as a sensitiser,

and his accidentally discovered property of mercury as a developer, he

might never have got beyond the vapoury images he produced. As it was,

Daguerre did little or nothing to improve his process and make it yield

the extremely vigorous and beautiful results it did in after years. As

in Mr. Reade's case with the Calotype process, Daguerre threw the ball

and others caught it. Daguerre's advertised improvements of his process

were lamentable failures and roundabout ways to obtain sensitive

amalgams--exceedingly ingenious, but excessively bungling and

impractical. To make the plates more sensitive to light, and, as

Daguerre said, obtain pictures of objects in motion and animated scenes,

he suggested that the silver plate should first be cleaned and polished

in the usual way, then to deposit successively layers of mercury, and

gold, and platinum. But the process was so tedious, unworkable, and

unsatisfactory, no one ever attempted to employ it either commercially

or scientifically. In publishing his first process, with its working

details, Daguerre appears to have surrendered all that he knew, and to

have been incapable of carrying his discovery to a higher degree of

advancement. Without Mr. Goddard's bromine accelerator and M. Fizeau's

chloride of gold fixer and invigorator, the Daguerreotype would never

have been either a commercial success or a permanent production.



1840 was almost as important a period in the annals of photography as

the year of its enunciation, and to the two valuable improvements and

one interesting importation, the Daguerreotype process was indebted for

its success all over the world; and photography, even as it is practised

now, is probably indebted for its present state of advancement to Mr.

John Frederick Goddard, who applied bromine, as an accelerator, to the

Daguerreotype process this year. In the early part of the Daguerreotype

period it was so insensitive there was very little prospect of being

able to take portraits with it through a lens. To meet this difficulty

Mr. Wolcott, an American optician, constructed a reflecting camera and

brought it to London. It was an ingenious contrivance, but did not fully

answer the expectations of the inventor. It certainly did not require

such a long exposure with this camera as when the rays from the image or

sitter passed through a lens; but, as the sensitised plate was placed

_between_ the sitter and the reflector, the picture was necessarily

small, and neither very sharp nor satisfactory. This was a mechanical

contrivance to shorten the time of exposure, which partially succeeded,

but it was chemistry, and not mechanics, that effected the desirable

result. Both Mr. Goddard and M. Antoine F. J. Claudet, of London,

employed chlorine as a means of increasing the sensitiveness of the

iodised silver plate, but it was not sufficiently accelerative to meet

the requirements of the Daguerreotype process. Subsequently Mr. Goddard

discovered that the vapour of bromine, added to that of iodine, imparted

an extraordinary degree of sensitiveness to the prepared plate, and

reduced the time of sitting from minutes to seconds. The addition of the

fumes of bromine to those of iodine formed a compound of bromo-iodide of

silver on the surface of the Daguerreotype plate, and not only increased

the sensitiveness, but added to the strength and beauty of the resulting

picture, and M. Fizeau's method of precipitating a film of gold over the

whole surface of the plate still further increased the brilliancy of the

picture and ensured its permanency. I have many Daguerreotypes in my

possession now that were made over forty years ago, and they are as

brilliant and perfect as they were on the day they were taken. I fear no

one can say the same for any of Fox Talbot's early prints, or even more

recent examples of silver printing.



Another important event of this year was the importation of the first

photographic lens, camera, &c., into England. These articles were

brought from Paris by Sir Hussey Vivian, present M.P. for Glamorganshire

(1889). It was the first lot of such articles that the Custom House

officers had seen, and they were at a loss to know how to classify it.

Finally they passed it under the general head of Optical Instruments.

Sir Hussey told me this, himself, several years before he was made a

baronet. What changes fifty years have wrought even in the duties of

Custom House officers, for the imports and exports of photographic

apparatus and materials must now amount to many thousands per annum!



Having described the conditions and state of progress photography had

attained at the time of my first contact with it, I think I may now

enter into greater details, and relate my own personal experiences from

this period right up to the end of its jubilee celebration.



I was just fourteen years old when photography was made practicable by

the publication of the two processes, one by Daguerre, and the other by

Fox Talbot, and when I heard or read of the wonderful discovery I was

fired with a desire to obtain a sight of these "sun-pictures," but the

fire was kept smouldering for some time before my desire was gratified.

Nothing travelled very fast in those days. Railroads had not long been

started, and were not very extensively developed. Telegraphy, by

electricity, was almost unknown, and I was a fixture, having just been

apprenticed to an engraving firm hundreds of miles from London. But at

last I caught sight of one of those marvellous drawings made by the sun

in the window of the Post Office of my native town. It was a small

Daguerreotype which had been sent there along with a notice that a

licence to practise the "art" could be obtained of the patentee. I

forget now what amount the patentee demanded for a licence, but I know

that at the time referred to it was so far beyond my means and hopes

that I never entertained the idea of becoming a licencee. I believe some

one in the neighbourhood bought a licence, but either could not or did

not make use of it commercially.



Some time after that, a Miss Wigley, from London, came to the town to

practise Daguerreotyping, but she did not remain long, and could not, I

think, have made a profitable visit. If so, it could scarcely be

wondered at, for the sun-pictures of that period were such thin,

shimmering reflections, and distortions of the human face divine, that

very few people were impressed either by the process or the newest

wonder of the world. At that early period of photography, the plates

were so insensitive, the sittings so long, and the conditions so

terrible, it was not easy to induce anyone either to undergo the ordeal

of sitting, or to pay the sum of twenty-one shillings for a very small

and unsatisfactory portrait. In the infancy of the Daguerreotype

process, the sitters were all placed out-of-doors, in direct sunshine,

which naturally made them screw up or shut their eyes, and every feature

glistened, and was painfully revealed. Many amusing stories have been

told about the trials, mishaps, and disappointments attending those

long and painful sittings, but the best that ever came to my knowledge

was the following. In the earliest of the forties, a young lady

went a considerable distance, in Yorkshire, to sit to an itinerant

Daguerreotypist for her portrait, and, being limited for time,

could only give one sitting. She was placed before the camera, the

slide drawn, lens uncapped, and requested to sit there until the

Daguerreotypist returned. He went away, probably to put his "mercury

box" in order, or to have a smoke, for it was irksome--both to sitter

and operator--to sit or stand doing nothing during those necessarily

long exposures. When the operator returned, after an absence of fifteen

or twenty minutes, the lady was sitting where he left her, and appeared

glad to be relieved from her constrained position. She departed, and he

proceeded with the development of the picture. The plate was examined

from time to time, in the usual way, but there was no appearance of the

lady. The ground, the wall, and the chair whereon she sat, were all

visible, but the image of the lady was not; and the operator was

completely puzzled, if not alarmed. He left the lady sitting, and found

her sitting when he returned, so he was quite unable to account for her

mysterious non-appearance in the picture. The mystery was, however,

explained in a few days, when the lady called for her portrait, for she

admitted that she got up and walked about as soon as he left her, and

only sat down again when she heard him returning. The necessity of

remaining before the camera was not recognised by that sitter. I

afterwards reversed that result myself by focussing the chair, drawing

the slide, uncapping the lens, sitting down, and rising leisurely to cap

the lens again, and obtained a good portrait without showing a ghost of

the chair or anything else. The foregoing is evidence of the

insensitiveness of the plates at that early period of the practice of

photography; but that state of inertion did not continue long, for as

soon as the accelerating properties of bromine became generally known,

the time of sitting was greatly reduced, and good Daguerreotype views

were obtained by simply uncapping the lens as quickly as possible. I

have taken excellent views in that manner myself in England, and, when

in America, I obtained instantaneous views of Niagara Falls and other

places quite as rapidly and as perfect as any instantaneous views made

on gelatine dry plates, one of which I have copied and enlarged to 12 by

10 inches, and may possibly reproduce the small copy in these pages.



In 1845 I came into direct contact with photography for the first time.

It was in that year that an Irishman named McGhee came into the

neighbourhood to practise the Daguerreotype process. He was not a

licencee, but no one appeared to interfere with him, nor serve him with

an injunction, for he carried on his little portrait business for a

considerable time without molestation. The patentee was either very

indifferent to his vested interests, or did not consider these intruders

worth going to law with, for there were many raids across the borders by

camera men in those early days. Several circumstances combined to

facilitate the inroads of Scotch operators into the northern counties of

England. Firstly, the patent laws of England did not extend to Scotland

at that time, so there was a far greater number of Daguerreotypists in

Edinburgh and other Scotch towns in the early days of photography than

in any part of England, and many of them made frequent incursions into

the forbidden land without troubling themselves about obtaining a

licence, but somehow they never remained long at a time; they were

either afraid of consequences, or did not meet with patronage

sufficient to induce them to continue their sojourns beyond a few of the

summer weeks. For many years most of the early Daguerreotypists were

birds of passage, frequently on the wing. Among the earliest settlers in

London, were Mr. Beard (patentee), Mr. Claudet, and Mr. J. E.

Mayall--the latter is still alive, 1889--and in Edinburgh, Messrs. Ross

and Thompson, Mr. Howie, Mr. Poppawitz, and Mr. Tunny--the latter was a

Calotypist--with most of whom it was my good fortune to become

personally acquainted in after years.



Secondly, a great deal of ill-feeling and annoyance were caused by the

incomprehensible and somewhat underhanded way in which the English

patent was obtained, and these feelings induced many to poach on

photographic preserves, and even to defy injunctions; and, while

lawsuits were pending, it was not uncommon for non-licencees to practise

the new art with the impunity and feelings common to smugglers. Mr.

Beard, the English patentee, brought many actions at law against

infringers of his patent rights, the most memorable of which was that

where Mr. Egerton, 1, Temple Street, Whitefriars, the first dealer in

photographic materials, and agent for Voightlander's lenses in London,

was the defendant. During that trial it came out in evidence that the

patentee had earned as much as forty thousand pounds in one year by

taking portraits and fees from licencees. Though the judgment of the

Court was adverse to Mr. Egerton, it did not improve the patentee's

moral right to his claim, for the trial only made it all the more public

that the French Government had allowed M. Daguerre six thousand francs

(L240), and M. Isidore Niepce four thousand francs (L160) per annum, on

condition that their discoveries should be published, and _made free to

all the world_. This trial did not in any way improve Mr. Beard's

financial position, for eventually he became a bankrupt, and his

establishments in King William Street, London Bridge, and the

Polytechnic Institute, in Regent Street, were extinguished. Mr. Beard,

who was the first to practise Daguerreotyping commercially in this

country, was originally a coal merchant. I think Mr. Claudet practised

the process in London without becoming a licencee, either through

previous knowledge, or some private arrangement made with Daguerre

before the patent was granted to Mr. Beard. It was while photography was

clouded with this atmosphere of dissatisfaction and litigation, that I

made my first practical acquaintance with it in the following manner:--



Being anxious to obtain possession of one of those marvellous

sun-pictures, and hoping to get an idea of the manner in which they

were produced, I paid a visit, one sunny morning, to Mr. McGhee, the

Daguerreotypist, dressed in my best, with clean shirt, and stiff

stand-up collar, as worn in those days. I was a very young man then, and

rather particular about the set of my shirt collar, so you may readily

judge of my horror when, after making the financial arrangements to the

satisfaction of Mr. McGhee, he requested me to put on a blue cotton

_quasi_ clean "dickey," with a limp collar, that had evidently done

similar duty many times before. You may be sure I protested, and

inquired the reason why I should cover up my white shirt front with such

an objectionable article. I was told if I did not put it on my shirt

front would be _solarized_, and come out _blue_ or dirty, whereas if I

put on the blue "dickey" my shirt front would appear white and clean.

What "solarized" meant, I did not know, nor was it further explained,

but, as I very naturally wished to appear with a clean shirt front, I

submitted to the indignity, and put on the limp and questionably clean

"dickey." While the Daguerreotypist was engaged with some mysterious

manipulations in a cupboard or closet, I brushed my hair, and

contemplated my singular appearance in the mirror somewhat ruefully. O,

ye sitters and operators of to-day! congratulate yourselves on the

changes and advantages that have been wrought in the practice of

photography since then. When Mr. McGhee appeared again with something

like two wooden books in his hand, he requested me to follow him into

the garden; which was only a back yard. At the foot of the garden, and

against a brick wall with a piece of grey cloth nailed over it, I was

requested to sit down on an old chair; then he placed before me an

instrument which looked like a very ugly theodolite on a tripod

stand--that was my first sight of a camera--and, after putting his head

under a black cloth, told me to look at a mark on the other side of the

garden, without winking or moving till he said "done." How long I sat I

don't know, but it seemed an awfully long time, and I have no doubt it

was, for I know that I used to ask people to sit five and ten minutes,

afterwards. The sittings over, I was requested to re-enter the house,

and then I thought I would see something of the process; but no. Again

Mr. McGhee went into the mysterious chamber, and shut the door quickly.

In a little time he returned and told me that the sittings were

satisfactory--he had taken two--and that he would finish and deliver

them next day. Then I left without obtaining the ghost of an idea of the

_modus operandi_ of producing portraits by the sun, beyond the fact that

a camera had been placed before me. Next day the portraits were

delivered according to promise, but I confess I was somewhat

disappointed at getting so little for my money. It was a very small

picture that could not be seen in every light, and not particularly like

myself, but a scowling-looking individual, with a limp collar, and

rather dirty-looking face. Whatever would _mashers_ have said or done,

if they had gone to be photographed in those days of photographic

darkness? I was, however, somewhat consoled by the thought that I, at

last, possessed one of those wonderful sun-pictures, though I was

ignorant of the means of production.



Soon after having my portrait taken, Mr. McGhee disappeared, and there

was no one left in the neighbourhood who knew anything of the

mysterious manipulations of Daguerreotyping. I had, nevertheless,

resolved to possess an apparatus and obtain the necessary information,

but there was no one to tell me what to buy, where to buy it, nor what

to do with it. At last an old friend of mine who had been on a visit to

Edinburgh, had purchased an apparatus and some materials with the view

of taking Daguerreotypes himself, but finding that he could not, was

willing to sell it to me, though he could not tell me how to use it,

beyond showing me an image of the house opposite upon the ground glass

of the camera. I believe my friend let me have the apparatus for what it

cost him, which was about L15, and it consisted of a quarter-plate

portrait lens by Slater, mahogany camera, tripod stand, buff sticks,

coating and mercury boxes of the roughest description, a few chemicals

and silvered plates, and a rather singular but portable dark room. Of

the uses of the chemicals I knew very little, and of their nature

nothing which led to very serious consequences, which I shall relate in

the proper place. Having obtained possession of this marvellous

apparatus, my next ardent aspiration was to make a successful use of it.

I distinctly remember, even at this distant date, with what nervous

curiosity I examined all the articles when I unpacked them in my

father's house, and with what wonder, not unmixed with apprehension, my

father looked upon that display of unknown, and to him apparently

nameless and useless toys. "More like a lot of conjuror's traps than

anything else," he exclaimed, after I had set them all out. And a few

days after he told one of my young friends that he thought I had gone

out of my mind to take up with that "Daggertype" business; the name

itself was a stumbling block in those days, for people called the

process "dagtype, docktype, and daggertype" more frequently than by its

proper name, Daguerreotype. What a contrast now-a-days, when almost

every father is an amateur photographer, and encourages both his sons

and daughters to become the same. My father was a very good parent, in

his way, and encouraged me, to the fullest extent of his means, in the

study of music and painting, and even sent me to the Government School

of Design, where I studied drawing under W. B. Scott; but the

new-fangled method of taking portraits did not harmonise with his

conservative and practical notions. One cause of his disapprobation and

dissatisfaction was, doubtless, my many failures; in fact, I may say,

inability to show him any result. I had acquired an apparatus of the

roughest and most primitive construction, but no knowledge of its use or

the behaviour of the chemicals employed, beyond the bare numerical order

in which they were to be used, and there was no one within a hundred

miles of where I lived, that I knew of, who could give me lessons or the

slightest hint respecting the process. I had worn out the patience of

all my relations and friends in fruitless sittings. I had set fire to my

singular dark room, and nearly set fire to the house, by attempting to

refill the spirit lamp while alight, and I was ill and suffering from

salivation through inhaling the fumes of mercury in my blind, anxious,

and enthusiastic endeavours to obtain a sun-picture. It is not long

since an eminent photographer told me that I was an enthusiast, but if

he had seen me in those days he would, in all probability, have told me

that I was mad. Though ill, I was not mad; I was only determined not to

be beaten. I was resolved to keep pegging away until I obtained a

satisfactory result. My friends laughed at me when I asked them to sit

for a trial, and they either refused, or sat with a very bad grace, as

if it really were a trial to them; but fancy, fair and kindly readers,

what it must have been to me! Finding that my living models fought shy

of me and my trials, I then thought of getting a lay figure, and

borrowed a large doll--quite as big as a baby--of one of my lady

friends. I stuck it up in a garden and pegged away at it for nearly six

months. At the end of that time I was able to produce a portrait of the

doll with tolerable certainty and success. Then I ventured to ask my

friends to sit again, but my process was too slow for life studies, and

my live sitters generally moved so much, their portraits were not

recognisable. There were no head-rests in those days, at least I did not

possess one, or it might have been pleasanter for my sitters and easier

for myself. What surprised me very much--and I thought it a singular

thing at the time--was my success in copying an engraving of Thorburn's

Miniature of the Queen. I made several good and beautiful copies of that

engraving, and sent one to an artist friend, then in Devonshire, who

wrote to say that it was beautiful, and that if he could get a

Daguerreotype portrait with the eyes as clear as that, he would sit at

once; but all the "Dagtypes" he had hitherto seen had only black holes

where the eyes should be. Unfortunately, that was my own experience. I

could copy from the flat well enough, but when I went to the round I

went wrong. Ultimately I discovered the cause of all that, and found a

remedy, but oh! the weary labour and mental worry I underwent before I

mastered the difficulties of the most troublesome and uncertain, yet

most beautiful and permanent of all the photographic processes that ever

was discovered or invented; and now it is a lost art. No one practises

it, and I don't think that there are half-a-dozen men living--myself

included--that could at this day go through all the manipulations

necessary to produce a good Daguerreotype portrait or picture; yet, when

the process was at the height of its popularity, a great number of

people pursued it as a profession in all parts of the civilized world,

and in the United States of America alone it was estimated in 1854 that

there were not less than thirty thousand people making their living as

Daguerreans. Few, if any, of the photographers of to-day--whether

amateur or professional--know anything of the forms or uses of plates,

buffs, lathes, sensitising or developing boxes, gilding stands, or other

Daguerreotype appliances; and I am quite certain that there is not a

dealer in all England that can furnish at this date a complete set of

Daguerreotype apparatus.



It was in 1849 that I gilded my first picture--a portrait of one of my

friends playing a guitar. I possess that picture now, and, after a lapse

of forty years, it is as good and bright as it was on the day that it

was taken. It was not a first-class production, but I hoped to do better

soon, and on the strength of that hope determined to commence business

as a professional Daguerreotypist. While I was considering whether I

should pitch my tent permanently in my native town, or take to a nomadic

kind of life, similar to what other Daguerreotypists were pursuing, I

was helped to a decision by the sudden appearance of a respectable and

experienced Daguerreotypist who came and built a "glass house"--the

first of its kind--in my native town. This somewhat disarranged my

plans, but on the whole it was rather opportune and advantageous than

otherwise, for it afforded me an unexpected opportunity of gaining a

great deal of practical experience on easy terms. The new comer was Mr.

George Brown, who had been an "operator" for Mr. Beard, in London, and

as he exhibited much finer specimens of the Daguerreotype process than

any I had hitherto seen, I engaged myself to assist him for six months

at a small salary. I showed him what I had done, and he showed and told

me all that he knew in connection with photography, and thus commenced a

business relation that ripened into a friendship that endured as long as

he lived.



At the end of the six months' engagement I left Mr. Brown, to commence

business on my own account, but as neither of us considered that there

was room for two Daguerreotypists in a town with a population of _one

hundred and twenty thousand_, I was driven to adopt the nomadic mode of

life peculiar to the itinerant photographer of the period. That was in

1850. Up to that time I had done nothing in Calotype work. Mr. Brown was

strictly a Daguerreotypist, but Mr. Parry, at that time a glass dealer

and amateur photographer, was working at the Calotype process, but not

very successfully, for nearly all his efforts were spoiled by

decomposition, which he could not then account for or overcome, but he

eventually became one of the best Calotypists in the neighbourhood, and

I became the possessor of some of the finest Calotype negatives he ever

produced, many of which are still in my possession. Mr. Parry

relinquished his glass business, and became a professional photographer

soon after the introduction of the collodion process. Another amateur

photographer that I met in those early days was a flute player in the

orchestra of the theatre. He produced very good Calotype negatives with

a single lens, and was very enthusiastic, but extremely reticent on all

photographic matters. About this period I made the acquaintance of Mr.

J. W. Swan: I had known him for some time previously when he was

apprentice and assistant to Mr. Mawson, chemist, in Mosley Street,

Newcastle-on-Tyne. Neither Mr. Mawson nor Mr. Swan were known to the

photographic world at that time. Mr. Mawson was most popular as a dealer

in German yeast, and I think it was not until after Archer published his

process that they began to make collodion and deal in photographic

materials--at any rate, I did not buy any photographic goods of them

until 1852, when I first began to use Mawson's collodion. In October,

1850, I went to Hexham, about twenty miles west of Newcastle-on-Tyne, to

make my first appearance as a professional Daguerreotypist. I rented a

sitting-room with a good window and clear view, so as to take "parlour

portraits." I could only take small pictures--two and a half by two

inches--for which I charged half a guinea, and was favoured with a few

sittings; but it was a slow place, and I left it in a few weeks.



The next move I made was to Seaham Harbour, and there I did a little

better business, but the place was too small and the people too poor for

me to continue long. Half guineas were not plentiful, even among the

tradespeople, and there were very few gentlefolk in the neighbourhood.

Some of the townspeople were very kind to me, and invited me to their

homes, and although my sojourn was not very profitable, it was very

pleasant. I had many pleasant rambles on the sands, and often looked at

Seaham Hall and thought of Byron and his matrimonial disappointment in

his marriage with Miss Milbank.



From Seaham Harbour I went to Middlesborough, hoping to do more business

among a larger population, but it appeared as if I were only going from

bad to worse. At that date the population was about thirty thousand, but

chiefly people of the working classes, employed at Balchow and Vaughn's

and kindred works. I made portraits of some of the members of Mr.

Balchow's family, Mr. Geordison, and some of the resident Quakers, but

altogether I did not do much more than pay expenses. I managed, however,

to stay there till the year 1851, when I caught the World's Fair fever,

so I packed up my apparatus and other things I did not require

immediately, and sent them to my father's house, and with a few changes

in my carpet-bag, and a little money in my pocket, I started off to see

the Great Exhibition in London. I went by way of York and Hull, with the

two-fold object of seeing some friends in both places, and to prospect

on the business chances they might afford. At York I found Mr. Pumphrey

was located, but as he did not appear to be fully occupied with

sitters--for I found him trying to take a couple of boys fighting in a

back yard--I thought there was not room for another Daguerreotypist in

York. In a few days I went to Hull, but even there the ground was

preoccupied, so I took the first steamer for London. We sailed on a

Saturday night, and after a pleasant voyage arrived at the wharf below

London Bridge early on Sunday evening. I put up at the "Yorkshire Grey,"

in Thames Street, where I met several people from the North, also on a

visit to London to see the Great Exhibition. This being my first visit

to London, I was anxious to get a sight of the streets and crowds

therein, so, after obtaining some refreshment, I strolled out with one

of my fellow passengers to receive my first impressions of the great

metropolis. The evening was fine, and, being nearly the longest day,

there was light enough to enable me to see the God-forsaken appearance

of Thames Street, the dismal aspect of Fish Street Hill, and the gloomy

column called "The Monument" that stands there to remind citizens and

strangers of the Great Fire of 1666; but I was both amazed and amused

with the life and bustle I saw on London Bridge and other places in the

immediate neighbourhood, but my eyes and ears soon became fatigued with

the sights and sounds of the lively and noisy thoroughfares. After a

night's rest, which was frequently broken by cries of "Stop thief!" and

the screams of women, I arose and made an early start for the Great

Exhibition of 1851. Of all the wonderful things in that most wonderful

exhibition, I was most interested in the photographic exhibits and the

beautiful specimens of American Daguerreotypes, both portraits and

landscapes, especially the views of Niagara Falls, which made me

determine to visit America as soon as ever I could make the necessary

arrangements.



While examining and admiring those very beautiful Daguerreotypes, I

little thought that I was standing, as it were, between the birth of one

process and the death of another; but so it was, for the newly-born

collodion process very soon annihilated the Daguerreotype, although the

latter process had just reached the zenith of its beauty. In the March

number of the _Chemist_, Archer's Collodion Process was published, and

that was like the announcement of the birth of an infant Hercules, that

was destined to slay a beautiful youth whose charms had only arrived at

maturity. But there was really a singular and melancholy coincidence in

the birth of the Collodion Process and the early death of the

Daguerreotype, for Daguerre himself died on July 10th, 1851, so that

both Daguerre and his process appeared to receive their death blows in

the same year. I don't suppose that Daguerre died from a shock to his

system, caused by the publication of a rival process, for it is not

likely that he knew anything about the invention of a process that was

destined, in a very few years, to abolish his own--living as he was in

the retirement of his native village, and enjoying his well-earned

pension.



As Daguerre was the first of the successful discoverers of photography

to be summoned by death, I will here give a brief sketch of his life and

pursuits prior to his association with Nicephore Niepce and photography.

Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre was born at Cormeilles, near Paris, in

1787, of poor and somewhat careless parents, who appear to have bestowed

upon him more names than attention. Though they did not endow him with a

good education, they had the good sense to observe the bent of his mind

and apprentice him to a theatrical scene painter. In that situation he

soon made his mark, and his artistic and mechanical abilities, combined

with industry, painstaking, and boldness of conception, soon raised him

to the front rank of his profession, in which he gained both honour and

profit. Like all true artists, he was fond of sketching from nature;

and, to save time and secure true proportion, he employed such optical

appliances as were then at his command. Some of his biographers say

that he, like Fox Talbot, employed the camera lucida; others the

camera-obscura; as there is a considerable difference between the two

it would be interesting to know which it really was. At any rate it was

one of these instruments which gave him the notion and created the desire

to secure the views as they were presented by the lens or reflector. Much

of his time was devoted to the painting and construction of a diorama

which was first exhibited in 1822, and created quite a sensation in

Paris. As early as 1824 he commenced his photographic experiments, with

very little knowledge on the subject; but with the hope and

determination of succeeding, by some means or other, in securing the

pictures as Nature painted them on the screen or receiver. Doubtless he

was sanguine enough then to hope to be able to obtain colours as well as

drawings, but he died without seeing that accomplished, and so will many

others. What he did succeed in accomplishing was marvellous, and quite

entitled him to all the honour and emolument he received, but he only

lived about twelve years after his discovery. He was, however, saved the

mortification of seeing his beautiful discovery discarded and cast away

in the hey-day of its beauty and perfection.



After a few weeks sojourn in London, seeing all the sights and

revisiting all the Daguerreotype studios, I turned my back on the great

city and my footsteps homewards again. As soon as I reached home I

unpacked my apparatus and made arrangements for another campaign with

the camera at some of the sea-side resorts, with the hope of making up

for lost time and money through visiting London.



I had looked at Scarborough and found the Brothers Holroyd located

there; at Whitby, Mr. Stonehouse; and I did not like the appearance of

Redcar, so I settled upon Tynemouth, and did fairly well for a short

season. About the end of October I went on to Carlisle, but a Scotchman

had already preceded me there, and I thought one Daguerreotypist was

quite enough for so small a place, and pushed on to Penrith, where I

settled for the winter and gradually worked up a little connection, and

formed some life-long friendships. I was the first Daguerreotypist who

had visited the town of Penrith, and while there I made Daguerreotypes

of Sir George and Lady Musgrave and family, and some members of the

Lonsdale family. It was through the kindness of Miss Lowther that I was

induced to go to Whitehaven, but I did not do much business there, so,

after a bad winter, I resolved to go to America in the spring, and made

arrangements for the voyage immediately. Thinking that I would find

better apparatus and appliances in America, I disposed of my "Tent and

Kit," closed up my affairs, bid adieu to my relatives and friends, and

departed.



To obtain the benefit and experience of a long sea voyage, I secured a

cabin passage in a sailing ship named the _Amazon_, and sailed from

Shields towards the end of April, 1853. We crossed the Tyne bar late in

the evening with a fair wind, and sailed away for the Pentland Frith so

as to gain the Atlantic by sailing all round the North of Scotland. I

was rather upset the first night, but recovered my appetite next

morning. We entered the Pentland Frith on the Saturday afternoon, and

were running through the Channel splendidly, when the carpenter came to

report water in the well--I forget how many feet--but he thought it

would not be safe to attempt crossing the Atlantic. I was a little

alarmed at this, but the captain took it very coolly, and ordered the

ship to be pumped every watch. Being the only passenger, I became a kind

of chum and companion to the captain, and as we sat over our grog that

night in the cabin our conversation naturally turned upon the condition

of the ship, when he remarked that he was disappointed, and that he

"expected he had got a sound ship under his feet this time." These words

did not make much impression upon me then, but I had reason to

comprehend their meaning afterwards. I was awoke early on the Sunday

morning by the noise caused by the working of the pumps, and on going on

deck found that we were becalmed, lying off the coast of Caithnesshire,

and the water pouring out of the pump-hole in a continuous stream. After

breakfast, and while sitting on the taffrail of the quarterdeck along

with the captain, waiting for a breeze, I asked him if he intended to

cross the Atlantic in such a leaky vessel. He answered "Yes, and the men

are all willing." So I thought if these men were not afraid of the ship

foundering, I need not be; but I had reasons afterwards for coming to an

opposite conclusion.



Towards evening the breeze sprang up briskly, and away we went, the

ship heading W.N.W., as the captain said he wanted to make the northern

passage. Next morning we were in a rather rough sea, and a gale of wind

blowing. One of the yards was broken with the force of the wind, and the

sail and broken yard dangled about the rigging for a considerable time

before the sail could be hauled in and the wreckage cleared up. We had

several days of bad weather, and one morning when I got up I found the

ship heading East. I naturally concluded that we were returning, but the

captain said that he had only turned the ship about to enable the men to

stop a leak in her bows. The carpenter afterwards told me that the water

came in there like a river during the night. Thus we went on through

variable weather until at last we sighted two huge icebergs, and then

Newfoundland, when the captain informed me that he intended now to coast

up to New York. We got out of sight of land occasionally, and one day,

after the captain had taken his observations and worked out the ship's

position, he called my attention to the chart, and observed that he

intended to sail between an island and the mainland, but as the Channel

was subject to strong and variable currents, it was a rather dangerous

experiment. Being in such a leaky ship, I thought he wanted to hug the

land as much as possible, which I considered a very wise and safe

proceeding; but he had ulterior objects in view, which the sequel will

reveal.



On the night of the 31st of May, after a long yarn from the captain

about how he was once wrecked on an iceberg, I turned in with a feeling

of perfect safety, for the sea was calm, the night clear, and the wind

fair and free; but about daylight next morning I was awoke with a shock,

a sudden tramping on deck, and the mate shouting down the companion

stairs, "Captain, the ship's ashore." Both the captain and I rushed on

deck just as we jumped out of our berths, but we could not see anything

of the land or shore, for we were enveloped in a thick fog. We heard the

breakers and felt the thud of the waves as they broke upon the ship,

but whether we had struck on a rock or grounded on a sandy beach we

could not then ascertain. The captain ordered the sails to be "slewed

back" and a hawser to be thrown astern, but all efforts to get the ship

off were in vain, for with every wave the ship forged more and more on

to the shore.



As the morning advanced, the fog cleared away a little, which enabled us

to see dimly through the mist the top of a bank of yellow sand. This

sight settled the doubt as to our whereabouts, and the captain

immediately gave the order "Prepare to abandon the ship." The long boat

was at once got ready, and lowered with considerable difficulty, for the

ship was then more among the breakers. After a good deal of delay and

danger, we all succeeded in leaving the ship and clearing the breakers.

We were exposed in the open boats all that day and night, and about ten

o'clock next morning we effected a landing on the lee side of the

island, which we ascertained to be Sable Island, a bald crown of one of

the banks of Newfoundland. Here we received help, shelter, and

provisions, all provided by the Home and Colonial Governments, for the

relief of shipwrecked people, for this island was one of the places

where ships were both accidentally and wilfully wrecked. We were obliged

to stay there sixteen days before we could get a vessel to take us to

Halifax, Nova Scotia, the nearest port, and would possibly have had to

remain on the island much longer, but for a mutiny among the crew. I

could describe some strange and startling incidents in connection with

the wreck and mutiny, but I will not allow myself to be tempted further

into the vale of divergence, as the chief object I have in view is my

reminiscence of photography.



On leaving Sable Island I was taken to Halifax, where I waited the

arrival of the Cunard steamer _Niagara_, to take me on to Boston; thence

I proceeded by rail and steamer to New York, where I arrived about the

end of June, 1853.



On landing in New York I only knew one individual, and not knowing how

far I should have to go to find him I put up at an hotel on Broadway,

but soon found that too expensive for my means, and went to a private

boarding house as soon as I could.



Visiting all the leading Daguerreotypists on Broadway, I was somewhat

astonished at their splendid reception rooms, and the vast number of

large and excellent specimens exhibited. Their plain Daguerreotypes were

all of fine quality, and free from the "buff lines" so noticeable in

English work at that period; but all their attempts at colouring were

miserable failures, and when I showed one of my coloured specimens to

Mr. Gurney, he said, "Well, if you can colour one of my pictures like

that I'll believe you;" which I soon did, and very much to his

astonishment. In those days I prepared my own colours, and Mr. Gurney

bought a box immediately. The principal Daguerreotypists in New York at

that time were Messrs. Brady, Gurney, Kent, Lawrence, Mead Brothers, and

Samuel Root, and I called upon them all before I entered into any

business arrangements, finally engaging myself to Messrs. Mead Brothers

as a colourist and teacher of colouring for six months, and while

fulfilling that engagement I gave lessons to several "Daguerreans," and

made the acquaintance of men from all parts of the Union, for I soon

obtained some notoriety throughout the States in consequence of a man

named Humphrey attacking me and my colouring process in a photographic

journal which bore his name, as well as in the _New York Tribune_. I

replied to his attack in the columns of the _Tribune_, but I saw that he

had a friend on the staff, and I did not feel inclined to continue the

controversy. Mr. Humphrey knew nothing about my process, but began and

continued the discussion on his knowledge of what was known as the

"Isinglass Process," which was not mine. After completing my engagements

with Messrs. Mead Brothers, I made arrangements to supply the stock

dealers with my prepared colours, and travel the States myself to

introduce them to all the Daguerreans residing in the towns and cities I

should visit.



In the principal cities I found all the Daguerreans quite equal to the

best in New York, and all doing good business, and I gave lessons in

colouring to most of them. In Newark I met Messrs. Benjamin and Polson;

in Philadelphia, Marcus Root and Dr. Bushnell. I encountered a great many

_doctors_ and _professors_ in the business in America. In Baltimore,

Maryland--then a slave State--many of the Daguerreans owned slaves. In

Washington D.C., I renewed my acquaintance with Mr. George Adams, one of

the best Daguerreans in the City; and while visiting him a very curious

thing occurred. One of the representatives of the South came in to have

his portrait taken, and the first thing he did was to lay a revolver and

a bowie knife on the table beside him. He had just come from the House

of Representatives. His excuse for such a proceeding was that he had

bought some slaves at the market at Alexandria, and was going to take

them home that night. He was a very tall man, and when he stood up

against the background his head was above it. As he wanted to be taken

standing, this put Mr. Adams into a dilemma, and he asked what he should

do. I thought the only thing that could be done was to move the

background up and down during exposure, which we did, and so obviated

the appearance of a line crossing the head.



While staying in Washington I attended one of the levees at the White

House, and was introduced to President Pearce. There was no fuss or

difficulty in gaining admission. I had only to present my card at the

door, and the City Marshall at once led me into the room where the

President, surrounded by some of his Cabinet, was waiting to receive,

and I was introduced. After a cordial shake of his hand, I passed on to

another saloon where there was music and promenading in mixed costumes,

for most of the men were dressed as they liked, and some of the ladies

wore bonnets. It was the weekly _sans ceremonie_ reception. Finding many

of the people of Washington very agreeable and hospitable, I stayed

there a considerable time. When I started on the southern journey I did

intend to go on to New Orleans, but I stayed so long in Philadelphia and

Washington the summer was too far advanced, and as a rather severe

outbreak of yellow fever had occurred, I returned to New York and took a

journey northward, visiting Niagara Falls, and going on to Canada. I

sailed up the Hudson River, stopping at Albany and Troy. At the latter

place I met an Englishman, named Irvine, a Daguerrean who treated me

hospitably, and for whom I coloured several Daguerreotypes. He wanted me

to stay with him, but that I declined. Thence I proceeded to Rochester,

and there found that one of my New York pupils had been before me,

representing himself as Werge the colourist, for when I introduced

myself to the principal Daguerrean he told me that Werge--a very

different man--had been there two or three weeks ago. I discovered who

the fellow was, and that he had practised a piece of Yankee smartness

for which I had no redress. From Rochester I proceeded to Buffalo, where

I met with another instance of Yankee smartness of a different kind. I

had sold some colours to a man there who paid me in dollar bills, the

usual currency of the country, but when I tendered one of these bills

for payment at the hotel, it was refused. I next offered it on board a

steamboat, but there it was also declined. When I had an opportunity I

returned it to the man who gave it to me, and requested him to send me a

good one instead. He was honest enough to do that, and impudent enough

to tell me that he knew it was bad when he gave it to me, but as I was a

stranger he thought I might pass it off easily.



I next went to Niagara Falls, where it was my good fortune to encounter

two very different specimens of American character in the persons of Mr.

Easterly and Mr. Babbitt, the former a visitor and the latter a resident

Daguerrean, who held a monopoly from General Porter to Daguerreotype

the Falls and visitors. He had a pavilion on the American side of the

Falls, under which his camera was in position all day long, and when a

group of visitors stood on the shore to survey the Falls from that

point, he took the group--without their knowledge--and showed it to the

visitors before they left. In almost every instance he sold the picture

at a good price; the people were generally delighted to be taken at the

Falls. I need hardly say that they were all taken instantaneously, and

embraced a good general view, including the American Fall, Goat Island,

the Horse Shoe Fall, and the Canadian shore. Many of these views I

coloured for Mr. Babbitt, but there was always a beautiful green colour

on the brink of the Horse Shoe Fall which I never could match. For many

years I possessed one of Mr. Babbitt's Daguerreotype views, as well as

others taken by Mr. Easterly and myself, but I had the misfortune to be

deprived of them all by fire. Some years after I lent them to an

exhibition in Glasgow, which was burnt down, and all the exhibits

destroyed. After a delightful sojourn of three weeks at Niagara Falls, I

took steamer on the lower Niagara River, sailed down to Lake Ontario,

and down the River St. Lawrence, shooting the Lachine Rapids, and on to

Montreal.



In the Canadian City I did not find business very lively, so after

viewing the fine Cathedral of Notre Dame, the mountain, and other

places, I left Montreal and proceeded by rail to Boston. The difference

between the two cities was immense. Montreal was dull and sleepy, Boston

was all bustle and life, and the people were as unlike as the cities. On

my arrival in Boston, I put up at the Quincy Adams Hotel, and spent the

first few days in looking about the somewhat quaint and interesting old

city, hunting up Franklin Associations, and revolutionary landmarks,

Bunker Hill, and other places of interest. Having satisfied my appetite

for these things, I began to look about me with an eye to business, and

called upon the chief Daguerreans and photographers in Boston. Messrs.

Southworth and Hawes possessed the largest Daguerreotype establishment,

and did an excellent business. In their "Saloon" I saw the largest and

finest revolving stereoscope that was ever exhibited. The pictures were

all whole-plate Daguerreotypes, and set vertically on the perpendicular

drum on which they revolved. The drum was turned by a handle attached to

cog wheels, so that a person sitting before it could see the

stereoscopic pictures with the utmost ease. It was an expensive

instrument, but it was a splendid advertisement, for it drew crowds to

their saloon to see it and to sit, and their enterprise met with its

reward.



At Mr. Whipple's gallery, in Washington Street, a dual photography was

carried on, for he made both Daguerreotypes and what he called

"crystallotypes," which were simply plain silver prints obtained from

collodion negatives. Mr. Whipple was the first American photographer who

saw the great commercial advantages of the collodion process over the

Daguerreotype, and he grafted it on the elder branch of photography

almost as soon as it was introduced. Indeed, Mr. Whipple's establishment

may be considered the very cradle of American photography as far as

collodion negatives and silver prints are concerned, for he was the very

first to take hold of it with spirit, and as early as 1853 he was doing

a large business in photographs, and teaching the art to others.

Although I had taken collodion negatives in England with Mawson's

collodion in 1852, I paid Mr. Whipple fifty dollars to be shown how he

made his collodion, silver bath, developer, printing, &c., &c., for

which purpose he handed me over to his active and intelligent assistant

and newly-made partner, Mr. Black. This gave me the run of the

establishment, and I was somewhat surprised to find how vast and varied

were his mechanical appliances for reducing labour and expediting work.

The successful practice of the Daguerreotype art greatly depended on the

cleanness and highly polished surface of the silvered plates, and to

secure these necessary conditions, Mr. Whipple had, with characteristic

and Yankee-like ingenuity, obtained the assistance of a steam engine

which not only "drove" all the circular cleaning and buffing wheels, but

an immense circular fan which kept the studio and sitters delightfully

cool. Machinery and ingenuity did a great many things in Mr. Whipple's

establishment in the early days of photography. Long before the

Ambrotype days, pictures were taken on glass and thrown upon canvas by

means of the oxyhydrogen light for the use of artists. At that early

period of the history of photography, Messrs. Whipple and Black did an

immense "printing and publishing" trade, and their facilities were

"something considerable." Their toning, fixing, and washing baths were

almost worthy the name of vats.



Messrs. Masury and Silsby were also early producers of photographs in

Boston, and in 1854 employed a very clever operator, Mr. Turner, who

obtained beautiful and brilliant negatives by iron development. On the

whole, I think Boston was ahead of New York for enterprise and the use

of mechanical appliances in connection with photography. I sold my

colours to most of the Daguerreotypists, and entered into business

relations with two of the dealers, Messrs. French and Cramer, to stock

them, and then started for New York to make arrangements for my return

to England.



When I returned to New York the season was over, and everyone was

supposed to be away at Saratoga Springs, Niagara Falls, Rockaway, and

other fashionable resorts; but I found the Daguerreotype galleries all

open and doing a considerable stroke of business among the cotton

planters and slave holders, who had left the sultry south for the cooler

atmosphere of the more northern States. The Daguerreotype process was

then in the zenith of its perfection and popularity, and largely

patronised by gentlemen from the south, especially for large or double

whole-plates, about 16 by 12 inches, for which they paid fifty dollars

each. It was only the best houses that made a feature of these large

pictures, for it was not many of the Daguerreans that possessed a

"mammoth tube and box"--_i.e._, lens and camera--or the necessary

machinery to "get up" such large surfaces, but all employed the best

mechanical means for cleaning and polishing their plates, and it was

this that enabled the Americans to produce more brilliant pictures than

we did. Many people used to say it was the climate, but it was nothing

of the kind. The superiority of the American Daguerreotype was entirely

due to mechanical appliances. Having completed my business arrangements

and left my colours on sale with the principal stock dealers, including

the Scovill Manufacturing Company, Messrs. Anthony, and Levi Chapman.



I sailed from New York in October 1854, and arrived in England in due

time without any mishap, and visiting London again as soon as I could, I

called at Mr. Mayall's gallery in Regent Street to see Dr. Bushnell,

whom I knew in Philadelphia, and who was then operating for Mr. Mayall.

While there Mr. Mayall came in from the Guildhall, and announced the

result of the famous trial, "Talbot _versus_ Laroche," a verbatim report

of which is given in the Journal of the Photographic Society for

December 21st, 1854. Mr. Mayall was quite jubilant, and well he might

be, for the verdict for the defendant removed the trammels which Mr. Fox

Talbot attempted to impose upon the practice of the collodion process,

which was Frederick Scott Archer's gift to photographers. That was the

first time that I had met Mr. Mayall, though I had heard of him and

followed him both at Philadelphia and New York, and even at Niagara

Falls. At that time Mr. Mayall was relinquishing the Daguerreotype

process, though one of the earliest practitioners, for he was in

business as a Daguerreotypist in Philadelphia from 1842 to 1846, and I

know that he made a Daguerreotype portrait of James Anderson, the

tragedian, in Philadelphia, on Sunday, May 18th, 1845. During part of

the time that he was in Philadelphia he was in partnership with Marcus

Root, and the name of the firm was "Highschool and Root," and about the

end of 1846 Mr. Mayall opened a Daguerreotype studio in the Adelaide

Gallery, King William Street, Strand, London, under the name of

Professor Highschool, and soon after that he opened a Daguerreotype

gallery in his own name in the Strand, which establishment he sold to

Mr. Jabez Hughes in 1855. The best Daguerreotypists in London in 1854

were Mr. Beard, King William Street, London Bridge; Messrs. Kilburn, T.

R. Williams and Claudet, in Regent Street; and W. H. Kent, in Oxford

Street. The latter had just returned from America, and brought all the

latest improvements with him. Messrs. Henneman and Malone were in Regent

Street doing calotype portraits. Henneman had been a servant to Fox

Talbot, and worked his process under favourable conditions. Mr. Lock was

also in Regent Street, doing coloured photographs. He offered me a

situation at once, if I could colour photographs as well as I could

colour Daguerreotypes, but I could not, for the processes were totally

different. M. Manson, an old Frenchman, was the chief Daguerreotype

colourist in London, and worked for all the principal Daguerreotypists.

I met the old gentleman first in 1851, and knew him for many years

afterwards. He also made colours for sale. Not meeting with anything to

suit me in London, I returned to the North, calling at Birmingham on my

way, where I met Mr. Whitlock, the chief Daguerreotypist there, and a

Mr. Monson, who professed to make Daguerreotypes and all other types.

Paying a visit to Mr. Elisha Mander, the well-known photographic case

maker, I learnt that Mr. Jabez Hughes, then in business in Glasgow, was

in want of an assistant, a colourist especially. Having met Mr. Hughes

in Glasgow in 1852, and knowing what kind of man he was, I wrote to him,

and was engaged in a few days. I went to Glasgow in January, 1855, and

then commenced business relations and friendship with Mr. Hughes that

lasted unbroken until his death in 1884. My chief occupation was to

colour the Daguerreotypes taken by Mr. Hughes, and occasionally take

sitters, when Mr. Hughes was busy, in another studio. I had not,

however, been long in Glasgow, when Mr. Hughes determined to return to

London. At first he wished me to accompany him, but it was ultimately

arranged that I should purchase the business, and remain in Glasgow,

which I did, and took possession in June, Mr. Hughes going to Mr.

Mayall's old place in the Strand, London. Mr. Hughes had been in Glasgow

for nearly seven years, and had done a very good business, going first

as operator to Mr. Bernard, and succeeding to the business just as I was

doing. While Mr. Hughes was in Glasgow he was very popular, not only as

a Daguerreotypist, but as a lecturer. He delivered a lecture on

photography at the Literary and Philosophical Society, became an active

member of the Glasgow Photographic Society, and an enthusiastic member

of the St. Mark's Lodge of Freemasons. Only a day or two before he left

Glasgow, he occupied the chair at a meeting of photographers, comprising

Daguerreotypists and collodion workers, to consider what means could be

adopted to check the downward tendency of prices even in those early

days. I was present, and remember seeing a lady Daguerreotypist among

the company, and she expressed her opinion quite decidedly. Efforts were

made to enter into a compact to maintain good prices, but nothing came

of it. Like all such bandings together, the band was quickly and easily

broken.



I had the good fortune to retain the best of Mr. Hughes's customers, and

make new ones of my own, as well as many staunch and valuable friends,

both among what I may term laymen and brother Masons, while I resided in

Glasgow. Most of my sitters were of the professional classes, and the

_elite_ of the city, among whom were Sir Archibald Alison, the

historian, Col. (now General) Sir Archibald Alison, Dr. Arnott,

Professor Ramsey, and many of the princely merchants and manufacturers.

Some of my other patrons--for I did all kinds of photographic work--were

the late Norman Macbeth, Daniel McNee (afterwards Sir Daniel), and

President of the Scottish Academy of Art, and also Her Majesty the

Queen, for she bought two of my photographs of Glasgow Cathedral, and a

copy of my illustration of Hood's "Song of the Shirt," copies of which I

possess now, and doubtless so does Her Majesty. One of the most

interesting portraits I remember taking while I was in Glasgow was that

of John Robertson, who constructed the first marine steam engine. He was

associated with Henry Bell, and fitted the "Comet" with her engine. Mr.

Napier senr., the celebrated engineer on the Clyde, brought Robertson to

sit to me, and ordered a great many copies. I also took a portrait of

Harry Clasper, of rowing and boat-building notoriety, which was engraved

and published in the _Illustrated London News_. Several of my portraits

were engraved both on wood and steel, and published. At the photographic

exhibition in connection with the meeting of the British Association

held in Glasgow, in 1855, I saw the largest collodion positive on glass

that ever was made to my knowledge. The picture was thirty-six inches

long, a view of Gourock, or some such place down the Clyde, taken by Mr.

Kibble. The glass was British plate, and cost about L1. I thought it a

great evidence of British pluck to attempt such a size. When I saw Mr.

Kibble I told him so, and expressed an opinion that I thought it a waste

of time, labour, and money not to have made a negative when he was at

such work. He took the hint, and at the next photographic exhibition he

showed a silver print the same size. Mr. Kibble was an undoubted

enthusiast, and kept a donkey to drag his huge camera from place to

place. My pictures frequently appeared at the Glasgow exhibition, but at

one, which was burnt down, I lost all my Daguerreotype views of Niagara

Falls, Whipple's views of the moon, and many other valuable pictures,

portraits, and views, which could never be replaced.





  [Illustration: THIRD PERIOD.



  COLLODION.



  FREDERICK SCOTT ARCHER.

  _From Glass Positive by R. Cade, Ipswich. 1855._



  HEVER CASTLE, KENT.

  _Copy of Glass Positive taken by F. Scott Archer in 1849._]









THIRD PERIOD.



COLLODION TRIUMPHANT.





In 1857 I abandoned the Daguerreotype process entirely, and took to

collodion solely; and, strangely enough, that was the year that

Frederick Scott Archer, the inventor, died. Like Daguerre, he did not

long survive the publication and popularity of his invention, nor did he

live long enough to see his process superseded by another. In years,

honours, and emoluments, he fell far short of Daguerre, but his process

had a much longer existence, was of far more commercial value,

benefitting private individuals and public bodies, and creating an

industry that expanded rapidly, and gave employment to thousands all

over the world; yet he profited little by his invention, and when he

died, a widow and three children were left destitute. Fortunately a few

influential friends bestirred themselves in their interest, and when the

appeal was made to photographers and the public to the Archer

Testimonial, the following is what appeared in the pages of _Punch_,

June 13th, 1857:--





"To the Sons of the Sun.



"The inventor of collodion has died, leaving his invention unpatented,

to enrich thousands, and his family unportioned to the battle of life.

Now, one expects a photographer to be almost as sensitive as the

collodion to which Mr. Scott Archer helped him. A deposit of silver is

wanted (gold will do), and certain faces, now in the dark chamber, will

light up wonderfully, with an effect never before equalled by

photography. A respectable ancient writes that the statue of Fortitude

was the only one admitted to the Temple of the Sun. Instead whereof, do

you, photographers, set up Gratitude in your little glass temples of the

sun, and sacrifice, according to your means, in memory of the benefactor

who gave you the deity for a household god. Now, answers must not be

negatives."



The result of that appeal, and the labours of the gentlemen who so

generously interested themselves on behalf of the widow and orphans, was

highly creditable to photographers, the Photographic Society, Her

Majesty's Ministers, and Her Majesty the Queen. What those labours were,

few now can have any conception; but I think the very best way to convey

an idea of those labours and their successful results will be to reprint

a copy of the final report of the committee.





The Report of the Committee of the Archer Testimonial.



"The Committee of the Archer Testimonial, considering it necessary to

furnish a statement of the course pursued towards the attainment of

their object, desire to lay before the subscribers and the public

generally a full report of their proceedings.



"Shortly after the death of Mr. F. Scott Archer, a preliminary meeting

of a few friends was held, and it was determined that a printed address

should be issued to the photographic world.



"Sir William Newton, cordially co-operating in the movement, at once

made application to Her Most Gracious Majesty. The Queen, with her usual

promptitude and kindness of heart, forwarded a donation of L20 towards

the Testimonial. The Photographic Society of London, at the same time,

proposed a grant of L50, and this liberality on the part of the Society

was followed by an announcement of a list of donations from individual

members, which induced your Committee to believe that if an appeal were

made to the public, and those practising the photographic art, a sum

might be raised sufficiently large, not only to relieve the immediate

wants of the widow and children, but to purchase a small annuity, and

thus in a slight degree compensate for the heavy loss they had sustained

by the premature death of one to whom the photographic art had already

become deeply indebted.



"To aid in the accomplishment of this design, Mr. Mayall placed the use

of his rooms at the service of a committee then about to be formed. Sir

William Newton and Mr. Roger Fenton consented to act as treasurers to

the fund, and the Union, and London and Westminster Banks kindly

undertook to receive subscriptions.



"Your Committee first met on the 8th day of June, 1857, Mr. Digby Wyatt

being called to the chair, when it was resolved to ask the consent of

Professors Delamotte and Goodeve to become joint secretaries. These

duties were willingly accepted, and subscription lists opened in various

localities in furtherance of the Testimonial.



"Your Committee met on the 8th day of July, and again on the 4th day of

September, when, on each occasion, receipts were announced and paid into

the bankers.



"The Society of Arts having kindly offered, through their Secretary, the

use of apartments in the house of the Society for any further meetings,

your Committee deemed it expedient to accept the same, and passed a vote

of thanks to Mr. Mayall for the accommodation previously afforded by

that gentleman.



"Your Committee, believing that the interests of the fund would be

better served by a short delay in their proceedings, resolved on

deferring their next meeting until the month of November, or until the

Photographic Society should resume its meetings, when a full attendance

of members might be anticipated; it being apparent that individually and

collectively persons in the provinces had withheld their subscriptions

until the grant of the Photographic Society of London had been formally

sanctioned at a special meeting convened for the purpose, and that their

object--the purchase of an annuity for Mrs. Archer and her

children--could only be effected by the most active co-operation among

all classes.



"Your Committee again met on the 26th of November, when it was resolved

to report progress to the general body of subscribers, and that a public

meeting be called for the purpose, at which the Lord Chief Baron Pollock

should be requested to preside. To this request the Lord Chief Baron

most kindly and promptly acceded; and your Committee determined to seek

the co-operation of their photographic friends and the public to enable

them to carry out in its fullest integrity the immediate object of

securing some small acknowledgment for the eminent services rendered to

photography by the late Mr. Archer.



"At this meeting it was stated that an impression existed, which to some

extent still exists, that Mr. Archer was not the originator of the

Collodion Process; your Committee, therefore, think it their duty to

state emphatically that they are fully satisfied of the great importance

of the services rendered by him, as an original inventor, to the art of

photography.



"Professor Hunt, having studied during twenty years the beautiful art of

photography in all its details, submitted to the Committee the following

explanation of Mr. Archer's just right:--



"'As there appears to be some misconception of the real claim of Mr.

Archer to be considered as a _discoverer_, it is thought desirable to

state briefly and distinctly what we owe to him. There can be no doubt

that much of the uncertainty which has been thought by some persons to

surround the introduction of collodion, has arisen from the unobtrusive

character of Mr. Archer himself, who deferred for a considerable period

_the publication of the process of which he was the discoverer_.



"'When Professor Schoenbein, of Basle, introduced gun-cotton at the

meeting of the British Association at Southampton in 1846, the

solubility of this curious substance in ether was alluded to. Within a

short time collodion was employed in our hospitals for the purposes of

covering with a film impervious to air abraded surfaces on the body; its

peculiar electrical condition was also known and exhibited by Mr. Hall,

of Dartford, and others.



"'The beautiful character of the collodion film speedily led to the idea

of using it as a medium for receiving photographic agents, and

experiments were made by spreading the collodion on paper and on glass,

to form with it sensitive tablets. These experiments were all failures,

owing to the circumstance that the collodion was regarded merely as a

sheet upon which the photographic materials were to be spread; the dry

collodion film being in all cases employed.



"'To Mr. Archer, who spent freely both time and money in experimental

research, it first occurred to dissolve in the collodion itself the

iodide of potassium. By this means he removed every difficulty, and

became the inventor of the collodion process. The pictures thus obtained

were exhibited, and some of the details of the process communicated by

Mr. Scott Archer in confidence to friends before he published his

process. This led, very unfortunately, to experiments by others in the

same direction, and hence there have arisen claims in opposition to

those of this lamented photographer. Everyone, however, acquainted with

the early history of the collodion process freely admits that Mr. Archer

was the _sole inventor of iodized collodion_, and of those manipulatory

details which still, with very slight modifications, constitute the

collodion process, and he was the first person who published any account

of the application of this remarkable accelerating agent, by which the

most important movement has been given to the art of photography.'



"Your committee, in May last, heard with deep regret of the sudden death

of the widow, Mrs. Archer, which melancholy event caused a postponement

of the general meeting resolved upon in November last. Sir Wm. Newton

thereupon resolved to make another effort to obtain a pension for the

three orphan children, now more destitute than ever, and so earnestly

did he urge their claim upon the Minister, Lord Derby, that a reply came

the same day from his lordship's private secretary, saying, 'The Queen

has been pleased to approve of a pension of fifty pounds per annum being

paid from the Civil List to the children of the late Mr. Frederick Scott

Archer, in consideration of the scientific discoveries of their father,'

his lordship adding his regrets 'that the means at his disposal have not

enabled him to do more in this case.' Your committee, to mark their

sense of the value of the services rendered to the cause by Sir William

Newton, thereupon passed a vote of thanks to him. In conclusion, your

committee have to state that a trust deed has been prepared, free of

charge, by Henry White, Esq., of 7, Southampton Street, which conveys

the fund collected to trustees, to be by them invested in the public

securities for the sole benefit of the orphan children. The sum in the

Union Bank now amounts to L549 11s. 4d., exclusive of interest, and the

various sums--in all about L68--paid over to Mrs. Archer last year. Thus

far, the result is a subject for congratulation to the subscribers and

your committee, whose labours have hitherto not been in vain. Your

committee are, nevertheless, of opinion that an appeal to Parliament

might be productive of a larger recognition of the claim of these orphan

children--a claim not undeserving the recognition of the Legislature,

when the inestimable boon bestowed upon the country is duly considered.

Since March 1851, when Mr. Archer described his process in the pages of

the _Chemist_, how many thousands must in some way or other have been

made acquainted with the immense advantages it offers over all other

processes in the arts, and how many instances could be adduced in

testimony of its usefulness? For instance, its value to the Government

during the last war, in the engineering department, the construction of

field works, and in recording observations of historical and scientific

interest. Your committee noticed that an attractive feature of the

Photographic Society's last exhibition was a series of drawings and

plans, executed by the Royal Engineers, in reduction of various ordnance

maps, at a saving estimated at L30,000 to the country. The

non-commissioned officers of this corps are now trained in this art, and

sent to different foreign stations, so that in a few years there will be

a network of photographic stations spread over the world, and having

their results recorded in the War Department, and, in a short time, all

the world will be brought under the subjugation of art.



"Mr. Warren De la Rue exhibited to the Astronomical Society, November,

1857, photographs of the moon and Jupiter, taken by the collodion

process in five seconds, of which the Astronomer-Royal said, 'that a

step of very great importance had been made, and that, either as regards

the self-delineation of clusters of stars, nebulae, and planets, or the

self-registration of observations, it is impossible at present to

estimate the value.' When admiring the magnificent photographic prints

which are now to be seen in almost every part of the civilized world, an

involuntary sense of gratitude towards the discoverer of the collodion

process must be experienced, and it cannot but be felt how much the

world is indebted to Mr. Archer for having placed at its command the

means by which such beautiful objects are presented. How many thousands

amongst those who owe their means of subsistence to this process must

have experienced such a feeling of gratitude? It is upon such

considerations that the public have been, and still are, invited to

assist in securing for the orphan children of the late Mr. Archer some

fitting appreciation of the service which he rendered to science, art,

his country--nay, to the whole world.



"M. Digby Wyatt, _Chairman_,



"Jabez Hogg, _Secretary to Committee_.



"_Society of Arts, July, 1858._"



After reading that report, and especially Mr. Hunt's remarks, it will

appear evident to all that even that act of charity, gratitude, and

justice could not be carried through without someone raising objections

and questioning the claims of Frederick Scott Archer as the original

inventor of the Collodion process. Nearly all the biographers and

historians of photography have coupled other names with Archer's, either

as assistants or co-inventors, but I have evidence in my possession that

will prove that neither Fry nor Diamond afforded Archer any assistance

whatever, and that Archer preceded all the other claimants in his

application of collodion. In support of the first part of this

statement, I shall give extracts from Mrs. Archer's letter, now in my

possession, which, I think, will set that matter at rest for ever. Mrs.

Archer, writing from Bishop Stortford on December 7th, 1857, says, "When

Mr. A. prepared pupils for India he always taught the paper process as

well as the Collodion, for fear the chemicals should cause

disappointment in a hot climate, as I believe that the negative paper he

prepared differed from that in general use. I enclosed a specimen made

in our glass house.



"In Mr. Hunt's book, as well as Mr. Horne's, Mr. Fry's name is joined

with Mr. Archer's as the originators of the Collodion process.



"Should Mr. Hunt seem to require any corroboration of what I have stated

respecting Mr. Fry, I can send you many of Mr. Fry's notes of

invitation, when Mr. A. merely gave him lessons in the application of

collodion, and Mr. Brown gave me the correspondence which passed between

him and Mr. Fry on the subject at the time Mr. Home's book was

published. I did not send up those papers, for, unless required, it is

useless to dwell on old grievances, but I should like such a man as Mr.

Hunt to understand _how_ the association of the two names originated."



As to priority of application, the following letter ought to settle that

point:--



"_Alma Cottage, Bishop Stortford._



"_9th December, 1857._



"Sir,--My hunting has at length proved successful. In the enclosed book

you will find notes respecting the paper pulp, albumen, tanno-gelatine,

and collodion. You will therein see Mr. Archer's notes of iod-collodion

in 1849. You may wonder that I could not find this note-book before, but

the numbers of papers that there are, and the extreme disorder, defy

description. My head was in such a deplorable state before I left that I

could arrange nothing. Those around me were most anxious to destroy _all

the papers_, and I had great trouble to keep all with Mr. Archer's

handwriting upon them, however dirty and rubbishing they might appear,

so they were huddled together, a complete chaos. I look back with the

greatest thankfulness that my brain did not completely lose its balance,

for I had not a single relative who entered into Mr. Archer's pursuits,

so that they could not possibly assist me.



"Mr. Archer being of so reserved a character, I had to _find out_ where

everything was, and my search has been amongst different things. I need

not tell you that I hope this dirty enclosure will be taken care of.



"The paper pulp occupied much time; in fact, notes were only made of

articles which had been much tried, which might probably be brought into

use.--I am, sir, yours faithfully,



"_J. Hogg, Esq._

F. G. Archer."



If the foregoing is not evidence sufficient, I have by me a very good

_glass positive_ of Hever Castle, Kent, which was taken in the spring of

1849, and two collodion negatives made by Mr. Archer in the autumn of

1848; and these dates are all vouched for by Mr. Jabez Hogg, who was Mr.

Archer's medical attendant and friend, and knew him long before he began

his experiments with collodion--whereas I cannot find a trace even of

the _suggestion_ of the application of collodion in the practice of

photography either by Gustave Le Gray or J. R. Bingham prior to 1849;

while Mr. Archer's note-book proves that he was not only iodizing

collodion at that date, but making experiments with paper pulp and

_gelatine_; so that Mr. Archer was not only the inventor of the

collodion process, but was on the track of its destroyer even at that

early date. He also published his method of bleaching positives and

intensifying negatives with bichloride of mercury.



Frederick Scott Archer was born at Bishop Stortford in 1813, but there

is little known of his early life, and what little there is I will allow

Mrs. Archer to tell in her own way.



"Dear Sir,--I do not know whether the enclosed is what you require; if

not, be kind enough to let me know, and I must try to supply you with

something better. I thought you merely required particulars relating to

photography. Otherwise Mr. Archer's career was a singular one: Losing

his parents in childhood, he lived in a world of his own; I think you

know he was apprenticed to a bullion dealer in the city, where the most

beautiful antique gems and coins of all nations being constantly before

him, gave him the desire to model the figures, and led him to the study

of numismatics. He worked so hard at nights at these pursuits that his

master gave up the last two years of his time to save his life. He only

requested him to be on the premises, on account of his extreme

confidence in him.



"Many other peculiarities I could mention, but I dare say you know them

already.



"I will send a small case to you, containing some early specimens and

gutta-percha negatives, with a copy of Mr. A.'s portrait, which I found

on leaving Great Russell Street, and have had several printed from it.

It is not a good photograph, but I think you will consider it a

likeness. I am, yours faithfully,



"_J. Hogg, Esq._

F. G. Archer."



Frederick Scott Archer pursued the double occupation of sculptor and

photographer at 105, Great Russell Street. It was there he so

persistently persevered in his photographic experiments, and there he

died in May, 1857, and was interred in Kensal Green Cemetery. A

reference to the report of the Committee will show what was done for his

bereaved family--a widow and three children. Mrs. Archer followed her

husband in March, 1858, and two of the children died early; but one,

Alice (unmarried), is still alive and in receipt of the Crown pension of

fifty pounds per annum.



While the collodion episode in the history of photography is before my

readers, and especially as the process is rapidly becoming extinct, I

think this will be a suitable place to insert Archer's instructions for

making a _soluble_ gun-cotton, iodizing collodion, developing, and

fixing the photographic image.



  _Gun-Cotton_ (_or Pyroxaline, as it was afterwards named_).



    Take of dry nitre in powder         40 parts

    Sulphuric acid                      60   "

    Cotton                               2   "



The sulphuric acid and the nitre were mixed together, and immediately

the latter was all dissolved, the gun-cotton was added and well stirred

with a glass rod for about two minutes; then the cotton was plunged into

a large bowl of water and well washed with repeated changes of water

until the acid and nitre were washed away. The cotton was then pressed

and dried, and converted into collodion by dissolving 30 grains of

gun-cotton in 18 fluid ounces of ether and 2 ounces of alcohol--putting

the cotton into the ether first, and then adding the alcohol; the

collodion allowed to settle and decanted prior to iodizing. The latter

operation was performed by adding a sufficient quantity of iodide of

silver to each ounce of the plain collodion. Mr. Archer tells how to

make the iodide of silver, but the quantity is regulated by the quantity

of alcohol in the collodion. When the iodized collodion was ready for

use, a glass plate was cleaned and coated with it, and then sensitised

by immersion in a bath of nitrate of silver solution--30 grains of

nitrate of silver to each ounce of distilled water. From three to five

minutes' immersion in the silver bath was generally sufficient to

sensitise the plate. This, of course, had to be done in what is commonly

called a _dark room_. After exposure in the camera, the picture was

developed by pouring over the surface of the plate a solution of

pyrogallic acid of the following proportions:--



    Pyrogallic acid                    5 grains

    Distilled water                   10 ounces

    Glacial acetic acid               40 minims



After the development of the picture it was washed and fixed in a

solution of hyposulphite of soda, 4 ounces to 1 pint of water. The plate

was then washed and dried. This is an epitome of the whole of Archer's

process for making either negatives or positives on glass, the

difference being effected by varying the time of exposure and

development. Of course the process was somewhat modified and simplified

by experience and commercial enterprise. Later on bromides were added to

the collodion, an iron developer employed, and cyanide of potassium as a

fixing agent; but the principle remained the same from first to last.



When pyrogallic acid was first employed in photography, it was quoted

at 21s. per oz., and, if I remember rightly, I paid 3s. for the first

_drachm_ that I purchased. On referring to an old price list I find

Daguerreotype plates, 2-1/2 by 2 inches, quoted at 12s. per dozen;

nitrate of silver, 5s. 6d. per oz.; chloride of gold, 5s. 6d. for

15 grains; hyposulphite of soda at 5s. per lb.; and a half-plate rapid

portrait lens by Voightlander, of Vienna, at L60. Those were the days

when photography might well be considered expensive, and none but the

wealthy could indulge in its pleasures and fascinations.



While I lived in Glasgow, competition was tolerably keen, even then,

and amongst the best "glass positive men" were Messrs. Bibo, Bowman,

J. Urie, and Young and Sun, as the latter styled himself; and in

photographic portraiture, plain and coloured, by the collodion process,

were Messrs. Macnab and J. Stuart. From the time that I relinquished the

Daguerreotype process, in 1857, I devoted my attention to the production

of high-class collodion negatives. I never took kindly to _glass

positives_, though I had done some as early as 1852. They were never

equal in beauty and delicacy to a good Daguerreotype, and their low tone

was to me very objectionable. I considered the Ferrotype the best form

of collodion positive, and did several of them, but my chief work was

plain and coloured prints from collodion negatives, also small portraits

on visiting cards.



Early in January, 1860, my home and business were destroyed by fire, and

I lost all my old and new specimens of Daguerreotypes and photographs,

all my Daguerreotype and other apparatus, and nearly everything I

possessed. As I was only partially insured, I suffered considerable

loss. After settling my affairs I decided on going to America again and

trying my luck in New York. Family ties influenced this decision

considerably, or I should not have left Glasgow, where I was both

prosperous and respected. To obtain an idea of the latest and best

aspects of photography, I visited London and Paris.



The carte-de-visite form of photography had not exhibited much vitality

at that period in London, but in Paris it was beginning to be popular.

While in London I accompanied Mr. Jabez Hughes to the meeting of the

Photographic Society, Feb. 7th, 1860, the Right Honorable the Lord Chief

Baron Pollock in the chair, when the report of the Collodion Committee

was delivered. The committee, consisting of F. Bedford, P. Delamotte,

Dr. Diamond, Roger Fenton, Jabez Hughes, T. A. Malone, J. H. Morgan, H.

P. Robinson, Alfred Rosling, W. Russell Sedgefield, J. Spencer, and T.

R. Williams, strongly recommended Mr. Hardwich's formula. That was my

first visit to the Society, and I certainly did not think then that I

should ever see it again, or become and be a member for twenty-two

years.



I sailed from Liverpool in the ss. _City of Baltimore_ in March, and

reached New York safely in April, 1860. I took time to look about me,

and visited all the "galleries" on Broadway, and other places, before

deciding where I should locate myself. Many changes had taken place

during the six years I had been absent. Nearly all the old

Daguerreotypists were still in existence, but all of them, with the

exception of Mr. Brady, had abandoned the Daguerreotype process, and Mr.

Brady only retained it for small work. Most of the chief galleries had

been moved higher up Broadway, and a mania of magnificence had taken

possession of most of the photographers. Mr. Anson was the first to make

a move in that direction by opening a "superb gallery" on the ground

floor in Broadway right opposite the Metropolitan Hotel, filling his

windows with life-sized photographs coloured in oil at the back, which

he called Diaphanotypes. He did a large business in that class of work,

especially among visitors from the Southern States; but that was soon to

end, for already there were rumours of war, but few then gave it any

serious consideration.



Messrs. Gurney and Sons' gallery was also a very fine one, but not on

the ground floor. Their "saloon" was upstairs, This house was one of the

oldest in New York in connection with photography. In the very early

days, Mr. Gurney, senr., was one of the most eminent "professors" of the

Daguerreotype process, and was one of the committee appointed to wait

upon the Rev. Wm. Hill, a preacher in the Catskills, to negotiate with

the reverend gentlemen (?) for his vaunted secret of photography in

natural colours. As the art progressed, or the necessity for change

arose, Mr. Gurney was ready to introduce every novelty, and, in later

years, in conjunction with Mr. Fredericks, then in partnership with Mr.

Gurney, he introduced the "Hallotype," not Hillotype, and the

"Ivorytype." Both these processes had their day. The former was

photography spoiled by the application of Canada balsam and very little

art; the latter was the application of a great deal of art to spoil a

photograph. The largest of all the large galleries on Broadway was that

of Messrs. Fredericks and Co. The whole of the ground and first floor

were thrown into one "crystal front," and made a very attractive

appearance. The windows were filled with life-sized portraits painted in

oil, crayons, and other styles, and the walls of the interior were

covered with life-sized portraits of eminent men and beautiful women.

The floor was richly carpeted, and the furnishing superb. A gallery ran

round the walls to enable the visitors to view the upper pictures, and

obtain a general view of the "saloon," the _tout ensemble_ of which was

magnificent. From the ground floor an elegant staircase led to the

galleries, toilet and waiting rooms, and thence to the operating rooms

or studios. Some of the Parisian galleries were fine, but nothing to be

compared with Fredericks', and the finest establishment in London did

not bear the slightest comparison.



Mr. Brady was another of the early workers of the Daguerreotype process,

and probably the last of his _confreres_ to abandon it. He commenced

business in the early forties in Fulton Street, a long way down

Broadway, but as the sea of commerce pressed on and rolled over the

strand of fashion, he was obliged to move higher and higher up Broadway,

until he reached the corner of Tenth Street, nearly opposite Grace

Church. Mr. Brady appeared to set the Franklin maxim, "Three removes as

bad as a fire," at defiance, for he had made three or four moves to my

knowledge--each one higher and higher to more elegant and expensive

premises, each remove entailing the cost of more and more expensive

furnishing, until his latest effort in upholstery culminated in a superb

suite of black walnut and green silk velvet; in short, Longfellow's

"Excelsior" appeared to be the motto of Mr. Brady.



Messrs. Mead Brothers, Samuel Root, James Cady, and George Adams ought

to receive "honourable mention" in connection with the art in New York,

for they were excellent operators in the Daguerreotype days, and all

were equally good manipulators of the collodion process and silver

printing.



After casting and sounding about, like a mariner seeking a haven on a

strange coast, I finally decided on buying a half interest in the

gallery of Mead Brothers, 805, Broadway; Harry Mead retaining his, or

his wife's share of the business, but leaving me to manage the "uptown"

branch. This turned out to be an unfortunate speculation, which involved

me in a lawsuit with one of Mead's creditors, and compelled me to get

rid of a very unsatisfactory partner in the best way and at any cost

that I could. Mead's creditor, by some process of law that I could never

understand, stripped the gallery of all that belonged to my partner, and

even put in a claim for half of the fixtures. Over this I lost my

temper, and had to pay, not the piper, but the lawyer. I also found that

Mrs. Henry Mead had a bill of sale on her husband's interest in the

business, which I ended by buying her out. Husband and wife are very

seldom one in America. Soon after getting the gallery into my own hands,

refurnishing and rearranging, the Prince of Wales's visit to New York

was arranged, and as the windows of my gallery commanded a good view of

Broadway, I let most of them very advantageously, retaining the use of

one only for myself and family. There were so many delays, however, at

the City Hall and other places on the day of the procession, that it was

almost dark when the Prince reached 805, Broadway, and all my guests

were both weary of waiting so long, and disappointed at seeing so little

of England's future King.



When I recommenced business on Broadway on my own account there was only

one firm taking cartes-de-visite, and I introduced that form of portrait

to my customers, but they did not take very kindly to it, though a house

not far from me was doing a very good business in that style at three

dollars a dozen, and Messrs. Rockwood and Co. appeared to be

monopolising all the carte-de-visite business that was being done in New

York; but eventually I got in the thin edge of the wedge by exhibiting

_four_ for one dollar. This ruse brought in sitters, and I began to do

very well until Abraham Lincoln issued his proclamation calling for one

hundred thousand men to stamp out the Southern rebellion. I remember

that morning most distinctly. It was a miserably wet morning in April,

1861, and all kinds of business received a shock. People looked

bewildered, and thought of nothing but saving their money and reducing

their expenses. It had a blighting effect on my business, and I, not

knowing, like others, where it might land me, determined to get rid of

my responsibilities at any cost, so I sold my business for a great deal

less than it was worth, and at a very serious loss. The outbreak of that

gigantic civil war and a severe family bereavement combined, induced me

to return to England as soon as possible. Before leaving America, in all

probability for ever, I went to Washington to bid some friends farewell,

and while there I went into Virginia with a friend on Sunday morning,

July 21st, and in the afternoon saw the smoke and heard the cannonading

of the first battle of Bull Run, and witnessed, next morning, the rout

and rush into Washington of the demoralised fragments of the Federal

army. I wrote and sent a description of the stampede to a friend in

Glasgow, which he handed over to the _Glasgow Herald_ for publication,

and I have reason to believe that my description of that memorable rout

was the first that was published in Great Britain.



As soon as I could settle my affairs I left New York with my family, and

arrived in London on the 15th of September, 1861. It was a beautiful

sunny day when I landed, and, after all the trouble and excitement I had

so recently seen and experienced, London, despite its business and

bustle, appeared like a heaven of peace.



Mr. Jabez Hughes was about the last to wish me "God speed" when I left

England, so he was the first I went to see when I returned. I found, to

my disappointment, that he was in Paris, but Mrs. Hughes gave me a

hearty welcome. After a few days' sojourn in London I went to Glasgow

with the view of recommencing in that city, where I had many friends;

but while there, and on the very day that I was about to sign for the

lease of a house, Mr. Hughes wrote to offer me the management of his

business in Oxford Street. It did not take me long to decide, and by

return post that same night I wrote accepting the offer. I concluded all

other arrangements as quickly as possible, returned to London, and

entered upon my managerial duties on the 1st November, 1861. I had long

wished and looked out for an opportunity to settle in London and enlarge

my circle of photographic acquaintance and experience, so I put on my

new harness with alacrity and pleasure.



Among the earliest of my new acquaintances was George Wharton Simpson,

Editor of the Photographic News. He called at Oxford Street one evening

while I was the guest of Mr. Hughes, by whom we were introduced, and we

spent a long, chatty, and pleasant evening together, talking over my

American experience and matters photographic; but, to my surprise, much

of our conversation appeared in the next issue of his journal (_vide_

Photographic News, October 11th, 1861, pp. 480-1). But that was a power,

I afterwards ascertained, which he possessed to an eminent degree, and

which he utilized most successfully at his "Wednesday evenings at home,"

when he entertained his photographic friends at Canonbury Road, N. Very

delightful and enjoyable those evenings were, and he never failed to

cull paragraphs for the Photographic News from the busy brains of his

numerous visitors. He was a genial host, and his wife was a charming

hostess; and his daughter Eva, now the wife of William Black the

novelist, often increased the charm of those evenings by the exhibition

of her musical abilities. It is often a wonder to me that other editors

of photographic journals don't pursue a similar plan, for those social

re-unions were not only pleasant, but profitable to old friend Simpson.

Through Mr. Simpson's "at homes," and my connection with Mr. Hughes, I

made the acquaintance of nearly all the eminent photographers of the

time, amongst whom may be mentioned W. G. Lacy, of Ryde, I.W. The latter

was a very sad and brief acquaintanceship, for he died in Mr. Hughes's

sitting-room on the 21st November, 1861, in the presence of G. Wharton

Simpson, Jabez Hughes, and myself, and, strangely enough, it was

entirely through this death that Mr. Hughes went to Ryde, and became

photographer to the Queen. Mr. Lacy made his will in Mr. Hughes's

sitting-room, and Mr. Simpson sole executor, who sold Mr. Lacy's

business in the Arcade, Ryde, I.W., to Mr. Hughes, and in the March

following he took possession, leaving me solely in charge of his

business in Oxford Street, London.



About this time Mr. Skaife introduced his ingenious pistolgraph, but it

was rather in advance of the times, for the dry plates then in the

market were not quite quick enough for "snap shots," though I have seen

some fairly good pictures taken with the apparatus.



At this period a fierce controversy was raging about lunar photography,

but it was all unnecessary, as the moon had photographed herself under

the guidance of Mr. Whipple, of Boston, U.S., as early as 1853, and all

that was required to obtain a lunar picture was sufficient exposure.



On December 3rd, 1861, Thomas Ross read a paper and exhibited a

panoramic lens and camera at a meeting of the Photographic Society, and

on the 15th October, 1889, I saw the same apparatus, in perfect

condition, exhibited as a curiosity at the Photographic Society's

Exhibition. No wonder the apparatus was in such good condition, for I

should think it had never been used but once. The plates were 10 inches

long, and curved like the crescent of a new moon. Cleaning board, dark

slide, and printing-frame, were all curved. Fancy the expense and

trouble attending the use of such an apparatus; I should think it had

few buyers. Certainly I never sold one, and I never met with any person

who had bought one.



Amateurs have ever been the most restless and discontented disciples of

the "Fathers of Photography," always craving for something new, and

seeking to lessen their labours and increase their facilities, and to

these causes we are chiefly indebted for the marvellous development and

radical changes of photography. No sooner was the Daguerreotype process

perfected than it was superseded by _wet_ collodion, and that was barely

a workable process when it became the anxiety of every amateur to have a

_dry_ collodion process, and multitudes of men were at work endeavouring

to make, modify, or invent a means that would enable them to use the

camera as a sort of sketch-book, and make their finished picture at home

at their leisure. Hence the number of Dry Plate processes published

about this period, and the controversies carried on by the many

enthusiastic champions of the various methods. Beer was pitted against

tea and coffee, honey against albumen, gin against gum, but none of them

were equal to wet collodion.



The International Exhibition of 1862 did little or nothing in the

interests of photography. It is true there was a scattered and skied

exhibition at the top of a high tower, but as there was no "lift," I

suspect very few people went to see the exhibits. I certainly was not

there more than once myself. Among the exhibitors of apparatus were the

names of Messrs. McLean, Melhuish and Co., Murray and Heath, P. Meagher,

T. Ottewill and Co., but there was nothing very remarkable among their

exhibits. There was some very good workmanship, but the articles

exhibited were not beyond the quality of the every-day manufacture of

the best camera and apparatus makers.



The chief contributors to the exhibition of photographs were Messrs.

Mayall, T. R. Williams, and Herbert Watkins in portraiture; and in

landscapes, &c., Messrs. Francis Bedford, Rejlander, Rouch, Stephen

Thompson, James Mudd, William Mayland, H. P. Robinson, and Breeze. By

some carelessness or stupidity on the part of the attendants or

constructors of the Exhibition, nearly all Mr. Breeze's beautiful

exhibits--stereoscopes and stereoscopic transparencies--were destroyed

by the fall of a skylight. Perhaps the best thing that the International

Exhibition did for photography was the issue of the Jurors' Report, as

it was prefaced with a brief History of Photography up to date, not

perfectly correct regarding the Rev. J. B. Reade's labours, but

otherwise good, the authorship of which I attribute to the late Dr.

Diamond; but the awards--ah! well, awards never were quite satisfactory.

Commendees thought they should have been medalists, and the latter

thought something else. Thomas Ross, J. H. Dallmeyer, and Negretti and

Zambra were the English recipients of medals, and Voightlander and Son

and C. Dietzler received medals for their lenses.



Early in 1862 the Harrison Globe Lens was attracting attention, and, as

much was claimed for it both in width of angle and rapidity, I imported

from New York a 5 by 4 and a whole-plate as samples. The 5 by 4 was an

excellent lens, and embraced a much wider angle than any other lens

known, and Mr. Hughes employed it to photograph the bridal bed and suite

of apartments of the Prince and Princess of Wales at Osborne, Isle of

Wight, and I feel certain that no other lens would have done the work so

well. I have copies of the photograph by me now. They are circular

pictures of five inches in diameter, and every article and decoration

visible in the chambers are as sharp and crisp as possible. I showed the

lens to Mr. Dallmeyer, and he thought he could make a better one; his

Wide-Angle Rectilinear was the result.



Mr. John Pouncy, of Dorchester, introduced his "patent process for

permanent printing" this year, but it never made much headway. It was an

oleagenous process, mixed with bichromate of potash, or bitumen of

Judea, and always smelt of bad fat. I possessed examples at the time,

but took no care of them, and no one else did in all probability; but it

appeared to me to be the best means of transferring photographic

impressions to wood blocks for the engraver's purpose. Thomas Sutton,

B.A., published a book on Pouncy's process and carbon printing, but the

process had inherent defects which were not overcome, so nothing could

make it a success. Sutton's "History of Carbon Printing" was

sufficiently interesting to attract both readers and buyers at the time.



I have previously stated that Daguerre introduced and left his process

in an imperfect and uncommercial condition, and that it was John

Frederick Goddard, then lecturer at the Adelaide Gallery, London, and

inventor of the polariscope, who discovered the accelerating properties

of bromine, and by which, with iodine, he obtained a bromo-iodide of

silver on the surface of the silvered plate employed in the

Daguerreotype process, thereby reducing the time of exposure from twenty

minutes to twenty seconds, and making the process available for

portraiture with an ordinary double combination lens. Somehow or other,

this worthy gentleman had fallen into adverse circumstances, and was

obliged to eat the bread of charity in his old age. The facts of this

sad case coming to the knowledge of Mr. Hughes and others, an appeal,

written by Mr. Hughes, was published in the Photographic News, December

11th, 1863. As Mr. Hughes and myself had benefitted by Mr. Goddard's

improvement in the practice of the Daguerreotype, we took an active

interest in the matter, and, by canvassing friends and customers,

succeeded in obtaining a considerable proportion of the sum total

subscribed for the relief of Mr. Goddard. Enough was obtained to make

him independent and comfortable for the remainder of his life. Mr. T. R.

Williams was appointed almoner by the committee, but his office was not

for long, as Mr. Goddard died Dec. 28th, 1866.



On the 5th of April, 1864, I attended a meeting of the Photographic

Society at King's College, and heard Mr. J. W. Swan read a paper on his

new patent carbon process. It was a crowded meeting, and an intense

interest pervaded the minds of both members and visitors. The examples

exhibited were very beautiful, but at that early stage they began to

show a weakness, which clung to the collodion support as long as it was

employed. Some of the specimens which I obtained at the time left the

mounting boards, and the films were torn asunder by opposing forces, and

the pictures completely destroyed. I have one in my possession now in

that unsatisfactory condition. Mr. Swan's process was undoubtedly an

advance in the right direction, but it was still imperfect, and required

further improvement. Many of the members failed to see where the patent

rights came in, and Mr. Swan himself appeared to have qualms of

conscience on the subject, for he rather apologetically announced in his

paper, that he had obtained a patent, though his first intention was to

allow it to be practised without any restriction. I think myself it

would have been wiser to have adhered to his original intention;

however, it was left to others to do more to advance the carbon process

than he did.



During this year (1865) an effort was made to establish a claim of

priority in favour of Thomas Wedgwood for the honour of having made

photographs on silver plates, and negatives on paper, and examples of

such alleged early works were submitted to the inspection of members of

the Photographic Society, but it was most satisfactorily determined that

the photographs on the silver plates were weak Daguerreotypes of a

posterior date, and that the photographic prints, on paper, of a

breakfast table were from a calotype negative taken by Fox Talbot.

Messrs. Henneman and Dr. Diamond proved this most conclusively. Other

prints then exhibited, and alleged to be photographs, were nothing but

prints from metal plates, produced by some process of engraving,

probably Aquatint. I saw some of the examples at the time, and, as

recently as Nov. 1st, 1889, I have seen some of them again, and I think

the "Breakfast Table" and a view of "Wedgwood's Pottery" are silver

prints, though very much faded, from calotype negatives. The other

prints, such as the "Piper" and "A Vase," are from engraved plates. No

one can desire to lessen Thomas Wedgwood's claims to pre-eminence among

the early experimentalists with chloride of silver, but there cannot now

be any denial to the claims of the Rev. J. B. Reade in 1837, and Fox

Talbot in 1840, of being the earliest producers of photographic

negatives on paper, from which numerous prints could be obtained.



The Wothlytype printing process was introduced to the notice of

photographers and the public this year: first, by a blatant article in

the _Times_, which was both inaccurate and misleading, for it stated

that both nitrate of silver and hyposulphite of soda were dispensed

within the process; secondly, by the issue of advertisements and

prospectuses for the formation of a Limited Liability Company. I went

to the Patent Office and examined the specification, and found that

both nitrate of silver and hyposulphite of soda were essential to the

practice of the process, and that there was no greater guarantee of

permanency in the use of the Wothlytype than in ordinary silver

printing.



On March 14th, 1865, George Wharton Simpson, editor and proprietor of

the _Photographic News_, read a paper at a meeting of the Photographic

Society on a new printing process with collodio-chloride of silver on

paper. Many beautiful examples were exhibited, but the method never

became popular, chiefly on account of the troubles of toning with

sulpho-cyanide of ammonium. The same or a similar process, substituting

gelatine for collodion, is known and practised now under the name of

Aristotype, but not very extensively, because of the same defects and

difficulties attending the Simpsontype. Another new method of positive

printing was introduced this year by Mr. John M. Burgess, of Norwich,

which he called "Eburneum." It was not in reality a new mode of

printing, but an ingenious application of the collodion transfer, or

stripping process. The back of the collodion positive print was coated

with a mixture of gelatine and oxide of zinc, and when dry stripped from

the glass. The finished picture resembled a print on very fine ivory,

and possessed both delicate half-tones and brilliant shadows. I possess

some of them now, and they are as beautiful as they were at first, after

a lapse of nearly quarter of a century. It was a very troublesome and

tedious process, and I don't think many people practised it. Certainly I

don't know any one that does so at the present time.



This was the year of the Dublin International Exhibition. I went to see

it and report thereon, and my opinions and criticisms of the

photographic and other departments will be found and may be perused in

"Contributions to Photographic Literature." On the whole, it was a very

excellent exhibition, and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip.



A new carbon process by M. Carey Lea was published this year. The

ingredients were similar to those employed by Swan and others, but

differently handled. No pigment was mixed with the gelatine before

exposure, but it was rubbed on after exposure and washing, and with care

any colour or number of colours might be applied, and so produce a

polychromatic picture, but I don't know any one that ever did so. I

think it could easily be applied to making photographic transfers to

blocks for the use of wood engravers.



December 5th, 1865, Mr. Walter Woodbury demonstrated and exhibited

examples of the beautiful mechanical process that bears his name to the

members of the Photographic Society. The process was not entirely

photographic. The province of photography ceased on the production of

the gelatine relief. All that followed was strictly mechanical. It is

somewhat singular that a majority of the inventions and modifications of

processes that were introduced this year related to carbon and

permanency.



Thursday, January 11th, 1866, I read, at the South London Photographic

Society, a paper on "Errors in Pictorial Backgrounds." As the paper, as

well as the discussion thereon, is published _in extenso_ in the

journals of the period, it is not necessary for me to repeat it here,

but I may as well state briefly my reasons for reading the paper. At

that time pictorial backgrounds and crowded accessories were greatly in

use, and it was seldom, if ever, that the horizontal line of the painted

background, and the horizontal line indicated by the position of the

camera, coincided. Consequently the photographic pictures obtained under

such conditions invariably exhibited this incongruity, and it was with

the hope of removing these defects, or violations of art rules and

optical laws, that I ventured to call attention to the subject and

suggest a remedy. A little later, I wrote an article, "Notes on Pictures

in the National Gallery," which was published in the _Photographic News_

of March 29th, in support of the arguments already adduced in my paper

on "Errors in Pictorial Backgrounds," and I recommend every portrait

photographer to study those pictures.



February 13th I was elected a member of the Photographic Society of

London.



Quite a sensation was created in the Spring of this year by the

introduction of what were termed "Magic Photographs." Some one was

impudent enough to patent the process, although it was nothing but a

resurrection of what was published in 1840 by Sir John Herschel, which

consisted of bleaching an ordinary silver print to invisibility with

bichloride of mercury, and restoring it by an application of

hyposulphite of soda. I introduced another form of magic photograph, in

various monochromatic colours, similar to Sir John Herschel's

cyanotype, and I have several of these pictures in my possession now,

both blue, purple, and red, dated 1866, as bright and beautiful as they

were the day they were made. But the demand for these magic photographs

was suddenly stopped by someone introducing indecent pictures. In all

probability these objectionable pictures came from abroad, and the most

scrupulous of the home producers suffered in consequence, as none of the

purchasers could possibly know what would appear when the developer or

redeveloper was applied.



On June 14th Mr. F. W. Hart read a paper, and demonstrated before the

South London Photographic Society, on his method of rendering silver

prints permanent. "A consummation devoutly to be wished," but

unfortunately some prints in my possession that were treated to a bath

of his eliminator show unmistakable signs of fading. In my opinion,

there is nothing so efficacious as warm water washing, and some prints

that I toned, fixed, and washed myself over thirty years ago, are

perfect.



The "cabinet" form of portrait was introduced this year by Mr. F. R.

Window, and it eventually became the fashionable size, and almost wiped

out the carte-de-visite. The latter, however, had held its position for

about nine years, and the time for change had arrived. Beyond the

introduction of the cabinet portrait, nothing very novel or ingenious

had been introduced, but a very good review of photography up to date

appeared in the October issue of the _British Quarterly Review_. This

was a very ably written article from the pen of my old friend, Mr.

George Wharton Simpson.



No radical improvement or advance in photography was made in 1867, but

M. Adam-Salomon created a little sensation by exhibiting some very fine

samples of his work in the Paris Exhibition. They were remarkable

chiefly for their pose, lighting, retouching, and tone. A few of them

were afterwards seen in London, and that of Dr. Diamond was probably the

most satisfactory. M. Salomon was a sculptor in Paris, and his art

training and feeling in that branch of the Fine Arts naturally assisted

him in photography.



The Duc de Luynes's prize of 8,000 francs for the best mechanical

printing process was this year awarded to M. Poitevin. In making the

award, the Commission gave a very excellent resume of all that had

previously been done in that direction, and endeavoured to show why they

thought M. Poitevin entitled to the prize; but for all that I think it

will be difficult to prove that any of M. Poitevin's mechanical

processes ever came into use.



On June 13th, in the absence of Mr. Jabez Hughes, I read his paper,

"About Leptographic Printing," before the South London Photographic

Society. This Leptographic paper was claimed to be the invention of two

photographers in Madrid, but it was evidently only a modification of Mr.

Simpson's collodio-chloride of silver process.



About this period I got into a controversy--on very different subjects,

it is true--but it made me determine to abandon for the future the

practice of writing critical notices under the cover of a _nom de

plume_. I had, under the _nom de plume_ of "Union Jack," written in

favour of a union of _all_ the photographic societies then in London.

This brought Mr. A. H. Wall down on me, but that did not affect me very

much, nor was I personally distressed about the other, but I thought it

best to abandon a dangerous practice. Under the _nom de plume_ of "Lux

Graphicus" I had contributed a great many articles to the _Photographic

News_, and, in a review of the Society's exhibition, published Nov.

22nd, 1867, I expressed an honest opinion on Mr. Robinson's picture

entitled "Sleep." It was not so favourable and flattering, perhaps, as

he would have liked, but it was an honest criticism, and written without

any intention of giving pain or offence.



The close of this year was marked by a very sad catastrophe intimately

associated with photography, by the death of Mr. Mawson at

Newcastle-on-Tyne; he was killed by an explosion of nitro-glycerine.

Mr. Mawson, in conjunction with Mr. J. W. Swan, was one of the earliest

and most successful manufacturers of collodion, and, as early as 1852, I

made negatives with that medium, though I did not employ collodion

solely until 1857, when I abandoned for ever the beautiful and

fascinating Daguerreotype.



On Friday, December 27th, Antoine Jean Francois Claudet, F.R.S., &c.,

&c., died suddenly in the 71st year of his age. He was one of the

earliest workers and improvers of the Daguerreotype process in this

country, and one of the last to relinquish its practice in London. Mr.

Claudet bought a share of the English patent of Mr. Berry, the agent,

while he was a partner in the firm of Claudet and Houghton in 1840, and

commenced business as a professional Daguerreotypist soon afterwards.

Before the introduction of bromine as an accelerator by Mr. Goddard, Mr.

Claudet had discovered that chloride of iodine increased the

sensitiveness of the Daguerreotype plate, and he read a paper on that

subject before the Royal Society in 1841. He was a member of the council

of the Photographic Society for many years, and a copious contributor to

its proceedings, as well as to photographic literature. In his

intercourse with his _confreres_ he was always courteous, and when I

called upon him in 1851 he received me most kindly, I met him again in

Glasgow, and many times in London, and always considered him the best

specimen of a Frenchman I had ever met. Towards his clients he was firm,

respectful, and sometimes generous, as the following characteristic

anecdote will show. He had taken a portrait of a child, which, for some

reason or other, was not liked, and demurred at. He said, "Ah! well, the

matter is easily settled. I'll keep the picture, and return your money";

and so he thought the case was ended; but by-and-by the picture was

asked for, and he refused to give it up. Proceedings were taken to

compel him to surrender it, which he defended. In stating the case, the

counsel remarked that the child was dead. Mr. Claudet immediately

stopped the counsel and the case by exclaiming, "Ah! they did not tell

me that before. Now, I make the parents a present of the portrait." I am

happy to say that I possess a good portrait of Mr. Claudet, taken in

November, 1867, with his _Topaz lens_, 5/8-inch aperture. Strangely

enough, Mr. Claudet's studio in Regent Street was seriously damaged by

fire within a month of his death, and all his valuable Daguerreotypes,

negatives, pictures, and papers destroyed.



On April 9th, 1868, I exhibited, at the South London Photographic

Society, examples of nearly all the types of photography then known,

amongst them a Daguerreotype by Daguerre, many of which are now in the

Science Department of the South Kensington Museum, and were presented by

me to form the nucleus of a national exhibition of the rise and progress

of photography, for which I received the "thanks of the Lords of the

Council on Education," dated April 22nd, 1886.



There was nothing very remarkable done in 1868 to forward the interests

or development of photography, yet that year narrowly escaped being made

memorable, for Mr. W. H. Harrison, now editor of the _Photographic

News_, actually prepared, exposed, and developed a gelatino-bromide

dry plate, but did not pursue the matter further. 1869 also passed

without adding much to the advancement of photography, and I fear the

same may be said of 1870, with the exception of the publication, by

Thos. Sutton, of Gaudin's gelatino-iodide process.



On February 21st, 1870, Robert J. Bingham died in Brussels. When the

Daguerreotype process was first introduced to this country, Mr. Bingham

was chemical assistant to Prof. Faraday at the Royal Institution. He

took an immediate interest in the wonderful discovery, and made an

improvement in the application of bromine vapour, which entitled him to

the gratitude of all Daguerreotypists. When Mr. Goddard applied bromine

to the process, he employed "bromine water," but, in very hot weather,

the aqueous vapour condensed upon the surface of the plate, and

interrupted the sensitising process. Mr. Bingham obviated this evil by

charging hydrate of lime with bromine vapour, which not only removed the

trouble of condensation, but increased the sensitiveness of the prepared

plate. This was a great boon to all Daguerreotypists, and many a time I

thanked him mentally long before I had the pleasure of meeting him in

London. Mr. Bingham also wrote a valuable manual on the Daguerreotype

and other photographic processes, which was published by Geo. Knight and

Sons, Foster Lane, Cheapside. Some years before his death, Mr. Bingham

settled in Paris, and became a professional photographer, but chiefly as

a publisher of photographic copies of paintings and drawings.



Abel Niepce de St. Victor, best known without the Abel, died suddenly on

April 6th, 1870. Born at St. Cyr, July 26th, 1805. After passing through

his studies at the Military School of Saumur, he became an officer in a

cavalry regiment. Being studious and fond of chemistry, he was fortunate

enough to effect some saving to the Government in the dyeing of fabrics

employed in making certain military uniforms, for which he received

compensation and promotion. His photographic fame rests upon two

achievements: firstly, his application of iodized albumen to glass for

negative purposes in 1848, a process considerably in advance of Talbot's

paper negatives, but it was quickly superseded by collodion; secondly,

his researches on "heliochromy," or photography in natural colours.

Niepce de St. Victor, like others before and since, was only partially

successful in obtaining some colour reproductions, but totally

unsuccessful in rendering those colours permanent. In proof of both

these statements I will quote from the Juror's Report, on the subject,

of the International Exhibition, 1862:--"The obtaining of fixed natural

colours by means of photography still remains, as was before remarked,

to be accomplished; but the jurors have pleasure in recording that some

very striking results of experiments in this direction were forwarded

for their inspection by a veteran in photographic research and

discovery, M. Niepce de St. Victor. These, about a dozen in number, 3-1/2

by 2-1/2 inches, consisted of reproductions of prints of figures with

parti-coloured draperies. Each tint in the pictures exhibited, they were

assured, was a faithful reproduction of the original. Amongst the

colours were blues, yellows, reds, greens, &c., all very vivid. Some of

the tints gradually faded and disappeared in the light whilst under

examination, and a few remained permanent for some hours. The

possibility of producing natural colour thus established is a fact most

interesting and important, and too much praise cannot be awarded to the

skilful research which has been to this extent crowned with success. The

jury record their obligations to their chairman, Baron Gross, at whose

personal solicitation they were enabled to obtain a sight of these

remarkable pictures." Such was the condition of photography in natural

colours towards the close of 1862, and so it is now after a lapse of

twenty-eight years. In 1870 several examples of Niepce de St. Victor's

heliochromy were sent to the Photographic Society of London, and I had

them in my hands and examined them carefully in gas-light; they could

not be looked at in daylight at all. I certainly saw _faint_ traces of

colour, but whether I saw them in their original vigour, or after they

had faded, I cannot say. All I can say is that the tints were very

feeble, and that they had not been obtained _through the lens_. They

were, at their best, only contact impressions of coloured prints

obtained after many hours of exposure. The examples had been sent to the

Photographic Society with the hope of selling them for the benefit of

the widow, but the Society was too wise to invest in such evanescent

property. However, a subscription was raised both in England and France

for the benefit of the widow and orphans of Niepce de St. Victor.



December, 1870, was marked by the death of one of the eminent pioneers

of photography. On the 12th, the Rev. J. B. Reade passed away at

Bishopsbourne Rectory, Canterbury, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. I

have already, I think, established Mr. Reade's claim to the honour of

being the first to produce a photographic negative on paper developed

with gallic acid, and I regret that I am unable to trace the existence

of those two negatives alluded to in Mr. Reade's published letter. Mr.

Reade told me himself that he gave those two historic negatives to Dr.

Diamond, when Secretary to the Photographic Society, to be lodged with

that body for safety, proof, and reference; but they are not now in the

possession of the Photographic Society, and what became of them no one

knows. Several years ago I caused enquiries to be made, and Dr. Diamond

was written to by Mr. H. Baden Pritchard, then Secretary, but Dr.

Diamond's reply was to the effect that he had no recollection of them,

and that Mr. Reade was given to hallucinations. Considering the

positions that Mr. Reade held, both in the world and various learned and

scientific societies, I don't think that he could ever have been

afflicted with such a mental weakness. He was a clergyman in the Church

of England, an amateur astronomer and microscopist, one of the fathers

of photography, and a member of Council of the Photographic Society, and

President of the Microscopical Society at the time of his death. I had

many a conversation with him years ago, and I never detected either

weakness or wandering in his mind; therefore I could not doubt the truth

of his statement relative to the custodianship of the first paper

negative that was taken through the lens of a solar microscope. Mr.

Reade was a kind and affable man; and, though a great sufferer on his

last bed of sickness, he wrote loving, grateful, and Christian like

letters to many of his friends, some of which I have seen, and I have

photographed his signature to one of them to attach to his portrait,

which I happily possess.



In 1871 the coming revolution in photography was faintly heralded by Dr.

R. L. Maddox, publishing in the _British Journal of Photography_, "An

Experiment with Gelatino-Bromide." Successful as the experiment was it

did not lead to any extensive adoption of the process at the time, but

it did most unquestionably exhibit the capabilities of gelatino-bromide.



As that communication to the _British Journal of Photography_ contained

and first made public the working details of a process that was destined

to supersede collodion, I will here insert a copy of Dr. Maddox's letter

_in extenso_.



"An Experiment with Gelatino-Bromide.



"The collodio-bromide processes have for some time held a considerable

place in the pages of the _British Journal of Photography_, and obtained

such a prominent chance of being eventually the process of the day in

the dry way, that a few remarks upon the application of another medium

may perhaps not be uninteresting to the readers of the journal, though

little more can be stated than the result of somewhat careless

experiments tried at first on an exceedingly dull afternoon. It is not

for a moment supposed to be new, for the chances of novelty in

photography are small, seeing the legion of ardent workers, and the

ground already trodden by its devotees, so that for outsiders little

remains except to take the result of labours so industriously and

largely circulated through these pages, and be thankful.



"Gelatine, which forms the medium of so many printing processes, and

which doubtless is yet to form the base of many more, was tried in the

place of collodion in this manner:--Thirty grains of Nelson's gelatine

were washed in cold water, then left to swell for several hours, when

all the water was poured off, and the gelatine set in a wide-mouthed

bottle, with the addition of four drachms of pure water, and two small

drops of _aqua regia_, and then placed in a basin of hot water for

solution. Eight grains of bromide of cadmium dissolved in half a drachm

of pure water were now added, and the solution stirred gently. Fifteen

grains of nitrate of silver were next dissolved in half a drachm of

water in a test tube, and the whole taken into the dark room, when the

latter was added to the former slowly, stirring the mixture the whole

time. This gave a fine milky emulsion, and was left for a little while

to settle. A few plates of glass well cleaned were next levelled on a

metal plate put over a small lamp; they were, when fully warmed, coated

by the emulsion spread to the edges by a glass rod, then returned to

their places, and left to dry. When dry, the plates had a thin

opalescent appearance, and the deposit of bromide seemed to be very

evenly spread in the substance of the substratum.



"These plates were printed from, in succession, from different

negatives, one of which had been taken years since on albumen with

oxgall and diluted phosphoric acid, sensitised in an acid nitrate, and

developed with pyrogallic acid, furnishing a beautiful warm brown tint.



"The exposure varied from the first plate thirty seconds to a minute and

a half, as the light was very poor. No vestige of an outline appeared on

removal from the printing-frame. The plates were dipped in water to the

surface, and over them was poured a plain solution of pyrogallic acid,

four grains to the ounce of water. Soon a faint but clean image was

seen, which gradually intensified up to a certain point, then browned

all over; hence, the development in the others was stopped at an early

stage, the plate washed, and the development continued with fresh pyro,

with one drop of a ten-grain solution of nitrate of silver, then

re-washed and cleared by a solution of hyposulphite of soda.



"The resulting tints were very delicate in detail, of a colour varying

between a bistre and olive tint, and after washing dried with a

brilliant surface. The colour of the print varied greatly according to

the exposure. From the colour and delicacy it struck me that with care

to strain the gelatine, or use only the clearest portion, such a process

might be utilised for transparencies for the lantern, and the sensitive

plates be readily prepared.



"Some plates were fumed with ammonia; these fogged under the pyro

solution. The proportions set down were only taken at random, and are

certainly not as sensitive as might be procured under trials. The

remaining emulsion was left shut up in a box in the dark room, and tried

on the third day after preparation; but the sensibility had, it seems,

greatly diminished, though the emulsion, when rendered fluid by gently

warming, appeared creamy, and the bromide thoroughly suspended. Some of

this was now applied to some pieces of paper by means of a glass rod,

and hung up to surface dry, then dried fully on the warmed level plate,

and treated as sensitised paper.



"One kind of paper, that evidently was largely adulterated by some earthy

base, dried without any brilliancy, but gave, under exposure of a

negative for thirty seconds, very nicely toned prints when developed

with a weak solution of pyro. Some old albumenized paper of Marion's was

tried, the emulsion being poured both on the albumen side, and, in other

pieces, on the plain side; but the salting evidently greatly interfered,

the resulting prints being dirty-looking and greyed all over.



"These papers, fumed with ammonia, turned grey under development. They

printed very slowly, even in strong sunlight, and were none of them left

long enough to develop into a full print. After washing they were

cleared by weak hypo solution. It is very possible the iron developer

may be employed for the glass prints, provided the acidification does

not render the gelatine soft under a development.



"The slowness may depend in part on the proportions of bromide and

nitrate not being correctly balanced, especially as the ordinary, not

the anhydrous, bromide was used, and on the quantities being too small

for the proportion of gelatine. Whether the plates would be more

sensitive if used when only surface dry is a question of experiment;

also, whether other bromides than the one tried may not prove more

advantageous in the presence of the neutral salt resulting from the

decomposition, or the omission or decrease of the quantity of _aqua

regia_. Very probably also the development by gallic acid and acetate of

lead developer may furnish better results than the plain pyro.



"As there will be no chance of my being able to continue these

experiments, they are placed in their crude state before the readers of

the Journal, and may eventually receive correction and improvement under

abler hands. So far as can be judged, the process seems quite worth more

carefully conducted experiments, and, if found advantageous, adds

another handle to the photographer's wheel.



R. L. Maddox, M.D."



After perusing the above, it will be evident to any one that Dr. Maddox

very nearly arrived at perfection in his early experiments. The slowness

that he complains of was caused entirely by not washing the emulsion to

discharge the excess of bromide, and the want of density was due to the

absence of a restrainer and ammonia in the developer. He only made

positive prints from negatives; but the same emulsion, had it been

washed, would have made negatives in the camera in much less time. Thus,

it will be seen, that Dr. Maddox, like the Rev. J. B. Reade, threw the

ball, and others caught it; for the gelatine process, as given by Dr.

Maddox, is only modified, not altered, by the numerous dry plate and

gelatino-bromide paper manufacturers of to-day.



Meanwhile collodion held the field, and many practical men thought it

would never be superseded.



In this year Sir John Herschel died at a ripe old age, seventy-nine.

Photographers should revere his memory, for it was he who made

photography practical by publishing his observation that hyposulphite of

soda possessed the power of dissolving chloride and other salts of

silver.





  [Illustration: FOURTH PERIOD.

  GELATINE.



  Dr. R. L. MADDOX.

  _From Photograph by J. Thomson._

  GELATINO-BROMIDE EMULSION 1871.



  R. KENNETT.

  _From Photograph by J. Werge, 1887._

  GELATINO-BROMIDE PELLICLE 1873 DRY-PLATES 1874]









FOURTH PERIOD.



GELATINE SUCCESSFUL.





In 1873, Mr. J. Burgess, of Peckham, London, advertised his

gelatino-bromide emulsion, but as it would not keep in consequence of

decomposition setting in speedily, it was not commercial, and therefore

unsuccessful. It evidently required the addition of some preservative,

or antiseptic, to keep it in a workable condition, and Mr. J. Traill

Taylor, editor of the _British Journal of Photography_, made some

experiments in that direction by adding various essential oils; but Mr.

Gray--afterwards the well-known dry plate maker--was most successful in

preserving the gelatine emulsion from decomposition by the addition of a

little oil of peppermint, but it was not the emulsion form of

gelatino-bromide of silver that was destined to secure its universal

adoption and success.



At a meeting of the South London Photographic Society, held in the large

room of the Society of Arts, John Street, Adelphi, Mr. Burgess

endeavoured to account for his emulsion decomposing, but he did not

suggest a remedy, so the process ceased to attract further attention.

Mr. Kennett was present, and it was probably Mr. Burgess's failure with

emulsion that induced him to make his experiments with a sensitive

pellicle. Be that as it may, Mr. Kennett did succeed in making a

workable gelatino-bromide pellicle, and obtained a patent for it on the

20th of November, 1873. I procured some, and tried it at once. It gave

excellent results, but preparing the plates was a messy and sticky

operation, which I feared would be prejudicial to its usefulness and

success. This I reported to Mr. Kennett immediately, and found that

his own experience corroborated mine, for he had already received

numerous complaints of this objection, while others failed through

misapprehension of his instruction; and very comical were some of these

misinterpretations. One attempted to coat the plates with the _end_ of

the stirring-rod, while another set them to drain in a rack, and those

that did succeed in coating the plates properly, invariably spoiled

them by over-exposure or in development. He was overwhelmed with

correspondence and visitors, and to lessen his troubles I strongly

advised him to prepare the plates himself, and sell them in that form

ready for use. He took my advice, and in March, 1874, issued his first

batch of gelatino-bromide dry plates; but even that did not remove his

vexation of spirit, nor lessen his troublesome correspondence. Most of

his clients were sceptical, and exposed the plates too long, or worked

under wet-plate conditions in their dark rooms, and fog and failure were

the natural consequences. Most, if not all, of his clients at that time

were amateurs, and it was not until years after, that professional

photographers adopted the dry and abandoned the wet process. In fact, it

is doubtful if the profession ever tried Mr. Kennett's dry plates at

all, for it was not until J. W. Swan and Wratten and Wainwright issued

their dry plates, that I could induce any professional photographer to

give these new plates a trial, and I have a very vivid recollection

of the scepticism and conservatism exhibited by the most eminent

photographers on the first introduction of gelatino-bromide dry plates.



For example, when I called upon Messrs. Elliott and Fry to introduce to

their notice these rapid plates, I saw Mr. Fry, and told him how rapid

they were. He was incredulous, and smilingly informed me that I was an

enthusiast. It was a dull November morning, 1878, and I challenged him,

not to fight, but to give me an opportunity of producing as good a

picture in quarter the time they were giving in the studio, no matter

what that time was. This rather astonished him, and he invited me up to

the studio to prove my statement. I ascertained that they were giving

_ninety_ seconds--a minute and a half!--on a wet collodion plate, 10 by

8. I knew their size, and had it with me, as well as the developer. Mr.

Fry stood and told the operator, Mr. Benares, to take the time from me.

Looking at the quality of the light, I gave _twenty_ seconds, but Mr.

Benares was disposed to be incredulous also, and, after counting twenty,

went on with "one for the plate, and one more for Mr. Werge," but I told

him to stop, or I would have nothing more to do with the business. The

plate had twenty-two or three seconds' exposure, and when I developed in

their dark room, it was just those two or three seconds over-exposed.

Nevertheless, Mr. Fry brought me a print from that negative in a few

days, and acknowledged that it was one of the finest negatives he had

ever seen. They were convinced, and adopted the new dry plates

immediately. But it was not so with all, for many of the most prominent

photographers would not at first have anything to do with gelatine

plates, and remained quite satisfied with collodion; but the time came

when they were glad to change their opinion, and give up the wet for

the dry plates; but it was a long time, for Mr. Kennett introduced his

dry plates in 1874, and it was not until 1879 and 1880 that professional

photographers had adopted and taken kindly to gelatine plates generally.



With amateurs it was very different, and many of their exhibits in the

various exhibitions were from gelatine negatives obtained upon plates

prepared by themselves, or commercial makers. In the London Photographic

Society's exhibition of 1874, and following, several prints from

gelatine negatives were exhibited, and in 1879 they were pretty general.

Among the many exhibited that year was Mr. Gale's swallow-picture,

which created at the time a great deal of interest and controversy, and

Mr. Gale was invited over and over again to acknowledge whether the

appearance of the bird was the result of skill, accident, or "trickery;"

but I don't think that he ever gratified anyone's curiosity on the

subject. I can, however, state very confidently that he was innocent of

any "trickery" in introducing the bird by double printing, for the late

Mr. Dudley Radcliffe told me at the time that he (Mr. Radcliffe) not

only prepared the plate, but developed the negative, and was surprised

to see the bird there. This may have been the reason why Mr. Gale was so

reticent on the subject; but I am anticipating, and must go back to

preserve my plan of chronological progression.



In 1875 a considerable impetus was given to carbon printing, both for

small work and enlarging by the introduction of the Lambertype process.

Similar work had been done before, but, as Mr. Leon Lambert used to say,

he made it "facile"; and he certainly did so, and induced many

photographers to adopt his beautiful, but troublesome, chromotype

process. There were two Lamberts in the tent--one a very clever

manipulator, the other a clever advertiser--and between the two they

managed to sell a great many licences, and carry away a considerable sum

of money. I was intimate with them both while they remained in England,

and they were both pleasant and honourable men.



On January 18th, 1875, O. G. Rejlander died, much to the regret of all

who took an interest in the art phase of photography. Rejlander has

himself told us how, when, and where he first fell in love with

photography. In 1851 he was not impressed with the Daguerreotypes at the

great exhibition, nor with "reddish landscape photographs" that he saw

in Regent Street; but when in Rome, in 1852, he was struck with the

beauty of some photographs of statuary, which he bought and studied,

and made up his mind to study photography as soon as he returned to

England. How he did that will be best told by himself:--"In 1853, having

inquired in London for the best teacher, I was directed to Henneman. We

agreed for so much for three or five lessons; but, as I was in a hurry

to get back to the country, I took all the lessons in one afternoon!

Three hours in the calotype and waxed-paper process, and half-an-hour

sufficed for the collodion process!! He spoke, I wrote; but I was too

clever. It would have saved me a year or more of trouble and expense had

I attended carefully to the rudiments of the art for a month." His first

attempt at "double printing" was exhibited in London in 1855, and was

named in the catalogue, _group printed from three negatives_. Again, I

must allow Mr. Rejlander to describe his reasons for persevering in the

art of "double printing":--"I had taken a group of two. They were

expressive and composed well. The light was good, and the chemistry of

it successful. A very good artist was staying in the neighbourhood,

engaged on some commission. He called; saw the picture; was very much

delighted with it, and so was I. Before he left my house he looked at

the picture again, and said it was 'marvellous,' but added, 'Now, if I

had drawn that, I should have introduced another figure between them, or

some light object, to keep them together. You see, there is where you

photographers are at fault. Good morning!' I snapped my fingers after he

left--but not at him--and exclaimed aloud, 'I can do it!' Two days

afterwards I called at my artist-friend's hotel as proud as--anybody. He

looked at my picture and at me, and took snuff twice. He said, 'This is

another picture.' 'No,' said I, 'it is the same, except with the

addition you suggested.' 'Never,' he exclaimed; 'and how is it possible?

You should patent that!'" Rejlander was too much of an artist to take

anything to the Patent Office.



When I first saw his celebrated composition picture, "The Two Ways of

Life," in the Art Treasures Exhibition at Manchester in 1857, I

wondered how he could have got so many men and women to become models,

and be able to sit or stand in such varied and strained positions for

the length of time then required by the wet collodion process; but my

wonder ceased when I became acquainted with him in after years, and

ascertained that he had the command of a celebrated troupe, who gave

_tableaux vivants_ representations of statues and groups from paintings

under the direction and name of "Madame Wharton's _pose plastique_

troupe." What became of the original "Two Ways of Life" I do not know,

but the late Henry Greenwood possessed it at the time of Rejlander's

death, for I remember endeavouring to induce Mr. Greenwood to allow it

to be offered as a bait to the highest contributor to the Rejlander

fund; but Mr. Greenwood's characteristic reply was, "Take my purse, but

leave me my 'Two Ways of Life.'" Mr. Rejlander kindly gave me a reduced

copy of his "Two Ways of Life," and many other examples of his works,

both in the nude and semi-nude. Fortunately Rejlander did not confine

himself to such productions, but made hundreds of draped studies, both

comic and serious, such as "Ginx's Baby," "Did She?," "Beyond the Bible,"

and "Homeless." Where are they all now? I fear most of them have faded

away, for Rejlander was a somewhat careless operator, and he died before

the more permanent process of platinum printing was introduced. When

Rejlander died, his widow tried to make a living by printing from his

negatives, but I fear they soon got scattered. Rejlander was a genial

soul and a pleasant companion, and he had many kind friends among

members of the Solar Club, as well as other clubs with which he was

associated.



There is one more death in this year to be recorded, that of Thomas

Sutton, B.A., the founder and for many years editor of _Photographic

Notes_, and the inventor of a panoramic camera of a very clumsy

character that bore his name, and that was all. Mr. Sutton was a very

clever man with rather warped notions, and in the management of his

_Photographic Notes_ he descended to the undignified position of a

caricaturist, and published illustrations of an uncomplimentary

description, some of which were offensive in the extreme, and created a

great deal of irritation in some minds at the time.



In 1877 Carey Lea gave his ferrous-oxalate developer to the world, but

it was not welcomed by many English photographers for negative

development, though it possessed many advantages over alkaline pyro. It

was, however, generally employed by foreign photographers, and is now

largely in use by English photographers, especially for the development

of bromide paper, either for contact printing or enlargements. In the

early part of this year, Messrs. Wratten and Wainwright commenced to

make gelatino-bromide dry plates, and during the hot summer months Mr.

Wratten found it necessary to precipitate the gelatine emulsion with

alcohol. This removed the necessity of dialysing, and helped to lessen

the evils of decomposition and "frilling."



The most noticeable death in the photographic world of this year was

that of Henry Fox Talbot. He was born on February the 11th, 1800, and

died September 17th, 1877, thus attaining a ripe old age. I am not

disposed to deny his claims to the honour of doing a great deal to

forward the advancement of photography, but what strikes me very much is

the mercenary spirit in which he did it, especially when I consider the

position he occupied, and the pecuniary means at his command. In the

first place, he rushed to the Patent Office with his gallo-nitrate

developer, and then every little improvement or modification that he

afterwards made was carefully protected by patent rights. With a

churlishness of spirit and narrow-mindedness it is almost impossible to

conceive or forgive, he tried his utmost to stop the formation of the

London Photographic Society, and it was only after pressing

solicitations from Sir Charles Eastlake, President of the Royal Academy,

and first President of the London Photographic Society, that he

withdrew his objections. The late Peter le Neve Foster, Secretary of the

Society of Arts, told me this years after, and when it was proposed to

make Fox Talbot an honorary member of the Photographic Society, Mr.

Foster was opposed to the proposition. Then the action that he brought

against Sylvester Laroche was unjustifiable, for there really was no

resemblance between the collodion and calotype means of making a

negative, except in the common use of the camera, and the means of

making prints was the same as that employed by Thomas Wedgwood, while

the fixing process with hyposulphite of soda was first resorted to by

the Rev. J. B. Reade, on the published information of Sir John Herschel.



On March 29th, 1878, Mr. Charles Bennett published his method of

increasing the sensitiveness of gelatino-bromide plates. It may be

briefly described as a prolonged cooking of the gelatine emulsion at a

temperature of 90 deg., and, according to Mr. Bennett's experience, the

longer it was cooked the more sensitive it became, with a corresponding

reduction of density when the prepared plates were exposed and

developed.



April 20th of this year Mr. J. A. Spencer died, after a lingering

illness, of cancer in the throat. Mr. Spencer was, at one period in the

history of photography, the largest manufacturer of albumenized paper in

this country, and carried on his business at Shepherd's Bush. In 1866 he

told me that he broke about 2,000 eggs daily, merely to obtain the

whites or albumen. The yolks being of no use to him, he sold them, when

he could, to glove makers, leather dressers, and confectioners, but they

could not consume all he offered for sale, and he buried the rest in his

garden until his neighbours complained of the nuisance, so that it

became ultimately a very difficult thing for him to dispose of his waste

yolks in any manner. After the introduction of Swan's improved carbon

process, he turned his attention to the manufacture of carbon tissue,

and in a short time he became one of the partners in the Autotype

Company, and the name of the firm at that period was Spencer, Sawyer,

and Bird; but he ceased to be a partner some time before his death.



At the South London Technical Meeting, held in the great hall of the

Society of Arts, I exhibited my non-actinic developing tray, and

developed a gelatine dry plate in the full blaze of gas-light. A short

extract from a leader in the _Photographic News_ of November 14th, 1879,

will be sufficient to satisfy all who are interested in the matter.

"Amongst the many ingenious appliances exhibited at the recent South

London meeting, none excited greater interest than the developing tray

of Mr. Werge, in which he developed in the full gas-light of the room a

gelatine plate which had been exposed in the morning, and exhibited to

the meeting the result in a clean transparency, without fog, or any

trace of the abnormal action of light.... We can here simply record the

fact, interesting to many, that the demonstration before the South

London meeting was a perfect success."



1880 had a rather melancholy beginning, for on January the 15th, Mr.

George Wharton Simpson died suddenly, which was a great shock to every

one that knew him. I had seen him only a few days before in his usual

good health, and he looked far more like outliving me than I him;

besides, he was a year my junior. The extract above quoted was the last

time he honoured me by mentioning my name in his writings, though he had

done so many times before, both pleasantly and in defending me against

some ill-natured and unwarrantable attacks in the journal which he so

ably conducted for twenty years.



Mungo Ponton died August 3rd, 1880. Though his discovery did little or

nothing towards the development of photography proper, it is impossible

to allow him to pass out of this world without honourable mention, for

his discovery led to the creation and development of numerous and

important photo-mechanical industries, which give employment to numbers

of men and women. When Mungo Ponton announced his discovery in the

_Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal_ in 1839, he probably never dreamt

that it would be of any commercial value, or he might have secured

rights and royalties on all the patent processes that grew out of it;

for Poitevin's patent, 1855, Beauregard's, 1857, Pouncy's, 1858 and

1863, J. W. Swan's, 1864, Woodbury's, 1866, all the Autotype and

Lambertype and kindred patents, as well as all the forms of Collotype

printing, are based on Ponton's discovery. But so it is: the originator

of anything seldom seeks any advantage beyond the honour attached to the

making of a great invention or discovery. It is generally the petty

improvers that rush to the Patent Office to secure rights and

emoluments, regardless of the claims of the founders of their patented

processes.



On March 2nd, 1880, I delivered a lecture on "The Origin, Progress, and

Practice of Photography" before the Lewisham and Blackheath Scientific

Association, in which I reviewed the development of photography from its

earliest inception up to date, exhibited examples, and gave

demonstrations before a very attentive and apparently gratified

audience.



On the 27th May, 1880, Professor Alfred Swaine Taylor died at his

residence, 15, St. James's Terrace, Regent's Park, in his seventy-fourth

year. He was born on the 11th December, 1806, at Northfleet in Kent, and

in 1823 he entered as a student the united hospitals of Guy's and St.

Thomas's, and became the pupil of Sir Astley Cooper and Mr. Joseph Henry

Green. His success as a student and eminence as a professor, lecturer,

and author are too well-known to require any comment from me on those

subjects, but it is not so generally known how much photography was

indebted to him at the earliest period of its birth. In 1838 Dr. Taylor

published his celebrated work, "The Elements of Medical Jurisprudence,"

and in 1840 he published a pamphlet "On the Art of Photogenic Drawing,"

in which he advocated the superiority of ammonia nitrate of silver over

chloride of silver as a sensitiser, and hyposulphite of lime over

hyposulphite of soda as a fixer, and the latter he advocated up to the

year of his death, as the following letter will show:--



"_St. James's Terrace, February 10th, 1880._



"Mr. Werge.



"Dear Sir,--I have great pleasure in sending you for the purpose of your

lecture some of my now ancient photographs. They show the early

struggles which we had to make. The mounted drawings were all made with

the _ammonia nitrate_ of silver; I send samples of the paper used. In

general the paper selected contained chloride enough to form ammonia

chloride. I send samples of unused paper, procured in 1839--some salted

afterwards.



"All these drawings (which are dated) have been preserved by the

hyposulphite of _lime_ (not soda). The hypo of lime does not form a

definite compound with silver, like soda; hence it is easily washed

away, and this is why the drawings are tolerably preserved after forty

years. All are on plain paper. Ammonia nitrate does not answer well on

albumenized paper. The art of toning by gold was not known in those

ancient days, but the faded drawings on _plain paper_, as you will see,

admit of restoration, in dark purple, by placing them in a very dilute

solution of chloride of gold, and putting them in the dark for

twenty-four hours. The gold replaces the reduced silver and sulphide of

silver. I send you the only copy I have of my photogenic drawing. Five

hundred were printed, and all were sold or given away. Please take care

of it. The loose photographs in red tape are scenes in Egypt and Greece,

taken about 1850 from wax-paper negatives (camera views) made by Mr. D.

Colnaghi, now English Consul at Florence. If you can call here I shall

be glad to say more to you on the matter.--Yours truly,



"Alfred S. Taylor."



The above was the last of many letters on photographic matters that I

had received from Dr. Taylor, and the last time I had the pleasure of

seeing him was when I returned the photographs and pamphlet alluded to

therein, only a short time before his death. Dr. Taylor never lost his

interest in photography, and was always both willing and pleased to

enter into conversation on the subject. He had worked at photography

through all its changes, despite his many professional engagements, from

its dawn in 1839, right up to the introduction of gelatino-bromide

dry plates, and in 1879 he came and sat to me for his portrait on one

of what he called "these wonderful dry plates," and watched the process

of development with as much interest as any enthusiastic tyro would have

done, and I am proud to say that I had the pleasure of taking the

portrait and exhibiting the process of development of the latest aspect

of photography to one of its most enthusiastic and talented pioneers.



Dr. Taylor was a man of remarkable energy and versatility. He was a

prolific writer and an admirable artist. On his walls were numerous

beautiful drawings, and his windows were filled with charmingly illusive

transparencies, all the work of his own hands; and once, when expressing

my wonder that he could find time to do so many things, he remarked that

"a man could always find time to do anything he wished if his heart was

with his work." Doubtless it is so, and his life and what he did in it

were proofs of the truth and wisdom of his observation.



Hydroquinone as a developer was introduced this year by Eder and Toth,

but it did not make much progress at first. It is more in use now, but I

do not consider it equal to oxalate of iron.



A considerable fillip was, this year, given to printing on

gelatino-bromide paper by the issue of "The Argentic Gelatino-Bromide

Worker's Guide," published by W. T. Morgan and Co. The work was written

by John Burgess, who made and sold a bromide emulsion some years

before, and it contained some excellent working instructions. In the

book is a modification and simplification of J. M. Burgess's Eburneum

Process, though that process was the invention of Mr. J. Burgess, of

Norwich; but a recent application of the gelatino-bromide emulsion to

celluloid slabs by Mr. Fitch has made the Ivorytype process as simple

and certain as the exposure and development of gelatino-bromide paper.



On January 30th, 1881, died Mr. J. R. Johnson, of pantascopic celebrity.

Mr. Johnson was the inventor of many useful things, both photographic

and otherwise. He was the chief promoter of the Autotype Company, in

which the late Mr. Winsor was so deeply interested; and his double

transfer process, published in 1869, contributed greatly to the

successful development and practice of the Carbon process. The invention

of the Pantascopic Camera, and what he did to forward the formation of

the Autotype Company and simplify carbon printing, may be considered the

sum total of his claim to photographic recognition.



The chief photographic novelty of 1881 was Mr. Woodbury's Stannotype

process, a modification and simplification of what is best known as the

Woodburytype. Instead of forcing the gelatine relief into a block of

type-metal by immense pressure to make the matrix, he "faced" a reversed

relief with tin-foil, thus obtaining a printing matrix in less time and

at less expense. I have seen some very beautiful examples of this

process, but somehow or other it is not much employed.



The man who unquestionably made the first photographic portrait died on

the 4th of January, 1882, and I think it is impossible for me to notice

that event without giving a brief description of the circumstance, even

though I incur the risk of telling to some of my readers a tale twice

told. When Daguerre's success was first announced in the Academy of

Science in 1839, M. Arago stated that Daguerre had not yet succeeded in

taking portraits, but that he hoped to do so soon. The details of the

process were not published until July, and in the autumn of that year

Dr. Draper succeeded in obtaining a portrait of his assistant, and that

was the first likeness of a human being ever known to have been secured

by photography. It would be interesting to know if that Daguerreotype is

in existence now. Dr. Draper was Professor of Chemistry in the

University of New York, and as soon as the news of the discovery reached

New York he fitted an ordinary spectacle lens into a cigar case, and

commenced his experiments first by taking views out of a window, and

afterwards by taking portraits. To shorten the time of exposure for the

latter, he whitened the faces of his sitters. In April, 1840, Dr. Draper

and Professor Morse opened a portrait gallery on the top of the

University Buildings, New York, and did a splendid business among the

very best people of the City at the minimum price of five dollars a

portrait, and they would be very small even at that price.



One more of the early workers in photography died this year on the 4th

of March. Louis Alphonse Poitevin was not a father of photography in a

creative sense, but, like Walter Woodbury, an appropriater of

photography in furthering the development of photo-mechanical printing.

His first effort in that direction was to obtain copper plates, or

moulds, from Daguerreotype pictures by the aid of electrical deposits,

and he discovered a method of photo-chemical engraving, for which he was

awarded a silver medal by the Societe d'Encouragement des Arts, but the

process was of no practical value. His chief and most valuable

experiments were with gelatine and bichromates, and his labours in that

direction were rewarded by the receipt of a considerable portion of the

Duc de Luynes's prize for permanent photographic printing processes,

which consisted of photo-lithography and Collotype printing. Born in

1819, he was sixty-three years old when he died.



A useful addition to the pyrogallic acid developer was this year given

by Mr. Herbert B. Berkeley. Hitherto, nearly all pyro-developed gelatine

plates were stained a deep yellow colour by the action of ammonia, but

the use of sulphite of soda, as suggested by Mr. Berkeley, considerably

lessened this evil.



In 1883, Captain Abney rendered a signal service to the members of the

Photographic Society, and photographers in general, by publishing in the

Journal of the Society a translation of Captain Pizzighelli and Baron A.

Hubl's booklet on platinotype. After giving a _resume_ of the early

experiments with platinum by Herschel, Hunt, and others, the theory and

practice of platinotype printing are clearly explained, and it was

undoubtedly due to the publication of this translation that platinotype

printing was very much popularised. In proof of the accuracy of this

opinion, every following photographic exhibition showed an increasing

number of exhibits in platinotype.



No great novelty was brought into the world of photography in 1884, but

there were signs of a steady advance, and an increasing number of

workers with dry plates. I should not, however, neglect allusion to the

publication of Dr. H. W. Vogel's experiments with eosine, cyanocine, and

other kindred bodies by which he increased the sensitiveness of both wet

collodion and gelatine plates to the action of the yellow rays

considerably (_vide_ Journal of Society, May 30th). The Berlin Society

for the Advancement of Photography acquired and published these

experiments for the general good, and yet Tailfer and Clayton obtained

patent right monopolies for making eosine gelatine plates in France,

Austria, and England. This proceeding seems very much akin to the sharp

practice displayed by Mr. Beard in securing a patent right monopoly in

the Daguerreotype process which was _given to the world_ by the French

Government in 1839. Germany very properly refused to grant a patent

under these circumstances.



On April 14th, 1885, Mr. Walter Bird read a paper at the meeting of the

Photographic Society of Great Britain, "On the Photographic

Reproductions of Pictures in the National Gallery," by A. Braun et Cie.

I was present, and it appeared to me that the "effects" in some of the

pictures exhibited were not produced by any chemical mode of translation

of colour, but by some method of after-treatment of the negative which

was more likely to be by skilled labour than by any chemical process.

This belief induced me to read a paper at the next meeting--May

12th--"On the After-Treatment of Negatives," in which I showed what

could be done both by chemical means and art-labour to assist

photography in translating the monographic effects of colour more in

accordance with the scale of luminosity adopted and adhered to by the

most eminent engravers both in line and mezzotint.



At the next meeting--June 9th--Mr. J. R. Sawyer reopened the discussion

on the above subject by reading a paper and exhibiting examples of his

own experiments, and Mr. Sawyer admitted that he was "bound to confess

that while every effort should be made to discover chemical combinations

which will give the utmost value that can be practicably obtained in the

reproduction (?) of colours, yet that, in all probability, art--and art

not inferior to that of a competent engraver--will be necessary to

assist photography in rendering the very subtle combinations of colour

that present themselves in a fine painting;" and Colonel H. Stuart

Wortley proved that the copy of Turner's "Old Temeraire" was not only

"retouched," but wrongly translated, as the various shades of yellow in

the original picture were represented in the copy as if they had been

all of the same tint. Mr. Sawyer made use of the phrase "reproduction of

colours," but that was an error. He should have said--and undoubtedly

meant--translation of colours, for photography is, unfortunately,

incapable of reproducing colours. Among Mr. Sawyer's examples was a

curious and contradictory evidence that isochromatic plates translated

yellow tints better than ordinary bromide plates, yet wrongly, for

three different shades of yellow were translated as if they had been all

one tint. I had noticed this myself when copying paintings and coloured

prints, but in photographing the natural colours of fruits and flowers

the result was different, and I attributed the mal-translation of

pigment yellows to the amount of white with which they had been mixed by

the painter. Be that as it may, I always obtained the best translation

from natural colours, and a group of flowers which contained a beautiful

sulphur coloured dahlia illustrates and confirms this statement in a

most remarkable and satisfactory manner. It is, therefore, the more to

be regretted that there is any restriction placed upon the individual

experiment and development of this interesting aspect of photography.



This was the year of The International Inventions Exhibition, and the

photographic feature of which was the historical collection exhibited by

some of the members of the Photographic Society of Great Britain, and I

think that collection was sufficiently interesting to justify my giving,

in these pages, the entire list as published in the _Photographic

Journal_:--



"We subjoin a full and complete statement of the whole of the exhibits,

with the names of the contributors:--



"Capt. Abney, R.E., F.R.S.--Papyrotype process, executed at the School

of Military Engineering, Chatham.



"W. Andrews--Wet collodion negatives, intensified by the Schlippes salt

method.



"T. and R. Annan--Calotype process (negative and print), taken by D. O.

Hill.



"F. Beasley, jun.--Collodio-albumen negatives.



"W. Bedford--One of Archer's first cameras for collodion process,

stereoscopic arrangement by Archer to fit a larger camera.



"Valentine Blanchard--Instantaneous views, wet collodion, 1856-65.

Illustrations of a method of enlargement, as proposed by V. Blanchard,

1873. Modification of the Brewster stereoscope by Oliver Wendell

Holmes.



"Bullock (Bros.)--Photo-lithography, 1866 (Bullock's patent).



"T. Bolas, F.C.S.--Detective camera, 1876. Negative photograph on

bitumen, made insoluble by the action of light. Carbon negatives

stripped by Wenderoth's process.



"E. Clifton--Portrait of Daguerre. Crystallotype by J. R. Whipple, 1854.

Specimens from "Pretsch" photo-galvano-graphic plates, 1856.



"T. S. Davis, F.C.S.--A combined preparation and wash bottle for

gelatine emulsion. Adjustable gauge for cutting photographic glasses.



"De la Rue and Co.--Surface printing from blocks executed by Paul

Pretsch, 1860.



"W. England--Old Daguerreotype developing box. Old ditto sensitising

box. Old camera, 1860, with rapid inside shutter. Instantaneous views in

Paris, wet collodion, 1856-65.



"Edinburgh Photographic Society--Archer's water lens.



"James Glaisher, F.R.S.--Nature printing, taken over thirty years ago.



"G. Fowler Jones--Prints from negatives by Le Gray's ceroline process.



"R. Kennett--Skaife's pistolgraph. Globe lens.



"Dr. Maddox--Some of the earliest gelatino-bromide negatives, by the

originator of the process, 1871.



"Mudd and Son--Collodio-albumen negatives.



"R. C. Murray--Early Talbotype photographs, 1844-45.



"H. Neville--Camera with Sutton's patent panoramic lens.



"Mrs. H. Baden Pritchard--Impressions from pewter plates of heliographic

drawing, by Nicephore Niepce, 1827. Original letter, by Nicephore

Niepce, sent to the Royal Society, 1827. View of Kew, taken by Nicephore

Niepce, 1827.



"H. P. Robinson--Heliographic picture, by Nicephore Niepce, 1826.

Photo-etched plate (from a print), by Niepce in 1827. Heliograph (from a

print), by Niepce, 1827. One of the earliest printing-frames, made for

Fox Talbot's photogenic drawing, 1839. The first nitrate of silver bath

used by Scott Archer in his discovery of the collodion process, 1850.



"Ross and Co.--One of Archer's earliest fluid lenses. The first

photographic compound portrait lens, made by Andrew Ross, 1841.

Photographic camera, believed to be the first made in England.



"Sands and Hunter--Old lens, with adjustable diaphragm, by Archer, 1851.

Old stereoscopic camera, with mechanical arrangement for transferring

plates to and from the dark slide.



"T. L. Scowen--Parallel bar stereoscopic camera. Latimer Clarke.



"John Spiller, F.C.S., F.I.C.--The first preserved plates (three to

twenty-one days), 1854. Illustrations of the French Pigeon Post.



"J. W. Swan, F.C.S.--Electro intaglios from carbon reliefs

(Thorwalsden's "Night and Morning"). Photo-mezzotints were taken from

these in gelatinous inks, 1860, by J. W. Swan, by the process now known

as Woodburytype. Plaster cast from a carbon print of Kenilworth, showing

the relief, taken in 1864, by J. W. Swan. Carbon prints twenty years old

(photographed and printed in various colours by J. W. Swan). Old print

(in red) by T. and R. Annan, by Swan's process. Carbon print, twenty

years old (printed in 1864) by double transfer.



"B. B. Turner--Talbotype. Negatives and prints from same. Single lens

made by Andrew Ross, 1851.



"J. Werge--Examples of printing with various metals on plain paper,

1839-42. The Fathers of Photography. Examples and dates of the

introduction of early photographs. Daguerreotype, 1839. Collodion

positive, 1851. Ambrotype, 1853. Ferrotype, 1855.



"W. Willis, Jun.--Specimen of aniline process. Historical illustrations

of the development of the platinotype process.



"W. B. Woodbury--Photo-relief printing process. Woodbury mould and

Woodburytype print from same, 1866. Stannotype printing-press, with

mould. Machine for measuring reliefs. Woodbury lantern slides. Early

Daguerreotype on copper. Positive photograph on glass. Woodbury balloon

camera. Microscopical objects in plaster from gelatine reliefs. Woodbury

collographic process. Woodbury photo-chromograph system, coloured from

the back, 1869. Woodbury actinometer. Despatch-box camera. Watermark or

photo-filigrain process. Transparency on gelatine. The first specimen of

Woodbury printing exhibited, including the first mould printed from, and

also proofs backed with luminous paint.



"Colonel H. Stuart Wortley--Early photo-zincographs, 1861-2.

Experimental prints with uranium collodion, 1867 (modification of

Wothly's process). Set of apparatus complete for making gelatine

emulsion, and preparing gelatine plates, 1877-8. No. 1. Apparatus for

cutting gelatine plates either by hand-turning or treadle. No. 2. Stove

for keeping emulsion warm for any time at a fixed temperature in pure

air, and for the final drying of the plates. No. 3. Apparatus for

squeezing emulsion out into water. No. 4. Apparatus for mixing emulsion.

Instantaneous shutter, with horizontal motion by finger or pneumatic

tube; adjustable wings for cutting off sky, and varying length of

exposure."



It is a very remarkable circumstance that none of the contributors to

that historical collection could include among their interesting

exhibits portraits of either Nicephore Niepce or Frederick Scott Archer.

Among my "Fathers of Photography" were portraits of Daguerre, Rev. J. B.

Reade, Fox Talbot, Dr. Alfred Swaine Taylor, and Sir John Herschel. It

was suggested that those historical exhibits should be left at the close

of the exhibition to form a nucleus to a permanent photographic

exhibition in Kensington Museum. I readily contributed my exhibits

towards such a laudable object. They were accepted, and these exhibits

may be seen at any time in the West Gallery of the Science Department

of the South Kensington Museum.



At the exhibition of the Photographic Society of Great Britain this

year, I exhibited "Wollaston's Diaphragmatic Shutter," in my opinion the

best snap shutter that ever was invented, but it had two very serious

drawbacks, for it was both _heavy_ and _expensive_.



In 1886 more than usual interest was exhibited by photographers in what

was misnamed as the isochromatic, or orthochromatic process, and this

interest was probably created by the papers read and discussions that

followed at the meetings of the Photographic Society in the previous

year. Messrs. Dixon and Gray--the latter a young man in the employ of

Messrs. Dixon and Son--commenced a series of experiments with certain

dyes with the hope of obtaining a truer translation of colour when

copying oil paintings or water-colour drawings, a class of work in which

they were largely interested, and had obtained a considerable reputation

for such reproductions as photography was then capable of rendering, and

one of the results of these experiments was exhibited, and obtained a

medal, at the exhibition of the Photographic Society in October. Messrs.

Dixon and Sons' exhibit was a very surprising one, and created quite a

sensation, as nothing equal to it had ever been shown before. The

subject was a drawing of a yellow flower and green leaves against a blue

ground--the yellow the most luminous, the green next, and the blue the

darkest. In ordinary wet or dry plate photography these effects would

have been reversed, but by Dixon and Gray's process the relative

luminosities of these three colours were almost perfectly translated.

Messrs. Dixon and Gray did not publish their process, but prepared

existing gelatine dry plates by their method, and sold them at an

enhanced price. They were not, however, permitted to supply anyone long,

for B. J. Edwards, who had obtained a monopoly of Tailfer and Clayton's

patent rights in England, served them with an injunction, or threatened

them with legal proceedings, so they discontinued preparing their

orthochromatic plates for sale. By some special arrangement they were

allowed to prepare plates for their own use, provided they used Edwards'

XL dry plates.



It so happened, however, that this proviso was not a hardship, for Mr.

Dixon told me himself that he had found Edwards' plates the most

suitable for their process. The hardship lay in not being able to apply

their own discovery or preparation to any dry plates for sale for the

public use and benefit. This prohibition was the more to be regretted

because no other commercial isochromatic or orthochromatic plates had or

have appeared to possess the same qualities of translation. The

suppression of the Dixon and Gray preparation of plates is the more

surprising when I find eosine is mentioned in the Clayton and Tailfer

claim, whereas Mr. Dixon assured me that eosine was not employed by

them. Mr. Edwards only acquired his monopoly and right to interfere with

the commercial application of an independent discovery on Nov. 18th,

1886, and there is little to be gained in England by the publication of

the experiments of such men as Vogel, Eder, Ives, and Abney, if one man

can prevent all others making use of them.



This year death removed from our midst one, and perhaps the greatest, of

the martyrs of photography--Sylvester Laroche. This was the man that

fought the battle for freedom from the shackles of monopoly. He won the

fight, but lost his money, and the photographers of the day failed to

make him a suitable recompense. There was one honourable exception, and

Mr. Sylvester told me himself that Mr. J. E. Mayall gave him L100

towards his legal expenses. Laroche's surname was Sylvester, but as

there was a whole family of that name photographers, he added Laroche to

distinguish himself from his brothers. Sylvester Laroche was an artist,

and worked very cleverly in pastel, but somehow or other he never

appeared to prosper.



Nothing particular marked the photographic record of 1887, but death was

busy in removing men who had made their mark both in the early and later

days of photography. First, on March 19th, Robert Hunt, the most copious

writer on photography in its earlier period. As early as 1844 he

published the first edition of his "Researches on Light," in which he

was considerably assisted by Sir John Herschel, and it is astonishing to

find what a mine of photographic information that early work contains.



The next was Colonel Russell, better known, photographically, as Major

Russell. He was born in 1820, and died on May 16th, 1887. He was best

known for his tannin process and alkaline developer, with a bromide

solution as a restrainer. For a long time his tannin process was very

popular among collodion dry plate workers, and very beautiful pictures

were taken on Russell's Tannin Plates, but it is many years since they

were ruthlessly brushed aside, like all other collodion dry plates, by

the now universally employed gelatino-bromide plates or films.



A revival of interest in pinhole photography was awakened this year, and

several modes of constructing a pinhole camera were published; but I

remember seeing a wonderful picture by a _keyhole_ camera long before I

became a photographer. I had called to see an old lady who lived

opposite a mill and farm. It was a bright, sunny afternoon, and, when I

was leaving, I was astonished to see a beautiful picture of the mill and

farm on the wall of the hall. "Ah!" said the old lady; "that's my

camera-obscura. When the sun shines on the mill at this time of day, I

am sure to have a picture of the mill brought through the keyhole." It

was something like this that suggested the camera-obscura to Roger Bacon

and Baptista Porta. So it is not necessary to have such a small hole to

obtain a picture, but it is necessary to have the smallest hole possible

to obtain the _sharpest_ picture.



Pizzighelli's visible platinotype printing paper was introduced this

year, and I welcomed it as a boon, for the double reasons of its

simplicity and permanency. I had been longing for years for such a

process, for I, like Roger Fenton, had come to the conclusion that there

was no future for photography, in consequence of the instability of

silver prints. They would be much more durable than they are if they

were only washed in several changes of warm water, but few people will

be at the trouble to do that, some because they don't know the efficacy

of warm water, and others because it lowers the tone. An eminent

photographer once asked me how to render silver prints permanent; but

when I told him there was nothing equal to warm water washing, he

exclaimed, "Oh! but that spoils the tone." When a photographer

sacrifices durability to tone, he is scarcely acting honestly towards

his customers. Admitted that there is nothing so beautiful in

photography as a good silver print when it has its first bloom on it,

neither is there anything so grievously disappointing as a silver print

in its last stage of decay. It is quite time that the _durability_ of a

photograph should be the first consideration of every photographer, as

well as the amateur. Years ago I proposed and published a plan of

raising a fund to induce chemists and scientists to consider the

subject, but not a single photographer responded by subscribing his

guinea.



A very simple and interesting means of making photographs at night was

introduced this year by Dr. Piffard, an amateur photographer of New

York, and the extreme simplicity and efficacy of his method was

surprising. For good portraiture it is not equal to the electric light,

but for family groups, at home occupations or amusements, it is

superior, and I have taken such groups with Piffard's magnesium

flash-light, which no other means of lighting would have enabled me to

produce. I have taken groups of people playing at cards, billiards, and

other games in their own homes with the simplest of apparatus, the

ordinary lens and camera, plus an old tea tray--but to obtain the best

results, the quickest lens and the quickest dry plates should be

employed, and I have always found the best position for the light to be

on the top of the camera.



1888 is chiefly remarkable for the attempted revival of the stereoscope,

and Mr. W. F. Donkin read an interesting and instructive paper on the

subject, in which he endeavoured to account for its disappearance,

explain its principles, and give an historical account of its early

construction, and modern or subsequent improvements. As to its immense

popularity thirty to thirty-five years ago, that was due to its novelty,

and the marvellous effect of solidity the pictures assumed when viewed

in the stereoscope; but it soon ceased to be popular when the views

became stale, and people grew tired of looking at them; to keep up the

interest they had to be continually buying fresh ones, and of this they

soon got tired also; and when hosts saw that their guests were bored

with sights so often seen, they put them out of sight altogether, and I

fear that nothing will, for the same reasons, bring about a revival of

the revolving or any other form of stereoscopes, for views. It is

becoming much the same now with lantern slides--possessors and their

friends grow weary of the subjects seen so frequently, and hiring

instead of buying slides is becoming the practice of those who own an

optical lantern.



With stereoscopic portraits it was not so, for there was always a

personal and family interest attached to them, and I made a great many

stereoscopic portraits by the Daguerreotype process; but even they were

somewhat ruthlessly and precipitately displaced when the carte-de-visite

mania took possession of the public mind. However, I see no reason why

stereoscopic portraiture should not be revived if good pictures were

produced on ivoryine, and it appears to me that substance is most

suitable for the purpose, as the pictures can be examined either by

reflected or transmitted light. Everyone interested in stereoscopic

photography should "read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest," the late

Mr. Donkin's able and instructive paper on "Stereoscopes and Binocular

Vision," published in the journal of the Photographic Society, January

27th, 1888. This was unhappily the last paper that Mr. Donkin read at

the Photographic Society, for he was unfortunately lost in the Caucasus

the following autumn. W. F. Donkin, M.A., F.C.S., F.I.C., was for

several years Honorary Secretary of the Photographic Society and of the

Alpine Club, and, at the November meeting of the Photographic Society,

the President, James Glaisher, F.R.S., made the following remarks on the

melancholy event:--"There is, I am sure, but one feeling in regard to

the fact that the gentleman who usually sits on my right is not here

to-night. Our Secretary, W. F. Donkin, is, I fear, irretrievably lost in

the Caucasus. The feeling of every member of this Society is one of

respect and esteem towards him. During the time he held the post of

Secretary, his uniform courtesy won him the respect of all. I fear we

shall see him no more." This fear was afterwards confirmed by the search

party, which was headed by Mr. C. T. Dent, President of the Alpine Club.

The late Mr. Donkin was both an expert Alpine climber and photographer,

and many of his photographs of Alpine scenery have been published and

admired.



Every year compels me to record the death of some old and experienced

photographer, or some artist associated with photography from its

earliest introduction. Among the latter was Norman Macbeth, R.S.A., an

eminent portrait painter, who was quick to see and ready to avail

himself of the invaluable services of a new art, or means of improving

art, both in drawing and detail, and make the newly-discovered power a

help in his own labours, and an economiser of the time of his sitters.

The first time I had the pleasure of meeting him was in Glasgow in 1855,

when he brought one of his sitters to me to be Daguerreotyped, and he

preferred a Daguerreotype as long as he could get one, on account of its

extreme delicacy and details in the shadows; but he could not obtain any

more Daguerreotypes after 1857, for at that time I abandoned the

Daguerreotype for ever, and was the last to practise the process in

Glasgow, and probably throughout Great Britain.



From the time that Mr. Macbeth commenced taking photographs himself, he

took a keen interest in photography to the last, and only about a month

before he died, he read an able, instructive, and interesting paper on

the "Construction and Requirements of Portrait Art" before the members

of the London and Provincial Photographic Association; and that paper

should be in the possession, and frequent perusal, of every student of

photographic portraiture. Although an artist in feeling and by

profession, Mr. Macbeth was no niggard in his praises of artistic

photography, and I have frequently heard him expatiate lovingly on the

artistic productions of Rejlander, Robinson, and Hubbard; but, like all

artists, he abominated retouching, and denounced it in the strongest

terms, and regretted its prevalence and practice as destructive of

truth, and "truth in photography," he used to say, "was its greatest

recommendation."



The annals of 1889--the jubilee year of published and commercial

photography--commence with the record of death. On the 21st of January,

Mr. John Robert Sawyer died at Naples in the 61st year of his age. Mr.

Sawyer had been for many years a member of the Autotype Company, and his

foresight and indefatigability were largely instrumental in making that

Company a commercial success. It was anything but a success from the

time that it was commenced by the late Mr. Winsor and Mr. J. R. Johnson,

but from the moment that Mr. J. R. Sawyer became "director of works,"

the company rapidly became a flourishing concern, and possesses now a

world-wide reputation. Mr. Sawyer was one of the early workers in

photography, and for several years conducted a photographic business in

the city of Norwich. It was there that circumstances induced him to give

his attention to some form of permanent photography with the view of

employing it to illustrate a work on the carving and sculpture in

Norwich Cathedral, particularly the fine work in the roof of the nave.

Mr. Sawyer naturally turned his attention, in the first place, to the

autotype process, but it was then in its infancy, and the price

prohibitory. The collotype process then became his hope and refuge, but

that also was in its infancy, and not practised in England. Mr. Sawyer

therefore started for Berlin early in 1869, and there met a certain Herr

Ghemoser, a clever expert in the collotype process, from whom he

obtained valuable information and working instructions. On his return

home, Mr. Sawyer laboured at the collotype process until he overcame

most of its difficulties, and on January 1st, 1871, he entered into

partnership with Mr. Walter Bird, and removed to London with the

intention of making the collotype process a feature in the business.

Messrs. Sawyer and Bird commenced their London experiences in Regent

Street, but on January 1st, 1872, they entered into an agreement with

the Autotype Fine Art Company to work the collotype process as a branch

of their business. Meanwhile, another partner, Mr. John Spencer, had

joined the firm, and at the end of that year Messrs. Spencer, Sawyer,

Bird and Co. purchased the Autotype patents, plant, and stock at Ealing

Dene, and all its interest in the wholesale trade; and, in 1874, they

bought up the whole of the Fine Art business, including the stock in

Rathbone Place, and became the Autotype Company.



The great photographic feature of this year was the Convention held on

August 19th in St. James's Hall, Regent Street, London, in celebration

of the jubilee of practical photography, which was inaugurated by the

delivery of an address by the president, Mr. Andrew Pringle. The address

was a fairly good resume of all that had been done for the advancement

of photography during the past fifty years.



The exhibition of photographs was somewhat of a failure; little was

shown that possessed any historical interest, and that little was

contributed by myself. There was a considerable display of apparatus of

almost every description, but there was nothing that had not been seen,

or could have been seen, in the shops of the exhibitors.



The papers that were read were of considerable interest, and imparted no

small amount of information, especially Mr. Thos. R. Dallmeyer's on

"False Rendering of Photographic Images by the Misapplication of

Lenses"; Mr. C. H. Bothamley's on "Orthochromatic Photography with

Gelatine Plates"; Mr. Thomas Bolas's on "The Photo-mechanical Printing

Methods as employed in the Jubilee Year of Photography"; but by far the

most popular, wonderful, and instructive, was Professor E. Muybridge's

lecture, with illustrations, on "The Movements of Animals." The sight of

the formidable batteries of lenses was startling enough, but when the

actions of the horse, and other animals, were shown in the

"Zoopraxiscope," the effect on the sense of sight was both astounding

and convincing, and I began to marvel how artists could have lived and

laboured in the wrong direction for so many years, especially when the

lecturer showed that a prehistoric artist had scratched on a bone a rude

but truthful representation of an animal in motion. Both the sight and

intelligence of that prehistoric artist must have been keener than the

senses of animal painters of the nineteenth century.



Taking it all in all, the Jubilee Convention was an immense success, and

brought photographers and amateurs to London from the most distant parts

of the country. Looking round the Hall on the opening night, and

scanning the features of those present, I was coming to the conclusion

that I was the oldest photographer present, when I espied Mr. Baynham

Jones, a man of eighty-three winters, and certainly the oldest amateur

photographer living; so I willingly ceded the honour of seniority to

him, and as soon as he espied me he clambered over the rails to come and

sit at my side and talk over the past, and quite unknown to many

present, aspects and difficulties of photography. Mr. Baynham Jones was

an enthusiastic photographer from the very first, for in 1839, as soon

as Daguerre's process was published, he made himself a camera out of a

cigar-box and the lens of his opera-glass, and, being unable to obtain a

Daguerreotype plate in the country, he cut up a silver salver and worked

away on a solid silver plate until he succeeded in making a

Daguerreotype picture. Mr. Baynham Jones was not the first photographer

in this country, for the Rev. J. B. Reade preceded him by about two

years; but I have not the slightest doubt of his being the first

_Daguerreotypist_ in England, and in that jubilee year of 1889 he was

working with gelatine plates and films, and enthusiastic enough to come

all the way from Cheltenham to London to attend the meetings of the

Jubilee Convention of Photography.



With this brief allusion to the doings and attractions of the Jubilee

Convention, I fear I must bring my reminiscences of photography to a

close; but before doing so I feel it incumbent on me to call attention

to the fact that _two years_ after celebrating the jubilee of

photography we should, paradoxical as it may appear, celebrate its

centenary, for in 1791 the first photographic _picture_ that ever was

made, seen, or heard tell of, was produced by Thomas Wedgwood, and

though he was unable to fix it and enable us to look upon _that_ wonder

_to-day_, the honour of being the first photographer, in its truest

sense, is unquestionably due to an Englishman. Thomas Wedgwood made

photographic pictures on paper, and there they remained until light or

time obliterated them; whereas J. H. Schulze, a German physician, only

obtained impressions of letters on a semi-liquid chloride of silver in a

bottle, and at every shake of the hand the meagre impression was

instantly destroyed. If we consider such men as Niepce, Reade, Daguerre,

and Fox Talbot the fathers of photography, we cannot but look upon

Thomas Wedgwood as the Grand Father, and the centenary of his first

achievement should be celebrated with becoming honour as the English

centenary of photography.









CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD



OF



INVENTIONS, DISCOVERIES, PUBLICATIONS, AND APPLIANCES, FORMING

FACTORS IN THE INCEPTION, DISCOVERY, AND DEVELOPMENT OF PHOTOGRAPHY.





1432 B.C. Iron said to have been first discovered.



424 B.C. Lenses made and used by the Greeks. And a lens has been found

in the ruins of Nineveh.



79 A.D. Glass known and used by the Romans.



697. Glass brought to England.



1100. Alcohol first obtained by the alchemist, Abucasis.



1287. Nitric acid first obtained by Raymond Lully. Present properties

made known by Dr. Priestley, 1785.



1297. Camera-obscura constructed by Roger Bacon.



1400. Chloride of gold solution known to Basil Valentine.



1500. Camera-obscura improved by Baptista Porta.



1555. Chloride of silver blackening by the action of light. Doubtless it

was the knowledge of this that induced Thomas Wedgwood and Sir Humphry

Davy to make their experiments.



1590. Paper first made in England, at Dartford, Kent, by Sir John

Speilman. It is said that the Chinese made paper 170 years B.C.



1646. Magic lantern invented by Athanasius Kircher.



1666. Sir Isaac Newton divided a sunbeam into its seven component parts,

and re-constructed the camera-obscura.



1670. Salt mines of Staffordshire discovered.



1727. J. H. Schulze, a German physician, observed that light blackened

chalk impregnated with nitrate of silver solution and gold chloride.



1737. Solution of nitrate of silver applied to paper, by Hellot.



1739. Chloride of mercury made by K. Neumann.



1741. Platinum first known in Europe: M. H. St. Claire Deville's new

method of obtaining it from the ore, 1859.



1750. J. Dolland, London, first made double achromatic compound lenses.



1757. Chloride of silver made by J. B. Beccarius.



1774. Dr. Priestly discovered ammonia to be composed of nitrogen and

hydrogen; but ammonia is as old as the first decomposition of organic

matter.



1777. Charles William Scheele observed that the violet end of the

spectrum blackened chloride of silver more rapidly than the red end.

Chlorine discovered.



1779. Oxalate of silver made by Bergmann.



1789. Uranium obtained from pitch-blende by Klaproth.



1791. Thomas Wedgwood commenced experiments with a solution of nitrate

of silver spread upon paper and white leather, and obtained impressions

of semi-transparent objects and cast shadows. Sir Humphry Davy joined

him later.



1797. Nitrate of silver on silk by Fulhame.



1799. Hyposulphite of soda discovered by M. Chaussier.



1800. John William Ritter, of Samitz, in Silesia, observed that chloride

of silver blackened beyond the violet end of the spectrum, thus

discovering the action of the ultra violet ray.



1801. Potassium discovered by Sir Humphry Davy.



1802. Examples of Heliotypes, by Wedgwood and Davy, exhibited at the

Royal Institution, and process published.



1803. Palladium discovered in platinum by Dr. Wollaston.



1808. Strontium obtained from carbonate of strontia by Sir Humphry Davy.



1812. Iodine discovered by M. D. Curtois, of Paris.



-- Nitrate of silver and albumen employed by D. Fischer.



1813. Ditto investigated by M. Clement.



1814. Joseph Nicephore de Niepce commenced experiments with the hope of

securing the pictures as seen in the camera-obscura.



-- Iodide of silver made by Sir H. Davy.



1819. Sir John Herschel published the fact that hyposulphite of soda

dissolved chloride and other salts of silver.



1824. Niepce obtained pictures in the camera-obscura upon metal plates

coated with asphaltum, or bitumen of Judea.



-- L. G. M. Daguerre commenced his researches.



-- Permanganate of potash. Fromenkerz.



1826. Bromine discovered in sea-water by M. Balard.



-- Bromine of silver made.



1827. Niepce exhibited his pictures in England, and left one or more,

now in the British Museum.



1829. Niepce and Daguerre entered into an alliance to pursue their

researches mutually.



1832. Evidence of Daguerre employing iodine.



1837. Rev. J. B. Reade, of Clapham, London, obtained a photograph in the

solar microscope, and employed tannin as an accelerator and hyposulphite

of soda as a fixer for the first time in photography.



1838. Reflecting stereoscope exhibited by Charles Wheatstone.



-- Mungo Ponton observed that light altered and hardened bichromate of

potash, and produced yellow photographs with that material. This

discovery led to the invention of the Autotype, Woodburytype, Collotype,

and other methods of photo-mechanical printing.



1839. Daguerre's success communicated to the Academy of Science, Paris,

by M. Arago, January 7th.



-- Electrotype process announced.



-- Professor Faraday described Fox Talbot's new method of photogenic

drawing to the members of the Royal Institution, January 25th.



-- Fox Talbot read a paper, giving a full description of his process,

before the Royal Society, January 31st.



-- Sir John Herschel introduced hyposulphite of soda as a fixing agent,

February 14th.



-- Dr. Alfred Swaine Taylor employed ammonia nitrate of silver in

preference to chloride of silver for making photogenic drawings, and

employed hyposulphite of lime in preference to hyposulphite of soda for

fixing.



-- Daguerre's process published in August, and patent, for England,

granted to Mr. Beard, London, August 14th.



-- "History and Practice of Photogenic Drawing"; L. S. M. Daguerre.

Published September.



-- First photographic portrait taken on a Daguerreotype plate by

Professor. J. W. Draper, New York, U.S., in the autumn of this year.



1840. "On the Art of Photogenic Drawing," by Alfred S. Taylor, lecturer

on chemistry, &c., at Guy's Hospital. Published by Jeffrey, George Yard,

Lombard Street, London.



-- "The Handbook of Heliography, or the Art of Writing or Drawing by the

Effect of Sunlight, with the Art of Dioramic Painting, as practised by

M. Daguerre." Anon.



-- Wolcott's reflecting camera brought from America to England and

secured by Mr. Beard, patentee of the Daguerreotype process.



-- The moon photographed for the first time by Dr. J. W. Draper, of New

York, on a Daguerreotype plate.



-- John Frederick Goddard, of London, inventor of the polariscope and

lecturer on chemistry, employed chlorine added to iodine, and

afterwards bromine, as accelerators in the Daguerreotype process.



1840. Antoine F. J. Claudet, F.R.S., of London, employed chlorine for

the same purpose.



-- M. Fizeau, of Paris, deposited a film of gold over the Daguerreotype

picture after the removal of the iodine, which imparted increased

brilliancy and permanency.



-- Chloride of platinum employed by Herschel.



-- Fox Talbot's developer published September 20th.



1841. Calotype process patented by Fox Talbot, September 20th.



-- First photographic compound portrait lens made by Andrew Ross,

London.



-- Towson, of Liverpool, noted that chemical and visual foci did not

coincide. Defect corrected by J. Petzval, of Vienna, for Voightlander.



-- "A Popular Treatise on the Art of Photography, including

Daguerreotype and all the New Methods of Producing Pictures by the

Chemical Agency of Light," by Robert Hunt, published by R. Griffin,

Glasgow.



-- Daguerre announced an instantaneous process, but it was not

successful.



1842. Sir John Herschel exhibited blue, red, and purple photographs at

the Royal Institution.



-- "Photography Familiarly Explained," by W. R. Baxter, London.



1843. "Photogenic Manipulation," by G. T. Fisher Knight, Foster Lane.



-- Treatise on Photography by N. P. Lerebours, translated by J. Egerton.



1844. Fox Talbot issued "The Pencil of Nature," a book of silver prints

from calotype negatives.



-- C. Cundell, of London, employed and published the use of bromide of

potassium in the calotype process.



1844. "Researches on Light and its Chemical Relations," by Robert Hunt.

First edition; second ditto, 1854.



-- Robert Hunt recommended proto-sulphate of iron as a developer for

Talbot's calotype negatives; also oxalate of iron and acetate of lead

for other purposes.



-- A. F. J. Claudet patented a red light for "dark room," but at that

date a red light was not necessary, so the old photographers continued

the use of yellow lights.



1845. "Photogenic Manipulations:" Part 1, Calotype, &c.; Part 2,

Daguerreotype. By George Thomas Fisher, jun. Published by George Knight

and Sons, London.



-- "Manual of Photography," including Daguerreotype, Calotype, &c., by

Jabez Hogg. First edition. Second ditto, including Archer's collodion

process, bichloride of mercury bleaching and intensifying, and

gutta-percha transfer process, 1856.



1845. "Practical Hints on the Daguerreotype; Willats's Scientific

Manuals."



-- "Plain Directions for Obtaining Photographic Pictures by the Calotype

and other processes, on paper; Willats's Scientific Manuals." Published

by Willats, 98, Cheapside; and Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper, Paternoster

Row.



1846. Gun-cotton made known by Professor Schoenbein, of Basel.



1847. Collodion made by dissolving gun-cotton in ether and alcohol, by

Mr. Maynard, of Boston, U.S.



1848. "Photogenic Manipulation:" Part II., Daguerreotype, by Robert

Bingham. Published by George Knight and Sons, London.



-- Albumen on glass plates first employed for making negatives by M.

Niepce de Saint Victor. Process published June 13th.



-- Frederick Scott Archer experimented with paper pulp, tanno-gelatine,

and iodised collodion, and made collodion negatives in the autumn.



1849. Collodion _positive_ of Hever Castle, Kent, made by Frederick

Scott Archer _early_ in the year.



-- M. Gustave Le Gray _suggested_ the application of collodion to

photography.



1850. "A Practical Treatise on Photography upon Paper and Glass," by

Gustave Le Gray. Translated from the French by Thomas Cousins, and

published by T. and R. Willats. This book is said to contain the first

printed notice of collodion being used in photography.



-- R. J. Bingham, London, suggested the use of collodion and gelatine in

photography.



-- M. Poitevin's gelatine process, published January 25th.



1851. Frederick Scott Archer published his collodion process in the

March number of _The Chemist_, and introduced pyrogallic acid as a

developer December 20th.



-- Fox Talbot announced his instantaneous process, and obtained, at the

Royal Institution, a copy of the _Times_ newspaper, while revolving

rapidly, by the light of an electric spark.



-- Niepce de St. Victor's heliochromic process, published June 22nd.

Examples sent to the judges of the International Exhibition of 1862. See

Jurors' Report thereon, pp. 88-9.



-- Sir David Brewster's improved stereoscope applied to photography.



1851. "Photography, a Treatise on the Chemical Changes produced by Solar

Radiation, and the Production of Pictures from Nature, by the

Daguerreotype, Calotype, and other Photographic Processes," by Robert

Hunt. Published by J. J. Griffin and Co., London and Glasgow.



1852. "Archer's Hand-Book of Collodion Process." Published May 14th.

Second edition, enlarged; published 1854.



-- "Archer's Collodion _Positive_ Process." Published July 20th.



-- Fox Talbot's photo-engraving on steel process; patented October

29th.



1853. A Manual of Photography, by Robert Hunt, published.



-- Photographic Society of London founded. Sir Charles Eastlake, P.R.A.,

President; Roger Fenton, Esq., Secretary. First number of the Society's

Journal published March 3rd.



-- Cutting's American patent for use of bromides in collodion obtained

June 11th, and his Ambrotype process introduced in America.



-- "The Waxed-Paper Process," by Gustave Le Gray. Translated from the

French with a supplement, by James How. Published by G. Knight and Co.,

Foster Lane, Cheapside.



-- Frederick Scott Archer introduced a triple lens to shorten the focus

of a double combination lens.



1854. E. R., of Tavistock, published directions for the use of isinglass

as a substitute for collodion.



-- First series of photographic views of Kenilworth Castle, &c., from

collodion negatives, published by Frederick Scott Archer.



-- Liverpool Photographic Journal, first published by Henry Greenwood,

bi-monthly.



-- First roller-slide patented by Messrs. Spencer and Melhuish, May

22nd.



-- Fox Talbot first applied albumen to paper to obtain a finer surface

for photographic printing.



-- Photo-Enamel process; first patent December 13th.



-- Dry collodion plates first introduced.



1855. M. Poitevin's helioplastic process patented February 20th.



-- Dr. J. M. Taupenot's dry plate process introduced.



-- Photo-galvanic process patented June 5th.



-- "Hardwich's Photographic Chemistry." First edition, published March

12th.



-- Ferrotype process introduced in America by Mr. J. W. Griswold.



1856. "Photographic Notes." Edited by Thomas Sutton. Commenced January

1st; bi-monthly.



1856. Sutton's Calotype process, published March.



1856. Dr. Hill Norris's dry plate process. Patented September 1st.



1856. Caranza published method of toning silver prints with chloride of

platinum.



1857. Moule's photogene, artificial light for portraiture. Patented

February 18th.



-- Carte-de-visite portraits introduced by M. Ferrier, of Nice.



-- Kinnear Camera introduced. Made by Bell, Edinburgh.



1858. Pouncy's Carbon process patented April 10th.



-- Skaife's Pistolgraph camera introduced.



1858. J. C. Burnett exposed the back of the carbon paper and obtained

half-tones.



-- Fox Talbot's photo-etching process, patented April 20th.



-- Paul Pretsch's photo-engraving process introduced.



-- "Sutton's Dictionary of Photography," published August 17th.



-- _The Photographic News_, founded, weekly. First number published

September 10th, by Cassell, Petter, and Galpin, London.



-- "Fothergill Dry Process," by Alfred Keene, published August.



1859. Sutton's panoramic camera patented, September 28th.



-- Photo-lithographic Transfer process patented by Osborne, in

Melbourne, Australia.



-- Wm. Blair, of Perth, secured half-tone in carbon printing by allowing

the light to pass through the back of the paper on which the pigment was

spread.



-- Asser, of Amsterdam, also invented a photo-lithographic transfer

process about this time.



1860. "Principles and Practice of Photography," by Jabez Hughes. First

edition published; fourteenth edition, 1887.



-- Fargier coated carbon surface with collodion, exposed, and

transferred to glass to develop.



-- Spectroscope invented by Kertchoff and Bunsen.



1860. "Year-Book of Photography," edited by G. Wharton Simpson, first

published.



-- Improved Kinnear camera with swing front and back by Meagher.



1861. Captain Dixon's iodide emulsion process patented, April 29th.



-- M. Gaudin, of Paris, employed gelatine in his photogene, and

published in _La Lumiere_ his collodio-iodide and collodio-chloride

processes.



-- H. Anthony, New York, discovered that Tannin dry plates could be

developed by moisture and ammonia vapour.



1862. "Alkaline Development," published by Major Russell.



-- Meagher's square bellows camera, with folding bottom board, exhibited

at the International Exhibition. Noticed in Jurors' Report.



-- Parkesine, the forerunner of celluloid films, invented by Alexander

Parkes, of Birmingham.



1863. Pouncy's fatty ink process; patented January 29th.



-- Toovey's photo-lithographic process; patented June 29th.



-- "Tannin Process," published by Major Russell.



-- "Popular Treatise on Photography," by D. Van Monckhoven. Translated

from the French by W. H. Thornthwaite, London.



1864. Swan's improved carbon process; patented August 27th.



-- "Collodio-Bromide Emulsion," by Messrs. B. J. Sayce and W. B. Bolton;

published September 9th.



-- "Collodio-Chloride Emulsion," by George Wharton Simpson; published in

_The Photographic News_, October 28th.



-- Willis's aniline process; patented November 11th.



-- Obernetter's chromo-photo process; published.



-- Instantaneous dry collodion processes by Thomas Sutton, B.A. Sampson,

Low, Son, and Marston, London.



1865. Paper read on "Collodio-Chloride Emulsion," by George Wharton

Simpson, at the Photographic Society, March 14th.



1865. Photography, a lecture, by the Hon. J. W. Strutt, now Lord

Rayleigh, delivered April 18th; and afterwards published.



-- Eburneum process; published by J. Burgess, Norwich, in _The

Photographic News_, May 5th.



-- Bromide as a restrainer in the developer; published by Major Russell.



1865. Interior of Pyramids of Egypt, photographed by Professor Piazzi

Smyth with the magnesium light.



-- W. H. Smith patented a gelatino-bromide or gelatino-chloride of

silver process for wood blocks, &c.



1866. Magic photographs revived and popularised.



-- Woodburytype process patented by Walter Bentley Woodbury, of

Manchester, July 24th.



-- Photography reviewed, in _British Quarterly Review_, by George

Wharton Simpson, October 1st.



1867. M. Poitevin obtained the balance of the Duc de Luynes's prize for

permanent printing.



-- Cabinet portraits introduced by F. R. Window, photographer, Baker

Street, London.



1868. W. H. Harrison experimented with gelatino-bromide of silver and

obtained results, though somewhat rough and unsatisfactory.



1869. John Robert Johnson's carbon process double transfer patented.



-- "Pictorial Effect in Photography," by H. P. Robinson, first edition.

London: Piper and Carter.



1870. Thomas Sutton described Gaudin's gelatino-iodide process.



-- Jabez Hughes toned collodion transfers with chloride of palladium.



-- John Robert Johnson's single transfer process for carbon printing

patented.



1871. Dr. R. L. Maddox, of Southampton, published his experiments with

gelatino-bromide of silver in the _British Journal of Photography_,

September 8th.



1872. "Emaux Photographiques" (photographic enamels), second edition, by

Geymet and Alker, Paris.



1873. J. Burgess, of Peckham, advertised his gelatino-bromide of silver

emulsion, but it would not keep, so had to be withdrawn.



-- Ostendo non Ostento published a gelatino-bromide of silver formula

with alcohol.



-- Platinotype process patented by W. Willis, junior, June 1st.



1873. R. Kennett's gelatino-bromide of silver pellicle patented November

20th.



-- "The Ferrotypers' Guide" published by Scovill Manufacturing Company,

New York.



1874. R. Kennett issued his gelatino-bromide of silver dry plates in

March.



-- Gelatino-bromide of silver paper first announced by Peter Mawdsley,

of Liverpool Dry Plate Company.



-- "Backgrounds by Powder Process" published by J. Werge, London.



-- Flexible supports in carbon printing patented by John Robert Sawyer,

of the Autotype Company.



-- Leon Lambert's carbon printing process patented.



1875. Demonstrations in carbon printing by L. Lambert given in London

and elsewhere.



-- Eder and Toth intensified collodion negatives and toned lantern

slides with chloride of platinum.



1876. "Practical Treatise on Enamelling and Retouching," by P. Piquepe,

Piper and Carter, London.



1877. Ferrous oxalate developer published June 29th.



-- Wratten precipitated the gelatine emulsion with alcohol, and so

avoided the necessity of dialysing.



1878. Improvement in platinotype patented by W. Willis, junior, July.



-- Abney's "Treatise on Photography" published.



-- Abney's "Emulsion Process" published.



1879. J. Werge's non-actinic developing tray introduced at the South

London Photographic Society.



1880. "Principles and Practice of Photography," by Jabez Hughes,

comprising instructions to make and manipulate gelatino dry plates, by

J. Werge. London: Simpkin and Marshall, and J. Werge.



-- Gelatino-bromide of silver paper introduced by Messrs. Morgan and

Kidd.



-- Platinotype improvement patent granted.



-- Iodides added to gelatino-bromide of silver emulsions by Captain W.

de W. Abney.



1880. Warnerke's sensitometer introduced.



-- "The Argentic Gelatino-Bromide Workers' Guide," by John Burgess. W.

T. Morgan and Co., Greenwich.



-- "Photography; its Origin, Progress, and Practice," by J. Werge.

London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co.



-- Hydroquinone developer introduced by Dr. Eder and Captain Toth.



1881. Stannotype process introduced by Walter Woodbury.



-- Photographers in Great Britain and Ireland 7,614 as per census

returns.



-- "Modern Dry Plates; or Emulsion Photography," by Dr. J. M. Eder,

translated from the German by H. Wilmer, edited by H. B. Pritchard.

London: Piper and Carter.



-- "Pictorial Effect in Photography," by H. P. Robinson (cheap edition).

Piper and Carter.



-- "The Art and Practice of Silver Printing," by H. P. Robinson and

Captain Abney. Piper and Carter.



1882. Herbert B. Berkeley recommended the use of sulphite of soda with

pyrogallic acid to prevent discolouration of film.



-- "Recent Advances in Photography" (Cantor Lectures, Society of Arts),

Captain Abney. London: Piper and Carter.



1882. "The A B C of Modern Photography," comprising practical

instructions for working gelatine dry plates, by W. K. Burton. London:

Piper and Carter.



1882. "Elementary Treatise on Photographic Chemistry," by A. Spiller.

London: Piper and Carter.



1883. Translation of Captain Pizzighelli and Baron A. Hubl's booklet on

"Platinotype;" published in _The Photographic Journal_.



-- Orthochromatic dry plates; English patent granted to Tailfer and

Clayton, January 8th.



-- "The Chemical Effect of the Spectrum," by Dr. J. M. Eder. (Translated

from the German by Captain Abney). London: Harrison and Sons.



1883. "The Chemistry of Light and Photography," by Dr. H. Vogel. London:

Kegan Paul.



1884. "Recent Improvements in Photo-Mechanical Printing Methods," by

Thomas Bolas, Society of Arts, London.



-- "Picture-Making by Photography," by H. P. Robinson. London: Piper and

Carter.



1885. "Photography and the Spectroscope," by Capt. Abney, Society of

Arts.



-- "The Spectroscope and its Relation to Photography," by C. Ray Woods.

London: Piper and Carter.



-- "Photo-Micrography," by A. C. Malley; second edition. London: H. K.

Lewis.



1886. Orthochromatic results exhibited by Dixon and Sons at the

photographic exhibition in October.



-- English patent rights of Tailfer and Clayton's orthochromatic process

secured by B. J. Edwards and Co., Nov. 18th.



1887. Platinotype improvements; two patents.



1888. Pizzighelli's visible platinotype printing paper put on the market

in June.



1889. Eikonogen developer patented by Dr. Andresen, of Berlin, Germany,

March 26th.



-- Wire frames and supports in camera extensions patented by Thomas

Rudolph Dallmeyer and Francis Beauchamp, November 6th.









CONTRIBUTIONS TO PHOTOGRAPHIC LITERATURE.



BY



JOHN WERGE.



_Originally published in the "Photographic News," "British Journal

of Photography," Photographic Year-Book, and Photographic Almanac._





PICTURES OF NIAGARA.



Taken with Camera, Pen, and Pencil.



Many very beautiful and interesting photographic views of Niagara Falls,

and other places of romantic and marvellous interest, have been taken

and exhibited to the world. Indeed, they are to be seen now in almost

every print-seller's window; and in the albums, stereoscopes, or folios

of almost every private collector. But I question very much if it ever

occurred to the mind of anyone, while looking at those pictures, what an

amount of labour, expense, and danger had to be endured and encountered

to obtain them--"the many hairbreadth 'scapes by flood and field," of a

very "positive" character, which had to be risked before some of the

"negatives" could be "boxed." Doubtless Mr. England, Mr. Stephen

Thompson, and Mr. Wilson have many very vivid recollections of the

critical situations they have been in while photographing the

picturesque scenery of the Alpine passes of Switzerland, and the

Highlands and glens of Scotland.



Mr. Stephen Thompson has narrated to me one or two of his "narrow

escapes" while photographing his "Swiss scenes," and I am sure Mr.

England did not procure his many and beautiful "points of view" of

Niagara Falls without exposing himself to considerable risk.



I had the good fortune to be one of the earlier pioneers, in company

with a Yankee friend, Mr. Easterly, in taking photographs of the Falls;

and my recollections of the manner in which we "went about," poised

ourselves and cameras on "points of rock" and "ledges of bluffs," and

felled trees, and lopped off branches overhanging precipices, to "gain a

point," even at the distant date are somewhat thrilling. To take a

photograph of what is called "Visitors' View" is safe and easy enough.

You might plant a dozen cameras on the open space at the brink of the

"American Fall," and photograph the scene, visitors and all, as they

stand, "fixed" with wonder, gazing at the Falls, American, Centre, and

Horseshoe, Goat Island, and the shores of Canada included, for this

point embraces in one view all those subjects. But to get at the

out-of-the-way places, to take the Falls in detail, and obtain some of

the grandest views of them, is a very different matter.



I remember, when we started, taking a hatchet with us, like

backwoodsmen, to take a view of Prospect Tower, on the American side of

the great Horseshoe Fall, how we had to hew down the trees that

obstructed the light; how we actually hung over the precipice, holding

on to each other's hands, to lop off a branch still in sight where it

was not wanted. The manner in which we accomplished this was what some

bystanders pronounced "awful." I hugged a sapling of a silver birch,

growing on the brink of the precipice, with my left arm, while friend

Easterly, holding my right hand with one of the Masonic grips--I won't

say which--_hung over_ the precipice, and stretching out as far as he

could reach, lopped off the offending branch. Yet in this perilous

position my lively companion must crack his joke by punning upon my

name, and a Cockney weakness at the same time, for he "guessed he was

below the _w_erge of the precipice." The branch down, and we had resumed

our perpendicular positions, he simply remarked, if that was not

holding on to a man's hand in _friendship_, he did not know what was.



But the _work_ was not done yet; to get the view of the Tower we wanted,

we had to make a temporary platform over the precipice. This we managed

by laying a piece of "lumber" across a fallen tree, and, unshipping the

camera, shoved it along the plank until it was in position, balancing

the shore end of the plank with heavy stones. When all was ready for

exposure, I went round and stood on the point of a jutting rock to give

some idea of the great depth of the Fall, but I very nearly discovered,

and just escaped being myself the plummet. In the excitement of the

moment, and not thinking that the rock would be slimy and slippery with

the everlasting spray, I went too rapidly forward, and the rock having a

slight decline, I slipped, but was fortunately brought up by a juniper

bush growing within a foot of the edge. For a second or two I lay on my

back wondering if I could slide out of my difficulty as easily as I had

slidden into it. In a moment I determined to go backwards on my back,

hands, and feet, until I laid hold of another bush, and could safely

assume a perpendicular position. After giving the signal that "all was

right," the plate was exposed, and I _cautiously_ left a spot I have no

desire to revisit. But it is astonishing how the majesty and grandeur of

the scene divest the mind of all sense of fear, and to this feeling, to

a great extent, is attributed the many accidents and terrible deaths

that have befallen numerous visitors to the Falls.



The Indians, the tribe of the Iroquois, who were the aboriginal

inhabitants of that part of the country, had a tradition that the "Great

Spirit" of the "Mighty Waters" required the sacrifice of two human lives

every year. To give rise to such a tradition, doubtless, many a red man,

in his skiff, had gone over the Falls, centuries before they were

discovered by the Jesuit missionary, Father Hennepin, in 1678; and, even

in these days of Christian civilization, and all but total extirpation

of the aboriginals, the "Great Spirit" does not appear to be any less

exacting. Nearly every year one or more persons are swept over those

awful cataracts, making an average of at least one per annum. Many

visitors and local residents have lost their lives under the most

painful and afflicting circumstances, the most remarkable of which

occurred just before my visit. One morning, at daylight, a man was

discovered in the middle of the rapids, a little way above the brink of

the American Fall. He was perched upon a log which was jammed between

two rocks. One end of the log was out of the water, and the poor fellow

was comparatively dry, but with very little hope of being rescued from

his dreadful situation. No one could possibly reach him in a boat. The

foaming and leaping waters were rushing past him at the rate of eighteen

or twenty miles an hour, and he knew as well as anyone that to attempt a

rescue in a boat or skiff would be certain destruction, yet every effort

was made to save him. Rafts were made and let down, but they were either

submerged, or the ropes got fast in the rocks. The life-boat was brought

from Buffalo, Lake Erie, and that was let down to him by ropes from the

bridge, but they could not manage the boat in that rush of waters, and

gave it up in despair. One of the thousands of agonized spectators, a

Southern planter, offered a thousand dollars reward to anyone that would

save the "man on the log." Another raft was let down to him, and this

time was successfully guided to the spot. He got on it, but being weak

from exposure and want, he was unable to make himself fast or retain his

hold, and the doomed man was swept off the raft and over the Falls

almost instantly, before the eyes of thousands, who wished, but were

powerless and unable, to rescue him from his frightful death. His name

was Avery. He and another man were taking a pleasure sail on the Upper

Niagara river, their boat got into the current, was sucked into the

rapids, and smashed against the log or the rock. The other man went over

the Falls at the time of the accident; but Avery clung to the log, where

he remained for about eighteen hours in such a state of mind as no one

could possibly imagine. None could cheer him with a word of hope, for

the roar of the rapids and thunder of the cataracts rendered all other

sounds inaudible. Mr. Babbitt, a resident photographer, took several

Daguerreotypes of the "man on the log," one of which he kindly presented

to me. Few of the bodies are ever recovered. One or two that went over

the Great Horse Shoe Fall were found, their bodies in a state of

complete nudity. The weight or force of the water strips them of every

particle of clothing; but that is not to be wondered at, considering the

immense weight of water that rolls over every second, the distance it

has to fall, and the depth of the foaming cauldron below. The fall of

the Horse Shoe to the surface of the lower river is 158 feet, and the

depth of the cauldron into which the Upper Niagara leaps about 300 feet,

making a total of 458 feet from the upper to the lower bed of the

Niagara River at the Great Horse Shoe Fall. It has been computed that

one hundred million, two hundred thousand tons of water pass over the

Falls every hour. The depth of the American Fall is 164 feet; but that

falls on to a mass of broken rocks a few feet above the level of the

lower river.



Our next effort was to get a view of the Centre Fall, or "Cave of the

Winds," from the south, looking at the Centre and American Falls, down

the river as far as the Suspension Bridge, about two miles below, and

the Lower or Long Rapids, for there are rapids both above and below the

Falls. In this we succeeded tolerably well, and without any difficulty.

Then, descending the "Biddle Stairs" to the foot of the two American

cataracts, we tried the "Cave of the Winds" itself; but, our process

not being a "wet" one, had no sympathy with the blinding and drenching

spray about us. However, I secured a pencil sketch of the scene we

could not photograph, and afterwards took one of the most novel and

fearful shower-baths to be had in the world. Dressed--or, rather,

undressed--for the purpose, and accompanied by a guide, I passed down

by the foot of the precipice, under the Centre Fall, and along a wet and

slippery pole laid across a chasm, straddling it by a process I cannot

describe--for I was deaf with the roar and blind with the spray--we

reached in safety a flat rock on the other side, and then stood erect

between the two sheets of falling water. To say that I saw anything

while there would be a mistake; but I know and felt by some

demonstrations, other than ocular, that I was indulging in a bath of the

wildest and grandest description. Recrossing the chasm by the pole, we

now entered the "Cave of the Winds," which is immediately under the

Centre Fall. The height and width of the cave is one hundred feet, and

the depth sixty feet. It takes its name from the great rush of wind into

the cave, caused by the fall of the waters from above. Standing in the

cave, which is almost dry, you can view the white waters, like

avalanches of snow, tumbling over and over in rapid succession. The

force of the current of the rapids above shoots the water at least

twenty feet from the rock, describing, as it were, the segment of a

circle. By this circumstance only are you able to pass under the Centre

Fall, and a portion of the Horse Shoe Fall on the Canadian side. To

return, we ascended the "Biddle Stairs," a spiral staircase of 115

steps, on the west side of Goat Island, crossed the latter, and by a

small bridge passed to Bath Island, which we left by the grand bridge

which crosses the rapids about 250 yards above the American Fall.

Reaching the American shore again in safety, after a hard day's work, we

availed ourselves of Mr. Babbitt's kindness and hospitality to develop

our plates in his dark room, and afterwards developed ourselves,

sociably and agreeably, refreshing the inner man, and narrating our

day's adventures.



I shall now endeavour to describe our next trip, which was to the

Canadian side--how we got there, what we did, and what were the

impressions produced while contemplating those wonderful works of

nature. In the first place, to describe how we descended to the "ferry"

and crossed the river. On the north side of the American Fall a railway

has been constructed by an enterprising American, where the "cars" are

let down a steep decline by means of water-power, the proprietor of the

railway having utilized the very smallest amount of the immense force so

near at hand. Placing our "traps" in the car, and seating ourselves

therein, the lever was moved by the "operator," and away we went down

the decline as if we were going plump into the river below; but at the

proper time the water was turned off, and we were brought to a

standstill close by the boat waiting to ferry us across. Shifting our

traps and selves into the boat and sitting down, the ferryman bent to

the oars and off we dashed into the dancing and foaming waters, keeping

her head well to the stream, and drawing slowly up until we came right

abreast of the American Fall; then letting her drop gently down the

stream, still keeping her head to the current, we gained the Canadian

shore; our course on the river describing the figure of a cone, the apex

towards the "Horse Shoe." Ascending the banks by a rather uphill road,

we reached the Clifton Hotel, where we took some refreshments, and then

commenced our labours of photographing the Grand Rapids and the Falls,

from Table Rock, or what remained of it. On arriving at the spot, we set

down our traps and looked about bewildered for the best point. To

attempt to describe the scene now before us would be next to folly, nor

could the camera, from the limited angle of our lens, possibly convey an

adequate idea of the grandeur and terrific beauty of the Grand Rapids,

as you see them rushing and foaming, white with rage, for about two and

a half miles before they make their final plunge over the precipice.

Many years ago an Indian was seen standing up in his canoe in the midst

of these fearful rapids. Nearing the brink of the terrible Fall, and

looking about him, he saw that all hope was lost, for he had passed

Gull Island, his only chance of respite; waving his hand, he was seen

to lie down in the bottom of his canoe, which shot like an arrow into

the wild waters below, and he was lost for ever. Neither he nor his

canoe was ever seen again. In 1829 the ship _Detroit_, loaded with a

live buffalo, bear, deer, fox, &c., was sent over the Falls. She was

almost dashed to pieces in the rapids, but many persons saw the remains

of the ship rolled over into the abyss of waters. No one knew what

became of the animals on board. And in 1839, during the Canadian

Rebellion, the steamer _Caroline_ was set fire to in the night and cast

adrift. She was drawn into the rapids, but struck on Gull Island, and

was much shattered by the collision. The bulk of the burning mass was

swept over the Falls, but few witnessed the sight. Doubtless no fire on

board a ship was ever extinguished so suddenly. The view from Table Rock

is too extensive to be rendered on one plate by an ordinary camera; but

the pantascopic camera would give the very best views that could

possibly be obtained.



Taking Table Rock as the centre, the entire sweep of the Fall is about

180 degrees, and stretching from point to point for nearly

three-quarters of a mile--from the north side of the American Fall to

the termination of the Horse Shoe Fall on the west side. The American

and Centre Falls present a nearly straight line running almost due north

and south, while the Great Horse Shoe Fall presents a line or figure

resembling a sickle laid down with the left hand, the convex part of the

bow lying direct south, the handle lying due east and west, with the

point or termination to the west; the waters of the two American Falls

rushing from east to west, and the waters of the Canadian Fall bounding

towards the north. By this description it will be seen that but for the

intervention of Goat and Luna Islands the three sheets of water would

embrace each other like mighty giants locked in a death struggle, before

they fell into the lower river. The whole aspect of the Falls from

Table Rock is panoramic. Turning to the left, you see the American

rapids rushing down furiously under the bridge, between Bath Island and

the American shore, with a force and velocity apparently great enough to

sweep away the bridge and four small islands lying a little above the

brink, and pitch them all down on to the rocks below. Turning slowly to

the right, you see the Centre Fall leaping madly down between Luna and

Goat Islands, covering the Cave of the Winds from view. A little more to

the right, the rocky and precipitous face of Goat or Iris Island, with

the "Biddle Stairs" like a perpendicular line running down the

precipice; and to the extreme right the immense sweeps of the Great

Horse Shoe.



Doubtless this fall took its name from its former resemblance to the

shape of a horse shoe. It is, however, nothing like that now, but is

exactly the figure of a sickle, as previously described. Looking far up

the river you observe the waters becoming broken and white, and so they

continue to foam and rush and leap with increasing impetuosity, rushing

madly past the "Three Sisters"--three islands on the left--and "Gull

Island" in the middle of the rapids, on which it is supposed no man has

ever trodden, until, with a roar of everlasting thunder, which shakes

the earth, they fall headlong into the vortex beneath. At the foot of

this Fall, and for a considerable distance beyond, the river is as white

as the eternal snows, and as troubled as an angry sea. Indeed, I never

but once saw the Atlantic in such a state, and that was in a storm in

which we had to "lay to" for four days in the Gulf Stream.



The colours and beauty of Niagara in sunlight are indescribable. You may

convey _some_ idea of its form, power, and majesty, by describing lines

and giving figures of quantity and proportion, but to give the faintest

impression of its beauty and colours is almost hopeless. The rich,

lovely green on the very brink of the Horse Shoe Fall is beyond

conception. All the emeralds in the world, clustered together and bathed

in sunlight, would fall far short of the beauty and brilliancy of that

pure and dazzling colour. It can only be compared to an immense, unknown

brilliant of the emerald hue, in a stupendous setting of the purest

frosted, yet sparkling silver. Here, too, is to be seen the marvellous

beauty of the prismatic colours almost daily. Here you might think the

"Covenant" had been made, and set up to shine for ever and ever at the

Throne of the Most Mighty, and here only can be seen the complete

_circle_ of the colours of the rainbow. I saw this but once, when on

board the _Maid of the Mist_, and almost within the great vortex at the

foot of the Falls. A brilliant sun shining through the spray all round,

placed us in a moment as it were in the very centre of that beautiful

circle of colour, which, with the thunder of the cataract, and the

sublimity of the scene, made the soul feel as if it were in the presence

of the "Great Spirit," and this the sign and seal of an eternal compact.

Here, also, is to be seen the softer, but not the less beautiful Lunar

Rainbow. Whenever the moon is high enough in the heavens, the lunar bow

can be seen, not fitful as elsewhere, but constant and beautiful as long

as the moon is shedding her soft light upon the spray. On one occasion I

saw two lunar bows at once, one on the spray from the American Fall, and

the other on the spray of the great Horse Shoe Fall. This I believe is

not usual, but an eddy of the wind brought the two clouds of spray under

the moon's rays. Yet these are not all the "beauties of the mist." One

morning at sunrise I saw one of the most beautiful forms the spray could

possibly assume. The night had been unusually calm, the morning was as

still as it could be, and the mist from the Horse Shoe had risen in a

straight column to a height of at least 300 feet, and then spread out

into a mass of huge rolling clouds, immediately above the cataracts. The

rising sun shed a red lustre on the under edges of the cloud, which was

truly wonderful. It more resembled one huge, solitary column supporting

a canopy of silvery grey cloud, the edges of which were like burnished

copper, and highly suggestive of the Temple of the Most High, where man

must bow down and worship the great Creator of all these wondrous works.

It is not in a passing glance at Niagara that all its marvellous

beauties can be seen. You must stay there long enough to see it in all

its aspects--in sunshine and in moonlight, in daylight and in darkness,

in storm and in calm. No picture of language can possibly convey a just

conception of the grandeur and vastness of these mighty cataracts. No

poem has ever suggested a shadow of their majesty and sublimity. No

painting has ever excited in the mind, of one that has not seen those

marvellous works of God, the faintest idea of their dazzling beauties.

Descriptive writers, both in prose and verse, have failed to depict the

glories of this "Sovereign of the World of Floods." Painters have

essayed with their most gorgeous colours, but have fallen far short of

the intense beauty, transparency, and purity of the water, and the

wonderful radiance and brilliancy of the "Rainbow in the Mist." And I

fear the beauties of Niagara in natural colours can never be obtained in

the camera; but what a glorious triumph for photography if they were.

Mr. Church's picture, painted a few years ago, is the most faithful

exponent of nature's gorgeous colouring of Niagara that has yet been

produced. Indeed, the brilliant and harmonious colouring of this grand

picture can scarcely be surpassed by the hand and skill of man.



After obtaining our views of the Grand Rapids and the Falls from Table

Rock, we put up our traps, and leaving them in charge of the courteous

proprietor of the Museum, we prepared to go _under_ the great Horse Shoe

Fall. Clothing ourselves in india-rubber suits, furnished by our guide,

we descended the stairs near Table Rock, eighty-seven steps, and, led by

a negro, we went under the great sheet of water as far as we could go to

Termination Rock, and standing there for a while in that vast cave of

watery darkness, holding on to the negro's hand, we felt lost in wonder

and amazement, but not fear. How long we might have remained in that

bewildering situation it would be impossible to say, but being gently

drawn back by our sable conductor, we returned to the light and

consciousness of our position. The volume of water being much greater

here than at the Cave of the Winds, and the spray being all around, we

could not see anything but darkness visible below, and an immense moving

mass before, which we knew by feeling to be water. There is some

fascination about the place, for after coming out into the daylight I

went back again alone, but the guide, hurrying after me, brought me

back, and held my hand until we reached the stairs to return to the

Museum. On our way back our guide told us that more than "twice-told

tale" of Niagara and Vesuvius. If I may be pardoned for mixing up the

ridiculous with the sublime, I may as well repeat the story, for having

just come from under the Falls we were prepared to believe the truth of

it, if the geographical difficulty could have been overcome. An Italian

visiting the Falls and going under the Horse Shoe, was asked, on coming

out, what he thought of the sight. The Italian replied it was very grand

and wonderful, but _nothing_ to the sight of Mount Vesuvius in a grand

eruption. The guide's retort was, "I guess if you bring _your_ Vesuvius

here, _our_ Niagara will soon put his fires out." I do not vouch for the

truth of the story, but give it as nearly as possible as I was told.

Returning to the Museum and making ourselves "as we were," and

comforting ourselves with something inside after the wetting we had got

out, we took up our traps, and wending our way back to the ferry,

recrossed the river in much the same manner that we crossed over in the

morning; and sending our "baggage" up in the cars we thought we would

walk up the "long stairs," 290 steps, by the side of the railway. On

nearing the top, we felt as if we must "cave in," but having trodden so

far the back of a "lion," we determined to see the end of his tail, and

pushing on to the top, we had the satisfaction of having accomplished

the task we had set ourselves. Perhaps before abandoning the Canadian

side of Niagara, I should have said something about Table Rock, which,

as I have said, is on the Canadian side, and very near to the Horse Shoe

Fall. It took its name from the table-like form it originally presented.

It was formerly much larger than it is now, but has, from time to time,

fallen away. At one time it was very extensive and projected over the

precipice fifty or sixty feet, and was about 240 feet long and 100 feet

thick. On the 26th of June, 1850, this tremendous mass of rock, nearly

half an acre, fell into the river with a crash and a noise like the

sound of an earthquake. The whole of that immense mass of rock was

buried in the depths of the river, and completely hidden from sight. No

one was killed, which was a miracle, for several persons had been

standing on the rock just a few minutes before it fell. The vicinity is

still called Table Rock, though the projecting part that gave rise to

the name is gone. It is, nevertheless, the best point on the Canada side

for obtaining a grand and comprehensive view of Niagara Falls.



The next scenes of our photographic labours were Suspension Bridge, the

Long Rapids, The Whirlpool, and Devil's Hole. These subjects, though not

so grand as Niagara, are still interestingly and closely associated with

the topographical history and legendary interest of the Falls. And we

thought a few "impressions" of the scenes, and a visit to the various

places, would amply repay us for the amount of fatigue we should have to

undergo on such a trip under the scorching sun of _August in America_.

Descending to the shore, and stepping on board the steamer _Maid of the

Mist_, which plies up and down the river for about two miles, on the

tranquil water between the Falls and the Lower Rapids, we were "cast

off," and in a little time reached the landing stage, a short distance

above the Long Rapids. Landing on the American side, we ascended the

steep road, which has been cut out of the precipice, and arriving at

Suspension Bridge, proceeded to examine that wonderful specimen of

engineering skill. It was not then finished, but the lower level was

complete, and foot passengers and carriages could go along. They were

busy making the railway "track" overhead, so that, when finished (which

it is now), it would be a bridge of two stories--the lower one for

passengers on foot and carriages, the upper one for the "cars." I did

not see a "snorting monster" going along that spider's-web-like

structure, but can very well imagine what must be the sensations of

"railway passengers" as they pass along the giddy height. The span of

the bridge, from bank to bank, is 800 feet, and it is 230 feet from the

river to the lower or carriage road. The estimated cost was two hundred

thousand dollars, about L40,000. A boy's toy carried the first wire

across the river. When the wind was blowing straight across, a wire was

attached to a kite, and thus the connecting thread between the two sides

was secured, and afterwards by means of a running wheel, or traveller,

wire after wire was sent across until each strand was made thick enough

to carry the whole weight of the bridge, railway trains, and other

traffic which now pass along. We went on to the bridge, and looked down

on the rapids below, for the bridge spans the river at the narrowest

point, and right over the commencement of the Lower Rapids. It was more

of a test to my nerves to stand at the edge of the bridge and look down

on those fearful rapids than it was to go under the Falls. To us, it

seemed a miracle of ingenuity and skill how, from so frail a connection,

a mere wire, so stupendous a structure could have been formed; and yet,

viewing it from below, or at a distance, it looked like a bridge of

threads. During its erection several accidents occurred. On one

occasion, when the workmen were just venturing on to the cables to lay

the flooring, and before a plank was made fast, one of those sudden

storms, so peculiar to America, came up and carried away all the

flooring into the Rapids. Four of the men were left hanging to the

wires, which were swaying backwards and forwards in the hurricane in

the most frightful manner. Their cries for help could scarcely be heard,

from the noise of the Rapids and the howling of the wind, but the

workmen on shore, seeing the perilous condition of their comrades, sent

a basket, with a man in it, down the wire to rescue them from death.

Thus, one by one, they were saved. Leaving the Bridge, and proceeding to

the vicinity of the Whirlpool, still keeping the American side of the

river, we pitched the camera, not _over_ the precipice, as I heard of

one brother photographer doing, but on it, and took a view of the Bridge

and the Rapids looking up towards the Falls, but a bend in the river

prevented them being seen from this point. Not very far above the angry

flood we saw the _Maid of the Mist_ lying quietly at her moorings.



We next turned our attention to the great Whirlpool, which is about a

mile below Suspension Bridge. Photographically considered, this is not

nearly of so much interest as the Falls; but it is highly interesting,

nevertheless, as a connecting link between their present and past

history. It is supposed that ages ago--probably before the word went

forth, "Let there _be_ light, and there _was_ light"--the Falls were as

low down as the Whirlpool, a distance of over three miles below where

they now are, or even lower down the river still. Geological observation

almost proves this; and, that the present Whirlpool was once the great

basin into which the Falls tumbled. In fact, that this was, in former

ages, what the vortex at the foot of the Great Horse Shoe Fall is now.

There seems to be no doubt whatever that the Falls are gradually though

slowly receding, and they were just as likely to have been at the foot

of the Long Rapids before the deluge, as not; especially when it is

considered that the general aspect of the Falls has changed

considerably, by gradual undermining of the soft shale and frequent

falling and settling of the harder rocks during the last fifty years.

Looking at the high and precipitous boundaries of the Long Rapids, it is

difficult to come to any other conclusion than that, ages before the

red man ever saw the Falls of Niagara, they rolled over a precipice

between these rocky barriers in a more compact, but not less majestic

body. The same vast quantity of water had to force its way through this

narrower outlet, and it doubtless had a much greater distance to fall,

for the precipices on each side of the river at this point are nearly

250 feet high, and the width of the gorge for a mile above and below the

Whirlpool is not more than 700 feet. Considering that the Falls are now

spread over an area of nearly three-quarters of a mile, and that this is

the only outlet for all the superfluous waters of the great inland seas

of Canada and America--Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie--and

the hundreds of tributaries thereto, it may easily be conceived how

great the rush of waters through so narrow a defile must necessarily be;

their turbulence and impatience rather aptly reminding you of a spoilt

child--not in size or form, but in behaviour. They have so long had

their own way, and done as they liked on the upper river and at the

Falls, they seem as if they could not brook the restraint put upon them

now by the giant rocks and lofty precipices that stand erect, on either

side, hurling them back defiantly in tumultuous waves, seething, and

hissing, and roaring in anger, lashing themselves into foam, and

swelling with rage, higher in the middle, as if they sought an

unpolluted way to the lake below, where they might calm their angry and

resentful passions, and lay their chafed heads on the soft and gently

heaving bosom of their lovely sister Ontario. It is a remarkable

circumstance that the waters of the Rapids, both above and below the

Whirlpool, in this defile are actually higher in the middle, by eight or

nine feet, than at the sides, as if the space afforded them by their

stern sentinels on each side were not enough to allow them to pass

through in order and on a level. They seem to come down the upper part

of the gorge like a surging and panic-stricken multitude, until they are

stopped for a time by the gigantic precipice forming the lower boundary

of the Whirlpool, which throws them back, and there they remain whirling

and whirling about until they get away by an under current from the

vortex; and, rising again in the lower part of the gorge, which runs off

at right angles to the upper, they again show their angry heads, and

rush madly and tumultuously away towards Lake Ontario. The bed of these

rapids must be fearfully rugged, or the surface of the waters could not

possibly be in such a broken state, for the water is at least 100 feet

deep, by measurement made above and below the Rapids. But nobody has

ventured to "heave the lead" either in the Rapids themselves or in the

Whirlpool, the depth of which is not known. There is not much

picturesque beauty at this point. Indeed, the Whirlpool itself is rather

of a fearful and horrible character, with little to see but the mad

torrent struggling and writhing in the most furious manner, to force its

way down between its rocky boundaries. I saw logs of wood and other

"wreck," probably portions of canal boats that had come down the river

and been swept over the Falls, whirling around but not coming to the

centre. When they are seen to get to the vortex they are tipped up

almost perpendicularly and then vanish from sight, at last released from

their continually diminishing and circular imprisonment. It has

sometimes happened that the dead bodies of people drowned in the upper

part of the river have been seen whirling about in this frightful pool

for many days. In 1841, three soldiers, deserters from the British army,

attempting to swim across the river above these rapids, were drowned.

Their bodies were carried down to the Whirlpool, where they were seen

whirling about for nearly a fortnight. Leaving _this_ gloomy and

soul-depressing locality we proceeded for about half a mile further down

the river, and visited that frightful chasm called Devil's Hole, or

Bloody Run. The former name it takes from a horrible deed of fiendish

and savage ferocity that was committed there by the Indians, and the

latter name from the circumstance of that deed causing a stream of

human blood to run through the ravine and mingle with the fierce water

of the Rapids. Exactly one hundred years ago, during the French and

Canadian wars, a party of 250 officers, men, women, and children, were

retreating from Fort Schlosser, on the Upper Niagara River, and, being

decoyed into an ambush, were driven over into this dreadful chasm, and

fell to the bottom, a distance of nearly 200 feet. Only two escaped. A

drummer was caught by one of the trees growing on the side of the

precipice, and the other, a soldier named Steadman, escaped during the

conflict, at the commencement of the treacherous onslaught. He was

mounted, and the Indians surrounding him, seized the bridle, and were

attempting to drag him off his horse; but, cutting the reins, and giving

his charger the "rowels deep," the animal dashed forward, and carried

him back in safety to Fort Schlosser. The Indians afterwards gave him

all the land he encircled in his flight, and he took up his abode among

them. In after years he put the goats on Goat Island--hence its name--by

dropping carefully down the middle of the upper stream in a boat. After

landing the goats he returned to the mainland, pushing his boat up the

stream where the Rapids divide, until he reached safe water. The events

of the foregoing episode occurred in 1765, and it is to be hoped that

the Indians were the chief instigators and perpetrators of the massacre

of Bloody Run.



While we were looking about the chasm to see if there were any fossil

remains in the place, an unlooked-for incident occurred. I saw two men

coming up from the bottom of the ravine carrying _fish_--and the oddest

fish and the whitest fish I ever saw. The idea of anyone fishing in

those headlong rapids had never occurred to us; but probably these men

knew some _fissures_ in the rocks where the waters were quiet, and where

the fish put into as a place of refuge from the stormy waters into which

they had been drawn. No wonder the poor finny creatures were white, for

I should think they had been frightened almost out of their lives

before they were seized by their captors. I don't think I should have

liked to have partaken of the meal they furnished, for they were very

"shy-an'-hide" looking fishes. But soon we were obliged to give up both

our geological studies and piscatorial speculations, for black clouds

were gathering overhead, shutting off the light, and making the dark

ravine too gloomy to induce us to prolong our stay in that fearful

chasm, with its melancholy associations of dark deeds of bloodshed and

wholesale murder. Before we gained the road the rain came down, the

lightning flashed, and the thunder clapped, reverberating sharp and loud

from the rocks above, and we hurried away from the dismal place. On

reaching the landing stage, we took refuge from the storm and rain by

again going on board the _Maid of the Mist_. She soon started on her

last trip for the day, and we reached our hotel, glad to get out of a

"positive bath," and indulge in a "toning mixture" of alcohol, sugar,

and _warm_ water. We had no "_gold_" but our "paper" being _good_, we

did not require any.



After a delightful sojourn of three weeks at the Falls, and visiting

many other places of minor interest in their neighbourhood, I bade adieu

to the kind friends I had made and met, with many pleasant recollections

of their kindness, and a never-to-be-forgotten remembrance of the charms

and beauties, mysteries and majesty, power and grandeur, and terror and

sublimity of Niagara.--_Photographic News_, 1865.





PICTURES OF THE ST. LAWRENCE.



Taken in Autumn.



Photographs of the River St. Lawrence conveying an adequate idea of its

extent and varied aspects, could not be taken in a week, a month, or a

year. It is only possible in this sketch to call attention to the most

novel and striking features of this great and interesting river, passing

them hurriedly, as I did, in the "express boat," by which I sailed from

the Niagara River to Montreal. Lake Ontario being the great head waters

of the St. Lawrence, and the natural connection between that river and

Niagara, I shall endeavour to illustrate, with pen and pencil, my sail

down the Niagara River, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence. Stepping on

board the steamer lying at Lewiston, seven miles below Niagara, and

bound for Montreal, I went to the "clerk's office," paid seven and

a half dollars--about thirty shillings sterling--and secured my bed,

board, and passage for the trip, the above small sum being all that is

charged for a first-class passage on board those magnificent steamers. I

don't remember the name of "our boat," but that is of very little

consequence, though I dare say it was the _Fulton_, that being in

steamboat nomenclature what "Washington" is to men, cities, and towns,

and even territory, in America. But she was a splendid vessel,

nevertheless, with a handsome dining saloon, a fine upper saloon running

the whole length of the upper deck, about two hundred feet, an elegant

"ladies' saloon," a stateroom cabin as well, and a powerful "walking

engine." "All aboard," and "let go;" splash went the paddle-wheels, and

we moved off majestically, going slowly down the river until we passed

Fort Niagara on the American side, and Fort George on the British, at

the foot of the river, and near the entrance to the Lake. On Fort

Niagara the "Star Spangled Banner" was floating, its bright blue field

blending with the clear blue sky of an autumn afternoon, its starry

representatives of each State shining like stars in the deep blue vault

of heaven, its red and white bars, thirteen in number, as pure in colour

as the white clouds and crimson streaks of the west. The mingled crosses

of St. Andrew and St. George were waving proudly over the fort opposite.

Brave old flag, long may you wave! These forts played their respective

parts amidst the din of battle during the wars of 1812 and 1813; but

with these we have neither time nor inclination to deal; we, like the

waters of the Niagara, are in a hurry to reach the bosom of Lake

Ontario. Passing the forts, we were soon on the expanse of waters, and

being fairly "at sea," we began to settle ourselves and "take stock," as

it were, of our fellow travellers. It is useless to describe the aspect

of the Lake; I might as well describe the German Ocean, for I could not

see much difference between that and Lake Ontario, except that I could

not sniff the iodine from the weeds drying in the sun while we "hugged

the shore," or taste salt air after we were out in mid ocean--"the land

is no longer in view."



To be at sea is to be at sea, no matter whether it is on a fresh water

ocean or a salt one. The sights, the sensations, and consequences are

much the same. There, a ship or two in full sail; here, a passenger or

two, of both sexes, with the "wind taken out of their sails." The "old

salts" or "old freshes" behave themselves much as usual, and so do the

"green" ones of both atmospheres--the latter by preparing for a "bath"

of perspiration and throwing everything down the "sink," or into the

sea; and the former by picking out companions for the voyage. Being

myself an "old salt," and tumbling in with one or two of a "fellow

feeling wondrous kind," we were soon on as good terms as if we had known

each other for years. After "supper," a sumptuous repast at 6 p.m., we

went on to the "hurricane deck" to enjoy the calm and pleasant evening

outside. There was a "gentle swell" on the Lake--not much, but enough to

upset a few. After dark, we went into the "ladies' cabin"--an elegant

saloon, beautifully furnished, and not without a grand piano, where the

"old freshes" of the softer sex--young and pretty ones too--were amusing

themselves with playing and singing. An impromptu concert was soon

formed, and a few very good pieces of music well played and sung. All

went off very well while nothing but English, or, I should more properly

say, American and Canadian, were sung, but one young lady,

unfortunately, essayed one of the sweetest and most plaintive of Scotch

songs--"Annie Laurie." Now fancy the love-sick "callant" for the sake of

Annie Laurie lying down to _die_; just fancy Annie Laurie without the

Scotch; only fancy Annie Laurie in a sort of mixture of Canadianisms and

Americanisms; fancy "toddy" without the whisky, and you have some idea

of "Annie Laurie" as sung on board the _Fulton_ while splashing away on

Lake Ontario, somewhere between America and Canada. There being little

more to induce us to remain there, and by the ship's regulations it was

getting near the time for "all lights out" in the cabins, we took an

early "turn in," with the view of making an early "turn-out," so as to

be alive and about when we should enter the St. Lawrence, which we did

at 6 o'clock a.m., on a fine bright morning, the sun just rising to

light up and "heighten" all the glorious tints of the trees on the

Thousand and One Islands, among which we were now sailing.



It is impossible to form a correct idea of the width of the St. Lawrence

at the head of the river. The islands are so large and numerous, it is

difficult to come to a conclusion whether you are on a river or on a

lake. Many of these islands are thickly wooded, so that they look more

like the mainland on each side of you as the steamer glides down "mid

channel" between them. The various and brilliant tints of the foliage of

the trees of America in autumn are gorgeous, such as never can be seen

in this country; and their "chromotones" present an insurmountable

difficulty to a photographer with his double achromatic lens and camera.

Imagine our oaks clothed with leaves possessing all the varieties of red

tints, from brilliant carmine down to burnt sienna--the brightest copper

bays that grow in England are cool in tone compared with them; fancy our

beeches, birches, and ashes thick with leaves of a bright yellow colour,

from gamboge down to yellow ochre; our pines, firs, larches, and

spruces, carrying all the varieties of green, from emerald down to terra

verte; in fact, all the tints that are, can be seen on the trees when

they are going into "the sere and yellow leaf" of autumn, excepting

_blue_, and even that is supplied by the bluebirds (Sialia wilsonii)

flitting about among the leaves, and in the deep cool tint of the sky,

repeated and blended with the reflection of the many-coloured trees in

the calm, still water of the river. Some of the trees--the maples, for

instance--exhibit in themselves, most vividly, the brightest shades of

red, green, and yellow; but when the wind blows these resplendent

colours about, the atmosphere is like a mammoth kaleidoscope that is

never allowed to rest long enough to present to the eye a symmetrical

figure or pattern, a perfect chaos of the most vivid and brilliant

colours too gorgeous to depict. Long before this we had got clear of the

islands at the foot of the lake and head of the river, and were steaming

swiftly down the broad St. Lawrence. It is difficult to say how broad,

but it varied from three to five or six miles in width; indeed, the

river very much resembles the Balloch End, which is the broadest of

Lochlomond; and some of the passages between the islands are very

similar to the straits between the "Pass of Balmaha" and the island of

Inchcailliach. The river is not hemmed in with such mountains as Ben

Lomond and Ben Dhu, but, in many respects, the St. Lawrence very much

resembles parts of our widest lakes, Lochlomond and Windermere. Having

enjoyed the sight of the bright, beautiful scenery and the fresh morning

air for a couple of hours, we were summoned to breakfast by the sound of

the steward's "Big Ben." Descending to the lower cabin, we seated

ourselves at the breakfast table, and partook of a most hearty meal. All

the meals on board these steamers are served in the most sumptuous

style. During the repast some talked politics, some dollars and cents,

others were speculating on how we should get down the Rapids, and when

we should make them. Among the latter was myself, for I had seen rapids

which I had not the slightest desire to be in or on; and, what sort of

rapids we were coming to was of some importance to all who had not been

on them. But everybody seemed anxious to be "on deck," and again "look

out" for the quickening of the stream, or when the first "white

lippers," should give indication of their whereabouts. My fellow

passengers were from all parts of the Union; the Yankee "guessed," the

Southerner "reckoned," and the Western man "calculated" we should soon

be among the "jumpers." Each one every now and then strained his eyes

"ahead," down stream, to see if he could descry "broken water." At last

an old river-man sung out, "There they are." There are the Longue Sault

Rapids, the first we reach. Having plenty of "daylight," we did not feel

much anxiety as we neared them, which we quickly did, for "the stream

runs fast." We were soon among the jumping waters, and it is somewhat

difficult to describe the sensation, somewhat difficult to find a

comparison of a suitable character. It is not like being at sea in a

ship in a "dead calm." The vessel does not "roll" with such solemn

dignity, nor does she "pitch" and rise again so buoyantly as an Atlantic

steamer (strange enough, I once crossed the Atlantic in the steamship

_Niagara_), as she ploughs her way westward or eastward in a "head

wind," and through a head sea. She rather kicks and jerks, and is let

"down a peg" or two, with a shake and a fling. Did you ever ride a

spavined horse down a hill? If so, you can form some idea of the manner

in which we were let down the Longue Sault and Cedar Rapids and the St.

Louis Cascades. One of our fellow passengers--a Scotchman--told that

somewhat _apropos_ and humorous story of the "Hielandman's" first trip

across the Firth of Forth in a "nasty sea." Feeling a little uneasy

about the stomach, and his bile being rather disturbed, the prostrate

mountaineer cried out to the man at the "tiller" to "stop tickling the

beast's tail--what was he making the animal kick that way for?" And so,

telling our stories, and cracking our jokes, we spent the time until our

swift vessel brought us to a landing, where we leave her and go on board

a smaller boat, one more suitable for the descent of the more dangerous

rapids, which we have yet to come to.



"All aboard," and away we go again as fast as steam and a strong current

can take us, passing an island here and there, a town or a village half

French and English, with a sprinkling of the Indian tribes, on the banks

of the river now and then. But by this time it is necessary to go below

again and dine. Bed, board, and travelling, are all included in the

fare, so everyone goes to dinner. There is, however, so much to see

during this delightful trip, that nobody likes to be below any longer

than can be avoided. Immediately after dinner most are on deck again,

anxious to see all that is to be seen on this magnificent river. The

sights are various and highly interesting to the mind or "objectives" of

either artist or photographer. Perhaps one of the most novel subjects

for the camera and a day's photographing would be "Life on a Raft," as

you see them drifting down the St. Lawrence. There is an immense raft--a

long, low, flat, floating island, studded with twenty or thirty sails,

and half a dozen huts, peopled with men, women, and children, the little

ones playing about as if they were on a "plank road," or in a garden. It

is "washing day," and the clean clothes are drying in the sun and

breeze--indicative of the strictest domestic economy, and scrupulous

cleanliness of those little huts, the many-coloured garments giving the

raft quite a gay appearance, as if it were decked with the "flags of all

nations." But what a life of tedious monotony it must be, drifting down

the river in this way for hundreds of miles, from the upper part of Lake

Ontario to Montreal or Quebec. How they get down the rapids of the St.

Lawrence I do not know, but I should think they run considerable risk of

being washed off; the raft seems too low in the water, and if not

extremely well fastened, might part and be broken up. We passed two or

three of these rafts, one a very large one, made up of thousands of

timbers laid across and across like warp and weft; yet the people seemed

happy enough on these "timber islands;" we passed them near enough to

see their faces and hear their voices, and I regretted I could not

"catch their shadows," or stop and have an hour or two's work among them

with the camera or the pencil; but we passed them by as if they were a

fixture in the river, and they gave us a shout of "God speed," as if

they did not envy our better pace in the least.



There is abundance of work for the camera at all times of the year on

the St. Lawrence; I have seen it in summer and autumn, and have

attempted to describe some of its attractions. And I was told that when

the river--not the rapids--is ice-bound, the banks covered with snow,

and the trees clad in icicles, they present a beautiful scene in the

sunshine. And in the spring, when the ice is breaking up, and the floes

piling high on one another, it is a splendid sight to see them coming

down, hurled about and smashed in the rapids, showing that the water in

its liquid state is by far the most powerful. But now we are coming to

the most exciting part of our voyage. The steam is shut off, the engine

motionless, the paddle-wheels are still, and we are gliding swiftly and

noiselessly down with the current. Yonder speck on the waters is the

Indian coming in his canoe to pilot us down the dangerous rapids. We

near each other, and he can now be seen paddling swiftly, and his canoe

shoots like an arrow towards us. Now he is alongside, he leaps lightly

on board, his canoe is drawn up after him, and he takes command of the

"boat." Everybody on board knows the critical moment is approaching. The

passengers gather "forward," the ladies cling to the arms of their

natural protectors, conversation is stopped, the countenances of

everyone exhibit intense excitement and anxiety, and every eye is "fixed

ahead," or oscillating between the pilot and the rushing waters which

can now be seen from the prow of the vessel. The Indian and three other

men are at the wheel in the "pilot house," holding the helm "steady,"

and we are rushing down the stream unaided by any other propelling power

than the force of the current, at a rate of twenty miles an hour. Now we

hear the rushing and plunging sound of the waters, and in a moment the

keen eye of the Indian catches sight of the land mark, which is the

signal for putting the helm "hard a port;" the wheel flies round like

lightning, and we are instantly dropped down a perpendicular fall of ten

or twelve feet, the vessel careening almost on her "beam ends," in the

midst of these wild, white waters, an immense rock or rocky island right

ahead. But that is safely "rounded," and we are again in comparatively

quiet water. The steam is turned into the cylinders, and we go on our

course in a sober, sensible, and steamboat-like fashion. When we were

safely past the rapids and round the rock, a gentleman remarked to me

that "once in a lifetime was enough of that." It was interesting to

watch the countenances of the passengers, and mark the difference of

expression before and after the passage of the rapids. Before, it was

all excitement and anxiety, mingled with a wish-it-was-over sort of

look; and all were silent. After, everybody laughed and talked, and

seemed delighted at having passed the _Lachine_ Rapids in safety; yet

most people are anxious to undergo the excitement and incur the risk and

danger of the passage. You can, if you like, leave the boat above

Lachine and proceed to Montreal by the cars, but I don't think any of

our numerous passengers ever thought of doing such a thing. As long as

ever this magnificent water way is free from ice, and the passage can be

made, it is done. I don't know that more than one accident has ever

occurred, but the risk seems considerable. There is a very great strain

on the tiller ropes, and if one of them were to "give out" at the

critical time, nothing could save the vessel from being dashed to pieces

against the "rock ahead," and scarcely a life could be saved. No one can

approach the spot except from above, and then there is no stopping to

help others; you must go with the waters, rushing madly down over and

among the rocks. The Indians often took these rapids, in their canoes,

to descend to the lower part of the St. Lawrence; and one of them

undertook to pilot the first steamer down in safety. His effort was

successful, and he secured for his tribe (the Iroquois) a charter

endowing them with the privileges and emoluments in perpetuity. I wish I

could have obtained photographic impressions of these scenes and groups,

but the only lens I could draw a "focus" with was the eye, and the only

"plate" I had ready for use was the _retina_. However, the impressions

obtained on that were so "vigorous and well-defined," I can at any

moment call them up, like "spirits from the vasty deep," and reproduce

them in my mental camera.



The remaining nine miles of the voyage were soon accomplished. Passing

the first abutment of the Victoria Bridge, which now crosses the St.

Lawrence, at this point two miles wide, we quickly reached the fine quay

and canal locks at Montreal, where we landed just as it was growing

dark, after a delightful and exciting voyage of about thirty hours'

duration, and a distance of more than four hundred miles. Quick work;

but it must be borne in mind how much our speed was accelerated by the

velocity of the current, and that the return trip by the canal, past the

rapids, cannot be performed in anything like the time.



On reaching the quay I parted with my agreeable fellow travellers, and

sought an hotel, where once more, after a long interval, I slept under a

roof over which floated the flag which every Englishman is proud of--the

Union Jack.



Next morning I rose early, and, with a photographic eye, scanned the

city of Montreal. The streets are narrow, but clean, and well built of

stone. Most of the suburban streets and villa residences are "frame

buildings," but there are many handsome villas of stone about the base

of the "mountain." I visited the principal buildings and the Cathedral

of Notre Dame, ascended to the top of the Bell Tower, looked down upon

the city, and had a fine view of its splendid quays and magnificent

river frontage, and across the country southwards for a great distance,

as far as the Adirondack Mountains, where the Hudson River bubbles into

existence at Hendrick Spring, whence it creeps and gathers strength as

it glides and falls and rushes alternately until it enters the Atlantic

below New York, over three hundred miles south of its source. But the

mountain at the back of Montreal prevented my seeing anything beyond the

city in that direction. I afterwards ascended the mountain, from the

summit of which I could see an immense distance up the river, far beyond

Lachine, and across the St. Lawrence, and southwards into the "States."

Being homeward bound, and having no desire at that time to prolong my

stay in the western hemisphere, I did not wait to obtain any photographs

of Montreal or the neighbourhood; but, taking ship for old England, I

leave the lower St. Lawrence and its beauties; Quebec, with its glorious

associations of Wolfe and the plains of Abraham, its fortifications,

which are now being so fully described and discussed in the House of

Commons, and the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, where vessels have sometimes

to be navigated from the "masthead," in consequence of the low-lying sea

fog which frequently prevails there. A man is sent up "aloft" where he

can see over the fog, which lies like a stratum of white cloud on the

gulf, and pilot the ship safely through the fleet of merchantmen which

are constantly sailing up and down while the river is open. The fog may

not be much above the "maintop," but is so dense it is impossible to see

beyond the end of the "bowsprit" from the deck of the ship you are

aboard; but from the "masthead" the "look-out" can see the highland and

the masts and sails of the other ships, and avoid the danger of going

"ashore" or coming into collision by crying out to the man at the wheel

such sea phrases as "Port," "Starboard," "Steady," &c.; and when

"tacking" up or down the gulf, such as "luff," "higher," "let her off."

Indeed, the whole trip of the St. Lawrence--from Lake Ontario to the

Atlantic--is intensely exciting. While off the coast of Newfoundland, I

witnessed one of those beautiful sights of nature in her sternest mood,

which I think has yet to be rendered in the camera--icebergs in the

sunlight. A great deal has been said about their beauty and colour, but

nothing too much. Anyone who saw Church's picture of "The Icebergs,"

exhibited in London last year, may accept that as a faithful reflection

of all their beautiful colours and dreadful desolation. All sailors like

to give them as wide a "berth" as possible, and never admire their

beauty, but shun them for their treachery. Sometimes their base extends

far beyond their perpendicular lines, and many a good ship has struck on

the shoal of ice under water, when the Captain thought he was far enough

away from it. The largest one I saw was above a hundred feet above the

water-line, and as they never exhibit more than one-third of their

ponderous mass of frozen particles, there would be over two hundred feet

of it below water, probably shoaling far out in all directions. We had a

quick run across the Atlantic, and I landed in Liverpool, in the month

of November, amid fog, and smoke, and gloom. What a contrast in the

light! Here it was all fog and darkness, and photography impossible.

There--on the other side of the waters--the light is always abundant

both in winter and summer; and it is only during a snow or rain storm

that our transatlantic brother photographers are brought to a

standstill.--_Photographic News_, 1865.





PHOTOGRAPHIC IMPRESSIONS.



The Hudson, Developed on the Voyage.



"We'll have a trip up the Hudson," said a friend of mine, one of the

best operators in New York; "we'll have a trip up the Hudson, and go and

spend a few days with the 'old folk' in Vermont, and then you will see

us 'Yankees'--our homes and hospitalities--in a somewhat different light

from what you see them in this Gotham."



So it was arranged, and on the day appointed we walked down Broadway,

turned down Courtland Street to the North River, and went on board the

splendid river steamer _Isaac Newton_, named, in graceful compliment,

after one of England's celebrities. Two dollars (eight and fourpence)

each secured us a first-class passage in one of those floating palaces,

for a trip of 144 miles up one of the most picturesque rivers in

America.



Wishing for a thorough change of scene and occupation, and being tired

of "posing and arranging lights" and "drawing a focus" on the faces of

men, women, and children in a stifling and pent-up city, we left the

camera with its "racks and pinions" behind, determined to revel in the

beautiful and lovely only of nature, and breathe the fresh and

exhilarating air as we steamed up the river, seated at the prow, and

fanned by the breeze freshened by the speed of our swift-sailing boat.



Leaving New York, with its hundred piers jutting out into the broad

stream, and its thousand masts and church spires on the one side, and

Jersey City on the other, we are soon abreast of Hoboken and the

"Elysian Fields," where the Germans assemble to drink "lager beer" and

spend their Sundays and holidays. On the right or east side of the river

is Spuyten Duyvil Creek, which forms a junction with the waters of the

Sound or East River, and separates the tongue of land on which New York

stands from the main, making the island of Manhattan. This island is a

little over thirteen miles long and two and a half miles wide. The Dutch

bought the whole of it for L4 16s., and that contemptible sum was not

paid to the poor, ignorant, and confiding Indians in hard cash, but in

toys and trumpery articles not worth half the money. Truly it may be

said that the "Empire City" of the United States did not cost a cent. an

acre not more than two hundred and fifty years ago, and now some parts

of it are worth a dollar a square foot. At Spuyten Duyvil Creek Henry

Hudson had a skirmish with the Indians, while his ship, the _Half Moon_,

was lying at anchor.



Now we come to the picturesque and the beautiful, subjects fit for the

camera of the photographer, the pencil of the artist, and the pen of the

historian. On the western side of the Hudson, above Hoboken, we catch

the first glimpse of that singular and picturesque natural river wall

called the "Palisades," a series of bold and lofty escarpments,

extending for about thirty-five miles up the river, and varying in an

almost perpendicular height from four to over six hundred feet, portions

of them presenting a very similar appearance to Honister Craig, facing

the Vale of Buttermere and Salisbury Craigs, near Edinburgh.



About two and a half miles above Manhattan Island, on the east bank of

the Hudson, I noticed a castellated building of considerable

pretensions, but somewhat resembling one of those stage scenes of

Dunsinane in _Macbeth_, or the Castle of Ravenswood in the _Bride of

Lammermoor_. On enquiring to whom this fortified-looking residence

belonged, I was told it was Fort Hill, the retreat of Edwin Forest, the

celebrated American tragedian. It is built of blue granite, and must

have been a costly fancy.



Now we come to the pretty village of Yonkers, where there are plenty of

subjects for the camera, on Sawmill River, and the hills behind the

village. Here, off Yonkers, in 1609, Henry Hudson came to the premature

conclusion, from the strong tidal current, that he had discovered the

north-west passage, which was the primary object of his voyage, and

which led to the discovery of the river which now bears his name.



At Dobb's Ferry there is not much to our liking; but passing that, and

before reaching Tarrytown, we are within the charming atmosphere of

Sunnyside, where Washington Irving lived and wrote many of his

delightful works. Tarrytown is the next place we make, and here, during

the war for independence, the enthusiastic but unfortunate soldier,

Major Andre, was captured; and at Tappan, nearly opposite, he was hung

as a spy on the 2nd of October, 1780.



All the world knows the unfortunate connection between Benedict Arnold,

the American traitor, and Major Andre, the frank, gallant, and

enterprising British officer; so I shall leave those subjects to the

students of history, and pass on as fast as our boat will carry us to

the next place of note on the east bank of the river, Sing Sing, which

is the New York State prison, where the refractory and not over honest

members of State society are sent to be "operated" upon by the salutary

treatment of confinement and employment. Some of them are "doing time"

in _dark rooms_, which are very unsuitable for photographic operations,

and where _a little more light_, no matter how yellow or non-actinic,

would be gladly received. The "silent cell" system is not practised so

much in this State as in some of the others; but the authorities do

their best to _improve the negative_ or refractory character of the

_subjects_ placed under their care. It is, however, very questionable

whether their efforts are not entirely _negatived_, and the bad

character of the subject more _fully developed_ and _intensified_ by

contact with the more powerful _reducing agents_ by which they are

surrounded. Their prison is, however, very pleasantly situated on the

banks of the Hudson, about thirty-three miles above New York City.



Opposite Sing Sing is Rockland Lake, one hundred and fifty feet above

the river, at the back of the Palisades. This lake is celebrated for

three things--leeches and water lilies in summer, and ice in winter.

Rockland Lake ice is prized by the thirsty denizens of New York City in

the sultry summer months, and even in this country it is becoming known

as a cooler and "refresher."



Nearly opposite Sing Sing is the boldest and highest buttress of the

Palisades; it is called "Vexatious Point," and stands six hundred and

sixty feet above the water.



About eleven miles above Sing Sing we come to Peekskill, which is at the

foot of the Peekskill Mountains. Backed up by those picturesque hills it

has a pretty appearance from the river. This was also a very important

place during the wars. At this point the Americans set fire to a small

fleet rather than let it fall into the hands of the British.



A little higher up on the west side is the important military station of

West Point. This place, as well as being most charmingly situated, is

also famous as the great military training school of the United States.

Probably you have noticed, in reading the accounts of the war now raging

between North and South, that this or that general or officer was a

"West Point man." General George M'Clellan received his military

education at West Point; but, whatever military knowledge he gained at

this college, strengthened by experience and observation at the Crimea,

he was not allowed to make much use of while he held command of the army

of the Potomac. His great opponent, General Lee, was also a "West Point

man," and it does not require much consideration to determine which of

the "Pointsmen" was the smarter. Washington has also made West Point

famous in the time of the war for independence. Benedict Arnold held

command of this point and other places in the neighbourhood, when he

made overtures to Sir Henry Clinton to hand over to the British, for a

pecuniary consideration of L10,000, West Point and all its outposts.



A little higher up is Cold Spring, on the east side of the Hudson; but

we will pass that by, and now we are off Newburg on the west bank. This

is a large and flourishing town also at the foot of high hills--indeed,

we are now in the highlands of the Hudson, and it would be difficult to

find a town or a village that is not _backed up_ by hills. At the time I

first visited these scenes there was a large photographic apparatus

manufactory at Newburg, where they made "coating boxes," "buff wheels,"

"Pecks blocks," &c., on a very extensive scale, for the benefit of

themselves and all who were interested in the "cleaning," "buffing," and

"coating" of Daguerreotype plates.



Opposite Newburg is Fishkill; but we shall pass rapidly up past

Poughkeepsie on the right, and other places right and left, until we

come to Hudson, on the east side of the river. Opposite Hudson are the

Catskill Mountains, and here the river is hemmed in by mountains on all

sides, resembling the head of Ullswater lake, or the head of Loch Lomond

or Loch Katrine; and here we have a photographic curiosity to descant

upon.



Down through the gorges of these mountains came a blast like the sound

from a brazen trumpet, which electrified the photographers of the day.

Among these hills resided the Rev. Levi Hill, who lately died in New

York, the so-called inventor or discoverer of the Hillotype, or

Daguerreotypes in natural colours. So much were the "Daguerreans" of New

York startled by the announcement of this wonderful discovery, that they

formed themselves into a sort of company to buy up the _highly coloured_

invention. A deputation of some of the most respectable and influential

Daguerreotypists of New York was appointed to wait upon the reverend

discoverer, and offer him I don't remember how many thousand dollars for

his discovery as it stood; and it is said that he showed them specimens

of "coloured Daguerreotypes,"--but refused to sell or impart to them the

secret until he had completed his discovery, and made it perfect by

working out the mode of producing the only lacking colour, chrome

yellow. But in that he never succeeded, and so this wonderful discovery

was neither given nor sold to the world. Many believed the truth of the

man's statements--whether he believed it himself or not, God only knows.

One skilful Daguerreotypist, in the State of New York, assured me he had

seen the specimens, and had seen the rev. gentleman at work in his

laboratory labouring and "buffing" away at a mass of something like a

piece of lava, until by dint of hard rubbing and scrubbing the colours

were said to "appear like spirits," one by one, until all but the

stubborn chrome yellow showed themselves on the surface. I could not

help laughing at my friend's statement and evident credulity, but after

seeing "jumping Quakers," disciples of Joe Smith, and believers in the

doctrine of Johanna Southcote, I could not be much surprised at any

creed either in art or religion, or that men should fall into error in

the Hillotype faith as easily as into errors of ethics or morality. I

was assured by my friend (not my travelling companion) that they were

beautiful specimens of colouring. Granted; but that did not prove that

they were not done by hand. Indeed, a suspicion got abroad that the

specimens shown by Mr. Hill were _hand-coloured_ pictures brought from

Europe. And from all that I could learn they were more like the

beautifully coloured Daguerreotypes of M. Mansion, who was then

colourist to Mr. Beard, than anything else I could see or hear of. Being

no mean hand myself at colouring a Daguerreotype in those days, I was

most anxious to see one of those wonderful specimens of "photography in

natural colours," but I never could; and the inventor lived in such an

out-of-the way place, among the Catskills, that I had no opportunity of

paying him a visit. I have every reason to believe that the

hand-coloured pictures by M. Mansion and myself were the only Hillotypes

that were ever exhibited in America. Many of my coloured Daguerreotypes

were exhibited at the State Fair in Castle Garden, and at the Great

Exhibition at New York in 1853. But perhaps the late Rev. Levi Hill was

desirous of securing a posthumous fame, and may have left something

behind him after all; for surely, no man in his senses would have made

such a noise about Daguerreotypes in "natural colours" as he did if he

had not some reason for doing so. If so, and if he has left anything

behind him that will lead us into nature's hidden mine of natural

colours, now is the time for the "heirs and administrators" of the

deceased gentlemen to secure for their deceased relative a fame as

enduring as the Catskill Mountains themselves.



The Katzbergs, as the Dutch called the Catskill Mountains, on account of

the number of wild cats they found among them, have more than a

photographic interest. The late Washington Irving has imparted to them

an attraction of a romantic character almost as bewitching as that

conferred upon the mountains in the vicinity of Loch Lomond and Loch

Katrine by Sir Walter Scott. It is true that the delicate fancy of

Irving has not peopled the Katzbergs with such "warriors true" as stood



    "Along Benledi's living side;"



nor has he "sped the fiery cross" over "dale, glen, and valley;" neither

has he tracked



    "The antler'd monarch of the waste"



from hill to hill; but the war-whoop of the Mohegans has startled the

wild beasts from their lair, and the tawny hunters of the tribe have

followed up the trail of the panther until with bow and arrow swift they

have slain him in his mountain hiding place. And Irving's quaint fancy

has re-peopled the mountains again with the phantom figures of Hendrick

Hudson and his crew, and put Rip van Winkle to sleep, like a big baby,

in one of nature's huge cradles, where he slept for _twenty years_, and

slept away the reign of good King George III. over the colonies, and

awoke to find himself a bewildered citizen of the United States of

America. And the place where he slept, and the place where he saw the

solemn, silent crew of the "Half Moon" playing at ninepins, will be

sought for and pointed out in all time coming. And why should these

scenes of natural beauty and charming romance not be photographed on the

spot? It has not been done to my knowledge, yet they are well worthy the

attention of photographers, either amateur or professional. We leave the

Catskill Mountains with some regret, because of the disappointment of

their not yielding us the promised triumph of chemistry, "photography in

natural colours," and because of their beauty and varying effects of

_chiaroscuro_ not having been sufficiently rendered in the monochromes

we have so long had an opportunity of obtaining in the camera.



Passing Coxsackie, on the west bank of the Hudson, and many pleasant

residences and places on each side of the river, we are soon at Albany,

the capital of the State of New York, and the termination of our voyage

on board the _Isaac Newton_. And well had our splendid steamer performed

her part of the contract. Here we were, in ten hours, at Albany, 144

miles from New York City. What a contrast, in the rate of speed, between

the _Isaac Newton_ and the first boat that steamed up the Hudson! The

_Claremont_ took over thirty-six hours, wind and weather permitting, to

perform the voyage between New York and Albany; and we had done it in

ten. What a contrast, too, in the size, style, and deportment of the

two boats! The _Claremont_ was a little, panting, puffing, half-clad,

always-out-of-breath sort of thing, that splashed and struggled

and groaned through the water, and threw its naked and diminutive

paddle-wheels in and out of the river--like a man that can neither

swim nor is willing to be drowned, throwing his arms in and out of the

water in agony--and only reached her destination after a number of

stoppings-to-breathe and spasmodic start-agains. The _Isaac Newton_

had glided swiftly and smoothly through the waters of the Hudson, her

gigantic paddle-wheels performing as many revolutions in a minute as

the other's did in twenty.



But these were the advanced strides and improvements brought about by

the workings and experiences of half a century. If the marine steam

engine be such a wonderfully-improved machine in that period of time,

what may not photography be when the art-science is fifty years old?

What have not the thousands of active brains devoted to its advancement

done for it already? What have not been the improvements and wonderful

workings of photography in a quarter of a century? What improvements

have not been effected in the lifetime of any old Daguerreotypist?

When I first knew photography it was a ghostly thing--a shimmering

phantom--that was flashed in and out of your eyes with the rapidity of

lightning, as you tried to catch a sight of the image between the total

darkness of the black polish of the silvered plate, and the blinding

light of the sky, which was reflected as from a mirror into your eyes.



But how these phantom figures vanished! How rapidly they changed from

ghostly and almost invisible shadows to solid, visible, and all but

tangible forms under the magical influence of Goddard's and Claudet's

"bromine accelerator," and Fizeau's "fixing" or gilding process! How

Mercury flew to the lovely and joint creations of chemistry and optics,

and took kindly to the timid, hiding beauties of Iodine, Bromine,

Silver, and Light, and brought them out, and showed them to the world,

proudly, as "things of beauty," and "a joy for ever!" How Mercury clung

to these latent beauties, and "developed" their charms, and became

"attached" to them, and almost immovable; and consented, at last, to be

tinted like a Gibson's Venus to enhance the charms and witcheries of his

proteges! Anon was Mercury driven from Beauty's fair domain, and bright

shining Silver, in another form, took up with two fuming, puffy fellows,

who styled themselves Ether and Alcohol, with a villainous taint of

methyl and something very much akin to gunpowder running through their

veins. A most abominable compound they were, and some of the vilest of

the vile were among their progeny; indeed, they were all a "hard lot,"

for I don't know how many rods--I may say tons--of iron had to be used

before they could be brought into the civilized world at all. But,

happily, they had a short life. Now they have almost passed away from

off the face of the earth, and it is to be hoped that the place that

knew them once will know them no more; for they were a dangerous

set--fragile in substance, frightful abortions, and an incubus on the

fair fame of photography. They bathed in the foulest of baths, and what

served for one served for all. The poisonous and disgusting fluid was

used over and over again. Loathsome and pestiferous vapours hovered

about them, and they took up their abode in the back slums of our

cities, and herded with the multitude, and a vast majority of them were

not worth the consideration of the most callous officer of the sanitary

commission. Everything that breathes the breath of life has its moments

of agony, and these were the throes that agonised Photography in that

fell epoch of her history.



From the ashes of this burning shame Photography arose, Phoenix-like,

and with Silver, seven times purified, took her ethereal form into the

hearts and _ateliers_ of artists, who welcomed her sunny presence in

their abodes of refinement and taste. They treated her kindly and

considerately, and lovingly placed her in her proper sphere; and, by

their kind and delicate treatment, made her forget the miseries of her

degradation and the agonies of her travail. Then art aided photography

and photography aided art, and the happy, delightful reciprocity has

brought down showers of golden rain amidst the sunshine of prosperity to

thousands who follow with love and devotion the chastened and purified

form of Photography, accompanied in all her thoughts and doings by her

elder sister--Art.



I must apologise for this seeming digression. However, as I have not

entirely abandoned my photographic impressions, I take it for granted

that I have not presumed too much on the good nature of my readers, and

will now endeavour to further develop and redevelop the Hudson, and

point out the many phases of beauty that are fit subjects for the camera

which may be seen on the waters and highland boundaries of that

beautiful river in all seasons of the year.



Albany is the capital of the State. It is a large and flourishing city,

and one of the oldest, being an early Dutch settlement, which is

sufficiently attested by the prevalence of such cognomens as

"Vanderdonck" and "Onderdunk" over the doors of the traders.



About six or eight miles above Albany the Hudson ceases to be navigable

for steamers and sailing craft, and the influence of the tide becomes

imperceptible. Troy is on the east bank of the river; and about two

miles above, the Mohawk River joins the Hudson, coming down from the

Western part of the State of New York. For about two hundred miles the

Hudson runs almost due north and south from a little below Fort Edward;

but, from the Adirondack Mountains, where it takes its spring, it comes

down in a north-westerly direction by rushing rapids, cascades, and

falls innumerable for about two hundred miles more through some of the

wildest country that can possibly be imagined.



We did not proceed up the Upper Hudson, but I was told it would well

repay a trip with the camera, as some of the wildest and most

picturesque scenery would be found in tracking the Hudson to its source

among the Adirondack Mountains.



I afterwards sailed up and down the navigable part of the Hudson many

times and at all periods of the year, except when it was ice-bound, by

daylight and by moonlight, and a more beautiful moonlight sail cannot

possibly be conceived. To be sailing up under the shadow of the

Palisades on a bright moonlight night, and see the eastern shore and

bays bathed in the magnesium-like light of a bright western moon, is in

itself enough to inspire the most ordinary mind with a love of all that

is beautiful and poetical in nature.



Moonlight excursions are frequently made from New York to various points

on the Hudson, and Sleepy Hollow is one of the most favourite trips. I

have been in that neighbourhood, but never saw the "headless horseman"

that was said to haunt the place; but that may be accounted for by the

circumstance of some superior officer having recently commanded the

trooper without a head to do duty in Texas.



My next trip up the Hudson was in winter, when the surface of the river

was in the state of "glacial," solid at 50 deg. for two or three feet

down, but the temperature was considerably lower, frequently 15 deg. and

20 deg. below zero--and that was nipping cold "and no mistake," making

the very breath "glacial," plugging up the nostrils with "chunks" of ice,

and binding the beard and moustache together, making a glacier on your

face, which you had to break through every now and then to make a

breathing hole.



On this arctic trip the whole aspect of the river and its boundaries is

marvellously changed, without losing any of its picturesque attractions.

Instead of the clear, deep river having its glassy surface broken by the

splash of paddle-wheels, it is converted into a solid highway. Instead

of the sound of the "pilot's gong," and the cries of "a sail on the port

bow," there is nothing to be heard but the jingling sound of the sleigh

bells, and the merry laugh and prattle of the fair occupants of the

sleighs, as they skim past on the smooth surface of the ice, wrapped

cosily up in their gay buffalo robes.



The great excitement of winter in Canada or the States is to take a

sleigh ride; and I think there is nothing more delightful, when the wind

is still, than to skim along the ice in the bright, winter sunshine,

behind a pair of spanking "trotters." The horses seem to enjoy it as

much as the people, arching their necks a little more proudly than

usual, and stepping lightly to the merry sound of the sleigh bells.



At this time of the year large sleighs, holding fifteen to twenty

people, and drawn by four horses, take the place of steamers, omnibuses,

and ferry boats. The steam ferries are housed, except at New York, and

there they keep grinding their way through the ice "all winter," as if

they would not let winter reign over their destinies if they could help

it. Large sleighs cross and recross on the ice higher up the Hudson, and

thus keep up the connection between the various points and opposite

shores. As the mercury falls the spirits of the people seem to rise, and

they shout and halloo at each other as they pass or race on the ice.

These are animated scenes for the skill of a Blanchard or any other

artist equally good in the production of instantaneous photographs.



Another of the scenes on the Hudson worthy of the camera is "ploughing

the ice." It is a singular sight to an Englishman to see a man driving a

team of horses on the ice, and see the white powder rising before the

ice-plough like spray from the prow of a vessel as she rushes through

the water, cutting the ice into blocks or squares, to stow away in

"chunks," and afterwards, when the hot sultry weather of July and August

is prostrating you, have them brought out to make those wonderful

mixtures called "ice-creams," "sherry-cobblers," and "brandy-cocktails."



The Hudson is beautiful in winter as well as in summer, and I wonder its

various and picturesque beauties have not been photographed more

abundantly. But there it is. Prophets are never honoured in their own

country, and artists and photographers never see the beauties of their

country at home. I am sure if the Hudson were photographed from the sea

to its source it would be one of the most valuable, interesting, and

picturesque series of photographs that ever was published. Its aspects

in summer are lovely and charming, and the wet process can then be

employed with success. And in winter, though the temperature is low, the

river is perfectly dry on the surface, the hills and trees are

glistening with snow and icicles, the people are on the very happiest

terms with one another, and frequently exhibit an abundance of dry, good

humour. This is the time to work the "dry process" most successfully,

and, instead of the "ammonia developers," try the "hot and strong" ones.



With these few hints to my photographic friends, I leave the beauties of

the Hudson to their kind consideration.--_British Journal of

Photography_, 1865.





PICTURES OF THE POTOMAC IN PEACE AND WAR.



When first I visited that lovely region which has so recently been torn

and trampled down--blackened and defaced by the ruthlessness of

war--peace lay in the valleys of the Potomac. Nothing was borne on the

calm, clear bosom of the broad and listless river but the produce of the

rich and smiling valleys of Virginia. Its banks were peaceful, silent,

and beautiful. The peach orchards were white with the blossoms that

promised a rich harvest of their delicious fruit. The neat and pretty

houses that studded the sloping boundaries of the river were almost

blinding with their dazzling whiteness as the full blaze of the sun fell

upon them. Their inhabitants were happy, and dreamt not of the storm so

soon to overtake them. The forts were occupied by only a few, very few

soldiers. The guns were laid aside, all rusty and uncared for; and

pilgrims to the tomb of Washington, the good and great, stopped on their

return at Fort Washington to examine the fortifications in idleness and

peaceful curiosity. The Capitol at Washington echoed nothing but the

sounds of peace and good will. The senators of both North and South sat

in council together, and considered only the welfare and prosperity of

their great confederation.



The same harmonious fellowship influenced the appearance and actions of

all; and at that happy conjuncture I made my first acquaintance with

Washington, the capital of the United States. I shall not attempt a

description of its geographical position: everybody knows that it is in

the district of Columbia, and on the banks of the Potomac. It is a city

of vast and pretentious appearance, straggling over an unnecessary

amount of ground, and is divided into avenues and streets. The avenues

are named after the principal States, and take their spring from the

Capitol, running off in all directions in angular form, like the spokes

of a wheel, the Capitol being the "angular point." The streets running

between and across the avenues rejoice in the euphonious names of First,

Second, and Third, and A, B, and C streets, the straight lines of which

are broken by trees of the most luxurious growth all along the

side-walks. These trees form a delightful sun-shade in summer, and have

a very novel and pleasing effect at night, when their green and leafy

arches are illuminated by the gas lamps underneath.



Excepting the Capitol, White House, Court House, Post Office, Patent

Office, and Smithsonian Institute, there is nothing in the city of

photographic interest. The "United States," the "National," and

"Willards," are large and commodious hotels on Pennsylvania Avenue; but

not worth a plate, photographically speaking, unless the landlords wish

to illustrate their bar bills. The Capitol is out of all proportion the

largest and most imposing structure in Washington--it may safely be said

in the United States. Situated on an elevated site, at the top of

Pennsylvania Avenue, it forms a grand termination to that noble

thoroughfare at its eastern extremity. The building consists of a grand

centre of freestone painted white, surmounted by a vast dome of

beautiful proportions. Two large wings of white marble complete the

grand facade. Ascending the noble flight of marble steps to the

principal entrance, the great portico is reached, which is supported by

about eighteen Corinthian columns. The pediment is ornamented with a

statue of America in the centre, with the figures of Faith on her left,

and Justice on her right. On each side of the entrance is a group of

statuary. On one side an Indian savage is about to massacre a mother and

her child, but his arm is arrested by the figure of Civilization. On the

other side the group consists of a man holding up a globe, representing

Columbus and the figure of an Indian girl looking up to it.



The large rotunda, immediately underneath the dome, is divided into

panels, which are filled with paintings, such as the "Landing of the

Pilgrim Fathers," "The Baptism of the Indian Princess Pocahontas," and

other subjects illustrative of American history. On either side of the

Rotunda are passages leading to the House of Representatives on the one

side, and the Senate Chamber on the other. Congress being assembled, I

looked in to see the collective wisdom of the "States" during a morning

sitting. In many respects the House of Representatives very much

resembled our own House of Commons. There was a Mr. Speaker in the

chair, and one gentleman had "the floor," and was addressing the House.

Other members were seated in their desk seats, making notes, or busying

themselves with their own bills. In one essential point, however, I

found a difference, and that was in the ease of access to this assembly.

No "member's order" was required. Strangers and "citizens" are at all

times freely admitted. There is also a magnificent library, which is

free to everyone.



During the Session there is Divine service in the Senate Chamber on

Sunday mornings. On one occasion I attended, and heard a most excellent

discourse by the appointed chaplain. The President and his family were

there.



In some side offices, connected with the Capitol, I found a government

photographer at work, copying plans, and photographing portions of the

unfinished building, for the benefit of the architects and others whose

duty it was to examine the progress of the works. From this gentleman I

received much courteous attention, and was shown many large and

excellent negatives, all of which were developed with the ordinary iron

developer.



I next visited the Patent Office, and the museum connected therewith,

which contains a vast collection of models of all kinds of inventions

that have received protection--among them several things, in apparatus

and implements, connected with photography. The American patent laws

require a model of every new invention to be lodged in this museum,

which is of immense value to inventors and intending patentees; for

they can there see what has already been protected; and as the Patent

Office refuses to grant protection to anything of a similar form, use,

or application, much litigation, expense, and annoyance are saved the

patentees. Our Government would do well to take a leaf out of "Brother

Jonathan's" book on this subject; for not only is there increased

protection given to inventors, but the fees are considerably less than

in this country.



The presidential residence, called the White House, was the next

interesting subject of observation. It is situated at the west end of

Pennsylvania Avenue, and a good mile from the Capitol. The building is

of white marble, and of very unpretending size and architectural

attractions, but in every respect sufficient for the simple wants of the

chief magistrate of the United States, whose official salary is only

twenty-five thousand dollars per annum.



During congressional session the President holds weekly _levees_; and

one of these I determined to attend, prompted as much by curiosity to

see how such things were done, as desire to pay my respects.

Accordingly, on a certain night, at eight o'clock precisely, I went to

the White House, and was admitted without hesitation. On reaching the

door of the reception room, I gave my card to the district marshal, who

conducted me to President Pierce, to whom I was introduced. I was

received with a hearty welcome, and a shake of the hand. Indeed, I

noticed that he had a kindly word of greeting for all who came. Not

having any very important communication to make that would be either

startling or interesting to the President of the United States, I bowed,

and retired to the promenade room, where I found numbers of people who

had been "presented" walking about and chatting in groups on all sorts

of subjects--political, foreign, and domestic, and anything they liked.

Some were in evening dress, others not; but all seemed perfectly easy

and affable one with another. There was no restraint, and the only

passport required to these _levees_ was decent behaviour and

respectability. There was music also. A band was playing in the

vestibule, and everyone evidently enjoyed the _reunion_, and felt

perfectly at home. Never having been presented at court, I am not able

to make any comparison _pro_ or _con_.



There is also an observatory at Washington, which I visited;

but not being fortunate enough to meet the--what shall I say?

"astronomer-royal," comes readiest, but that is not correct: well,

then, the--"astronomer republic," I did not see the large telescope

and other astronomical instruments worked.



The photographic galleries were all situated on Pennsylvania Avenue, and

they were numerous enough. At that time they rejoiced in the name of

"Daguerrean Galleries;" and the proprietor, or operator, was called a

"Daguerrean." Their reception rooms were designated "saloons," which

were invariably well furnished--some of them superbly--and filled with

specimens. Their "studios" and workshops behind the scenes were fitted

with all sorts of ingenious contrivances for "buffing" and "coating" and

expediting the work. Although the greatest number of mechanical

appliances were employed in the Daguerreotype branch of photography, art

was not altogether ignored in its practice. One house made a business

feature of very beautifully coloured Daguerreotypes, tinted with dry

colours, quite equal to those done in Europe. Another house made a

feature of "Daguerreotypes painted in oil;" and the likeness was most

admirably preserved. I saw one of the President, and several of the

members of Congress, which I knew to be unmistakable portraits. Although

the Daguerreotype was most tenaciously adhered to as the best means of

producing photographic portraits, the collodion process--or the

"crystaltype," as they then called it--was not neglected. It was used by

a few for portraits, but chiefly for views.



Having seen all that was worth seeing in the city, I made excursions

into the country, in search of subjects for the camera or pencil.



Georgetown, a little way from Washington, and its picturesque cemetery,

offer several pretty bits for the camera. Arlington Heights, the Long

Bridge, and many nooks about there, are sufficiently tempting; but of

all the excursions about Washington, Mount Vernon--a few miles down the

Potomac, on the Virginia side--is by far the most interesting. Mount

Vernon is the name of the place where General George Washington lived

and died, and is the "Mecca" of the Americans. Nearly every day there

are pilgrims from some or all parts of the States to the tomb of

Washington, which is in the grounds of Mount Vernon. They visit this

place with a kind of religious awe and veneration, and come from far and

wide to say they have seen it. For, in truth, there is little to see but

the strangest-looking and ugliest brick building I ever beheld, with

open iron gates that allow you to look into the darkness of the

interior, and see nothing. I took a view of the tomb, and here it is:--A

red brick building, squat and low, of the most unsightly design and

proportions imaginable--resembling one of our country "deadhouses" more

than anything else I could compare it to. It was stuck away from the

house among trees and brushwood, and in an advanced state of

dilapidation--a disgrace to the nation that had sprung from that great

man's honest devotion! Over the Gothic entrance is a white slab, with

the following inscription on it:--



   "Within this Enclosure

           Rest

      the remains of

  General George Washington."



The remains of "Lady Washington" lie there also; and there are several

white obelisks about to the memory of other members of the family.



The house itself is a "frame building" of two storeys, with a piazza

running along the front of it, and is on the whole a mean-looking

edifice; but was probably grand enough for the simple tastes of the man

who dwelt in it, and has hallowed the place with the greatness and

goodness of his life. The interior of the house looked as if it had once

been a comfortable and cozy habitation. In the hall was put up a desk,

with a "visitors' book," wherein they were expected to enter their

names; and few failed to pay such a cheap tribute to the memory of the

father of their country.



The grounds, which were full of natural beauties, had been allowed to

run into a state of wild tangle-wood; and I had some trouble to pick my

way over broken paths down to the riverside again, where I took the

"boat," and returned to the city, touching at Fort Washington on the

way. The day had been remarkably fine; the evening was calm and lovely;

the silence of the river disturbed only by the splash of our paddles,

and the song of the fishermen on shore as they drew in their laden nets;

and the moon shone as only she can shine in those latitudes. Nothing

could denote more peace and quietude as I sailed on the Potomac on that

lovely evening. There was such a perfect lull of the natural

elements--such a happy combination of all that was beautiful and

promising--it seemed impossible for such a hurricane of men's

passions--such yells of strife and shouts of victory, such a swoop of

death as afterwards rushed down those valleys--ever to come to pass.



Such sad reverse was, however, seen on my second visit to the Potomac.

The narration of the stirring scenes then presented will form a picture

less peaceful and happy, but unfortunately intensely real and painfully

true.



My second visit to the Potomac was paid after the lapse of several

years, and under very different circumstances. When the Capitol echoed

loudly the fierce and deadly sentiments of the men of the North against

the men of the South. When both had shouted--



  "Strike up the drums, and let the tongue of war

   Plead for our int'rest."



When the deliberations of the senators were "war estimates," arming of

troops, and hurrying them to the "front" with all possible despatch.

When the city of Washington presented all the appearance of a place

threatened with a siege. When every unoccupied building was turned into

barracks, and every piece of unoccupied land was made a "camp ground."

When the inhabitants were in terror and dismay, dreading the approach of

an invading host. When hasty earth-works were thrown up in front of the

city, and the heights were bristling with cannon. When the woods and

peach orchards on the opposite side of the Potomac were red with the

glare of the camp fires at night, and the flashing of bayonets was

almost blinding in the hot sun at noon. When the vessels sailing on the

river were laden with armed men, shot, shell, and "villainous

saltpetre." When the incessant roll of drums and rattle of musketry

deadened almost every other sound. When sentinels guarded every road and

access to the capital, and passports were required from the military

authorities to enable you to move from one place to another. In short,

when the whole atmosphere was filled with sounds of martial strife, and

everything took the form of desolating war.



In spite of all these untoward events, I found photography actively

engaged in the city, in the camp, and on the field, fulfilling a mission

of mercy and consolation in the midst of carnage and tumult--fulfilling

such a mission of holy work as never before fell to the lot of any art

or art-science to perform. For what aspect of life is photography not

called upon to witness?--what phase of this world's weal or woe is

photography not required to depict? Photography has become a handmaiden

to the present generation--a ministering angel to all conditions of

life, from the cradle to the grave. An _aide-de-camp_ of the loveliest

character to the great "light of the world," humanizing and elevating

the minds of all, administering consolation to the sorrowing, increasing

the joy of the joyous, lessening the pangs of separation caused by

distance or death, strengthening the ties of immediate fellowship,

helping the world to know its benefactors, and the world's benefactors

to know the world. When grim death stalks into the gilded palaces of the

great and powerful, or into the thatched cottages and miserable

dwellings of the poor, photography is the assuager of the griefs of the

sorrowing survivors, and the ameliorator of their miseries, by

preserving to them so faithful a resemblance of the lost one. When the

bride, in her youth and loveliness, is attired for the bridal,

photography is the recorder of her trustful looks and April smiles, the

fashion of her dress, the wreath and jewels that she wore; and, come

what change in her appearance that may, the husband can look upon his

bride whene'er he likes in after years, as vividly and as distinctly as

on that day, connecting the present with the past with a kind of running

chord of happy recollections. Photography is now the historian of earth

and animated nature, the biographer of man, the registrar of his growth

from childhood to "man's estate," the delineator of his physical, moral,

and social progress, the book of fashion, and the mirror of the times.

The uses and applications of photography are almost indescribable;

scarcely an art, or a science, or a trade or profession that does not

enlist photography into its service. Photography does not merely pander

to the gratification of earthly vanity, but is an alleviator of human

misery. Photography enters our hospitals and registers faithfully the

progress of disease, its growth and change from day to day, until it is

cured, or ripe for the knife of the surgeon; its pictures are lessons to

the professor, and a book of study for the students, charts for their

guidance through the painful and tedious cases of others similarly

afflicted, teaching them what to do and what to avoid, to relieve the

suffering of other patients. Photography is dragged into our criminal

law courts, and sits on the right hand of Justice, giving evidence of

the most undeniable character, without being under oath, and free from

the suspicion of perjury, convicting murderers and felons, and

acquitting the innocent without prejudice; and in our courts of equity,

cases are frequently decided by the truth-telling evidence of

photography.



Astronomers, geographers, and electricians freely acknowledge how much

they are indebted to photography in making their celestial and

terrestrial observations. Engineers, civil and military, employ

photography largely in their plans and studies. Art, also, has recourse

to photography, and is the only one of the liberal professions that is

half ashamed to admit the aid it gains from the camera. If art admits it

at all, it is done grudgingly, apologetically, and thanklessly. But

there it is the old, old story of family quarrels and family jealousies.

Old art might be likened to an old aunt that has grown withered and

wrinkled, and peevish with disappointment, who, in spite of all her

long-studied rules and principles of light and shade, harmony of colour,

painting, "glazing," and "scumbling," has failed to win the first

prize--that prize which a woman's ambition pants after from the moment

she enters her teens until her dream is realized--that living model,

moulded after God's own image, which, not having won in her mature age,

she becomes jealous of the growing graces, the fresh and rollicking

charms, the unstudied and ingenuous truthfulness of form exhibited by

her niece. Old Art the aunt, Photography the niece. Readers, draw the

moral for yourselves.



I have digressed, but could not help it. Photography is so young and

lovely, so bewitchingly beautiful in all her moods, so fascinating and

enslaving--and she has enslaved thousands since she first sprung from

the source that gives her life. But to return to my theme.



The practice of photography, like the aspects of the country and

condition of the people, was changed. "Old things had passed away, and

all things had become new." The shining silver plates, buffing wheels,

coating boxes, mercury pans, &c., of the old dispensation had given

place to the baths, nitrate of silver solutions, and iron developers of

the new. Ambrotypes, or glass positives, and photographs on paper, had

taken the place of the now antiquated Daguerreotype. Mammoth photographs

were the ambition of all photographers. The first full-length life-sized

photograph I ever saw was in Washington, and was the work of Mr.

Gardner, the manager of Mr. Brady's gallery. But a more republican idea

of photography, which, strange to say, originated in an empire not

remarkable for freedom of thought, soon became the dominant power.

Cartes-de-visite, the many, ruled over mammoth, the few. The price of

mammoth photographs was beyond the reach of millions, but the prices of

cartes-de-visite were within the grasp of all; and that, combined with

their convenient size and prettiness of form, made them at once popular,

and created a mania.



The carte-de-visite form of picture became the "rage" in America about

the time the civil war commenced, and as the young soldiers were proud

of their new uniforms, and those who had been "in action" were prouder

still of their stains and scars, the photographers did a good business

among them, both in the city and in the camp. I saw a little of this

"camp work" and "camp life" myself, and some of the havoc of war as

well. Photographers are adventurous, and frequently getting into odd

kinds of "positions," as well as their "sitters."



It was my destiny, under the guidance of the Great Source of Light, to

witness the results of the first great conflict between the opposing

armies of the Federals and Confederates; to hear the thunder of their

artillery, and see the clouds of smoke hovering over the battle field,

without being in the battle itself. To see the rout and panic of the

Northern troops, who had so recently marched proudly on to fancied

victory; to witness the disgraceful and disastrous stampede of the

Northern army from the field of Bull Run; to listen to the agonized

groans of the "severely wounded" as they were hurried past to the

temporary hospitals in Washington and Georgetown; to be an eye-witness

to the demoralized condition of men who, naturally brave, were under the

influence of a panic caused by the vague apprehension of a danger that

did not exist; to hear the citizens exclaim, "What shall we do?" and

"For God's sake don't tell your people at home what you have seen!" and

comparing the reverse of their national arms to a "regular Waterloo

defeat," which was anything but a happy simile. To see the

panic-stricken men themselves, when they discovered their error, and

began to realize their shame, weeping like women at the folly they had

committed. But they atoned for all this, afterwards, by deeds of

glorious valour which were never surpassed, and which ended in restoring

their country to peace and reunion.



The 21st of July, 1861, was a Sunday, and as calm and beautiful a day as

could be wished for. From its associations it ought to have been a day

of rest and peace to all; but it was not. There was terrible slaughter

among men that Sunday in Virginia. During the morning, I took advantage

of an opportunity offered me to go down to Alexandria, in Virginia,

about five or six miles below Washington, which was then occupied by a

portion of the Federal Army. Everything in the place had the appearance

of war. There were more soldiers than civilians about. Hotels were

turned into barracks and military storehouses. The hotel where Colonel

Ellsworth, of the New York Fire Zouaves, was shot by the proprietor for

hauling down the Confederate flag--which the latter had hoisted over his

house--had been taken possession of by the military authorities, and

the whole place was under martial law. It was there I first heard

rumours of a battle being fought in the neighbourhood of Manassas

Junction. These rumours were soon confirmed by the roar of cannon in the

distance, and the hurrying of fresh troops from Washington to the field

of battle. But they were not needed. Before they could reach the field

the "stampede" had commenced, and the retreating hosts came like a

rushing tide upon the advancing few, and carried them back, absorbed in

the unshapen mass of confusion.



The night came, and little was known by the inhabitants of Washington of

the rout and rush of terrified men towards the city; but the next

morning revealed the fact.



Wet and wretched was the morning after the battle. The heavens seemed to

weep over the disgrace as the men poured into the city, singly and in

groups, unofficered, and without their firearms, which many had lost, or

thrown away in their flight. The citizens gathered round them, anxious

to learn all about the defeat, and the whereabouts of the Confederate

army, and invited them into their houses to take refreshment and rest.

Several instances of this impromptu hospitality and sympathy I witnessed

myself; and many of the weary and wounded soldiers I talked to. They

that were only slightly wounded in the hands and arms had their wounds

washed and dressed by the wives and daughters of many of the residents.

The hotels were crowded, and the "bars" were besieged by the drenched

and fatigued soldiers, whom the curious and sympathizing citizens

invited to "liquor." The men all told wonderful stories of the fight and

of their own escape, but none could tell satisfactorily what had created

the panic. Some said that a few "teamsters" took the alarm, and, riding

to the rear in hot haste, conveyed the impression that an exterminating

pursuit by the Confederates had commenced.



In a day or two the majority of the men were mustered together again,

and occupied their old camping grounds, where I visited them, and heard

many of their stories, and got some of the relics of the battle field.

Fresh troops were raised, and placed under the command of another

general. But it was long before another "onward march to Richmond" was

attempted. The North had learned something of the strength and prowess

of the South, and began to prepare for a longer and fiercer struggle

with "Secession."



Such are the two pictures of the Potomac which I have endeavoured to

reproduce, and which fell under my observation during my professional

peregrinations in connection with the practice of photography.





RAMBLES AMONG THE STUDIOS OF AMERICA.





Boston.



My impressions of America, from a photographic point of observation,

were taken at two distinct periods--which I might call the two epochs of

photographic history--the dry and the wet; the first being the

Daguerreotype, and the second what may be termed the present era of

photography, which includes the processes now known and practised.



I take Boston as my starting point for several reasons. First, because

it was the first American city I visited; secondly, it was in Boston

that the change first came over photography which wrought such a

revolution in the art all over the United States; thirdly and severally,

in Boston I noticed many things in connection with photography which

differed widely from what I had known and practised in England.



Visiting the gallery of Mr. Whipple, then in Washington Street, the

busiest thoroughfare in Boston, I was struck with the very large

collection of Daguerreotype portraits there exhibited, but particularly

with a large display of Daguerreotypes of the moon in various aspects.

I had heard of Mr. Whipple's success in Daguerreotyping the moon before

I left Europe, but had no idea that so much had been achieved in lunar

photography at that early date until I saw Mr. Whipple's case of

photographs of the moon in many phases. Those Daguerreotypes were

remarkable for their sharpness and delicacy, and the many trying

conditions under which they were taken. They were all obtained at

Cambridge College under the superintendance of Professor Bond, but in

what manner I had better allow Mr. Whipple to speak for himself, by

making an extract from a letter of his, published in _The Photographic

Art Journal_ of America, July, 1853. Mr. Whipple says: "My first attempt

at Daguerreotyping the moon was with a reflecting telescope; the mirror

was five feet focus, and seven inches diameter. By putting the prepared

plate directly in the focus of the reflector, and giving it an exposure

of from three to five seconds, I obtained quite distinct impressions;

but owing to the smallness of the image, which was only about

five-eighths of an inch in diameter, and the want of clockwork to

regulate the motion of the telescope, the results were very far from

satisfactory.



"Having obtained permission of Professor Bond to use the large Cambridge

reflector for that purpose, I renewed my experiments with high hopes of

success, but soon found it no easy matter to obtain a clear,

well-defined, beautiful Daguerreotype of the moon. Nothing could be more

interesting than its appearance through that _magnificent_ instrument:

but to transfer it to the silver plate, to make something tangible of

it, was quite a different thing. The "governor," that regulates the

motion of the telescope, although sufficiently accurate for observing

purposes, was entirely unsuitable for Daguerreotyping; as when the plate

is exposed to the moon's image, if the instrument does not follow

exactly to counteract the earth's motion, even to the nicety of a

hair's breadth, the beauty of the impression is much injured, or

entirely spoiled. The governor had a tendency to move the instrument a

little too fast, then to fall slightly behind. By closely noticing its

motion, and by exposing my plates those few seconds that it exactly

followed between the accelerated and retarded motion, I might obtain one

or two perfect proofs in the trial of a dozen plates, other things being

right. But a more serious obstacle to my success was the usual state of

the atmosphere in the locality--the sea breeze, the hot and cold air

commingling, although its effects were not visible to the eye; but when

the moon was viewed through the telescope it had the same appearance as

objects when seen through the heated air from a chimney, in a constant

tremor, precluding the possibility of successful Daguerreotyping. This

state of the atmosphere often continued week after week in a greater or

less degree, so that an evening of perfect quiet was hailed with the

greatest delight. After oft-repeated failures, I finally obtained the

Daguerreotype from which the crystallotypes I send for your journal were

copies; it was taken in March, 1851. The object glass only of the

telescope was used. It is fifteen inches in diameter, and about

twenty-three feet focal length; the image it gives of the moon varies

but little from three inches, and the prepared plate had an exposure of

thirteen seconds."



Copies of several of these "crystallotypes" of the moon I afterwards

obtained and exhibited at the Photographic Exhibition in connection

with the British Association which met in Glasgow in 1855. The

"crystallotypes" were simply enlarged photographs, about eight or nine

inches in diameter, and conveyed to the mind an excellent idea of the

moon's surface. The orange-like form and the principal craters were

distinctly marked. Indeed, so much were they admired as portraits of the

moon, that one of the _savans_ bought the set at the close of the

exhibition.



Mr. Whipple is still a successful practitioner of our delightful art in

the "Athens of the Western World," and has reaped the reward of his

continuity and devotion to his favourite art. The late decision of the

American law courts on the validity of Mr. Cutting's patent for the use

of bromides in collodion must have laid Mr. Whipple under serious

liabilities, for he used bromo-iodized negative collodion for iron

development as far back as 1853.



There were many other professional photographers in the chief city of

Massachusetts; but I have described the characteristics of the principal

and oldest concerns. Doubtless there are many new ones since I visited

the city where Benjamin Franklin served his apprenticeship as a printer;

where the "colonists" in 1773, rather than pay the obnoxious "tea tax,"

pitched all the tea out of the ships into the waters of Boston Bay, and

commenced that long struggle against oppression and unjust taxation

which eventually ended in severing the North American Colonies from the

mother country. With the knowledge of all this, it is the more

surprising that they should now so quietly submit to what must be an

obnoxious and troublesome system of taxation; for, not only have

photographers to pay an annual licence of about two guineas for carrying

on their trade, but also to affix a government stamp on each picture

sent out, which is a further tax of about one penny on each. Surely the

patience of our brother photographers on the other side of the Atlantic

must be sorely tried, what with the troubles of their business, the

whims and eccentricities of their sitters, Mr. Cutting's unkind cut, and

the prowling visitations of the tax-collector.





New York.



What a wonderful place New York is for photographic galleries! Their

number is legion, and their size is mammoth. Everything is "mammoth."

Their "saloons" are mammoth. Their "skylights" are mammoth. Their

"tubes," or lenses, are mammoth. Their "boxes," or cameras, are mammoth;

and _mammoth_ is the amount of business that is done in some of those

"galleries." The "stores" of the dealers in photographic "stock" are

mammoth; and the most mammoth of all is the "store" of Messrs. E. & H.

T. Anthony, on Broadway. This establishment is one of the many palaces

of commerce on that splendid thoroughfare. The building is of iron, tall

and graceful, of the Corinthian order, with Corinthian pilasters,

pillars, and capitals. It is five storeys high, with a frontage of about

thirty feet, and a depth of two hundred feet, running right through the

"block" from Broadway to the next street on the west side of it. This is

the largest store of the kind in New York; I think I may safely say, in

either of the two continents, east or west, containing a stock of all

sorts of photographic goods, from "sixpenny slides" to "mammoth tubes,"

varying in aggregate value from one hundred and fifty thousand to two

hundred thousand dollars. The heads of the firm are most enterprising,

one taking the direction of the commercial department, and the other the

scientific and experimental. Nearly all novelties in apparatus and

photographic requisites pass through this house into the hands of our

American _confreres_ of the camera, and not unfrequently find their way

to the realms of Queen Victoria on both sides of the Atlantic.



When the carte-de-visite pictures were introduced, the oldest and

largest houses held aloof from them, and only reluctantly, and under

pressure, took hold of them at last. Why, it is difficult to say, unless

their very small size was too violent a contrast to the mammoth pictures

they were accustomed to handle. Messrs. Rockwood and Co., of Broadway,

were the first to make a great feature of the carte-de-visite in New

York. They also introduced the "Funnygraph," but the latter had a very

short life.



In the Daguerreotype days there was a "portrait factory" on Broadway,

where likenesses were turned out as fast as coining, for the small

charge of twenty-five cents a head. The arrangements for such rapid work

were very complete. I had a dollar's worth of these "factory"

portraits. At the desk I paid my money, and received four tickets, which

entitled me to as many sittings when my turn came. I was shown into a

waiting room crowded with people. The customers were seated on forms

placed round the room, sidling their way to the entrance of the

operating room, and answering the cry of "the next" in much the same

manner that people do at our public baths. I being "the next," at last

went into the operating room, where I found the operator stationed at

the camera, which he never left all day long, except occasionally to

adjust a stupid sitter. He told the next to "Sit down" and "Look thar,"

focussed, and, putting his hand into a hole in the wall which

communicated with the "coating room," he found a dark slide ready filled

with a sensitised plate, and putting it into the camera, "exposed," and

saying "That will dew," took the dark slide out of the camera, and

shoved it through another hole in the wall communicating with the

mercury or developing room. This was repeated as many times as I wanted

sittings, which he knew by the number of tickets I had given to a boy in

the room, whose duty it was to look out for "the next," and collect the

tickets. The operator had nothing to do with the preparation of the

plates, developing, fixing, or finishing of the picture. He was

responsible only for the "pose" and "time," the "developer," checking

and correcting the latter occasionally by crying out "Short" or "Long"

as the case might be. Having had my number of "sittings," I was

requested to leave the operating room by another door which opened

into a passage that led me to the "delivery desk," where, in a few

minutes, I got all my four portraits fitted up in "matt, glass, and

preserver,"--the pictures having been passed from the developing room to

the "gilding" room, thence to the "fitting room" and the "delivery

desk," where I received them. Thus they were all finished and carried

away without the camera operator ever having seen them. Three of the

four portraits were as fine Daguerreotypes as could be produced

anywhere. Ambrotypes, or "Daguerreotypes on glass" as some called them,

were afterwards produced in much the same manufacturing manner.



There were many other galleries on Broadway: Canal Street; the Bowery;

the Avenues, 1, 2, and 3; A, B, and C, Water Street; Hudson Street, by

the shipping, &c., the proprietors of which conducted their business in

the style most suited to their "location" and the class of customers

they had to deal with; but in no case was there any attempt at that "old

clothesman"--that "Petticoat Lane"--style of touting and dragging

customers in by the collar. All sorts of legitimate modes of advertising

were resorted to--flags flying out of windows and from the roofs of

houses; handsome show cases at the doors; glowing advertisements in the

newspapers, in prose and verse; circulars freely distributed among the

hotels, &c.; but none of that "have your picture taken," annoying, and

disreputable style adopted by the cheap and common establishments in

London.



Unhappily, "Sunday trading" is practised more extensively in New York

than in London. Nearly all but the most respectable galleries are open

on Sundays, and evidently do a thriving trade. The authorities

endeavoured to stop it frequently, by summoning parties and inflicting

fines, but it was no use. The fines were paid, and Sunday photography

continued.



The "glass houses" of America differ entirely from what we understand by

the name here; indeed, I never saw such a thing there, either by chance,

accident, or design--for chance has no "glass houses" in America, only

an agency; there are no accidental glass houses, and the operating rooms

built by design are not "glass houses" at all.



The majority of the houses in New York and other American cities are

built with nearly flat roofs, and many of them with lessening storeys

from front to back, resembling a flight of two or three steps. In one of

these roofs, according to circumstances, a large "skylight" is fixed,

and pitched usually at an angle of 45 deg., and the rooms, as a rule, are

large enough to allow the sitter to be placed anywhere within the radius

of the light, so that any effect or any view of the face can easily be

obtained.



The light is not any more actinic there than here in good weather, but

they have a very great deal more light of a good quality _all the year

round_ than we have.



The operators work generally with a highly bromized collodion, which, as

a rule, they make themselves, but not throughout. They buy the

gun-cotton of some good maker--Mr. Tomlinson, agent for Mr. Cutting,

generally supplied the best--then dissolve, iodize, and bromize to suit

their working.



Pyrogallic acid as an intensifier is very little used by the American

operators, so little that it is not kept in stock by the dealers.

Requiring some once, I had quite a hunt for it, but found some at last,

stowed away as "Not Wanted," in Messrs. Anthony's store. The general

intensifier is what they laconically call "sulph.," which is sulphuret

of potassium in a very dilute solution, either flowed over the plate, or

the plate is immersed in a dipping bath, after fixing, which is by far

the _pleasantest_ way to employ the "sulph. solution." Throwing it about

as some of them do is anything but agreeable. In such cases, "sulph."

was the first thing that saluted my olfactories on putting my head

inside one of their "dark rooms."



Up to 1860 the American photographic prints were all on plain paper, and

obtained by the ammonia nitrate of silver bath, and toned and fixed with

the hyposulphite of soda and gold. The introduction of the

cartes-de-visite forced the operators to make use of albumenized paper;

but even then they seemed determined to adhere to the ammonia process if

possible, for they commenced all sorts of experiments with that volatile

accelerator, both wet and dry, some by adding ammonia and ether to an

80-grain silver bath, others by fuming, and toning with an acetate and

gold bath, and fixing with hypo afterwards.



With the following "musings" on "wrappers" (not "spirit wrappers," nor

railway wrappers, but "carte-de-visite wrappers"), I shall conclude my

rambles among the galleries of New York. Wrappers generally afford an

excellent opportunity for ornamental display. Many of the wrappers of

our magazines are elegantly and artistically ornamented. Nearly every

pack of playing cards is done up in a beautiful wrapper. The French have

given their attention to the subject of "carte-de-visite wrappers," and

turned out a few unique patterns, which, however, never came much into

use in this country. The Americans, more alive to fanciful and tasteful

objects of ornamentation, and close imitators of the French in these

matters, have made more use of carte-de-visite wrappers than we have.

Many wrappers of an artistic and literary character are used by the

photographers in America--some with ornamental designs; some with the

address of the houses tastefully executed; others with poetical

effusions, in which the cartes-de-visite are neatly wrapped up, and

handed over to the sitter.



Surely a useful suggestion is here given, for wrappers are useful things

in their way, and, if made up tastefully, would attract attention to the

photographic establishments that issue them. Photography is so closely

allied to art that it is desirable to have everything in connection with

it of an elegant and artistic description. The plain paper

envelopes--gummed up at the ends, and difficult to get open again--are

very inartistic, and anything but suitable to envelop such pretty little

pictures as cartes-de-visite. Let photography encourage art and art

manufactures, and art will enter into a treaty of reciprocity for their

mutual advancement.--_Photographic News_, 1865.





TO DUBLIN AND BACK, WITH A GLANCE AT THE EXHIBITION.



The bell rings; a shrill shriek; puff, puff goes the engine, and we dart

away from the station at Euston Square, provided with a return ticket to

Dublin, issued by the London and North Western Railway, available for

one month, for the very reasonable charge of L3, first-class and cabin;

L2 7s. 6d. second class and cabin; or forty shillings third class and

steerage, via Holyhead. These charges include steamboat fare and

steward's fee. The Exhibition Committee have made arrangements with the

railway companies to run excursion trains once a fortnight at still

lower rates; twenty-one shillings from London to Dublin and back, and

from other places in proportion. This ticket will be good for a

fortnight, and will entitle the holder to another ticket, giving him two

admissions to the Exhibition for one shilling. With the ordinary monthly

ticket, which is issued daily, it is quite optional whether you go by

the morning or evening train; but by all means take the morning train,

so that you may pass through North Wales and the Island of Anglesea in

daylight. Passing through England by Rugby, Stafford, Crewe, and

Chester, nothing remarkable occurs during our rapid run through that

part of the country. But an "Irish Gentleman," a fellow traveller,

learning our destination, kindly volunteered to enlighten us how we

could best see Dublin and its lions in the shortest possible time, and

advised us by all "manes" not to "lave" Dublin without seeing "Faynix

Park," and taking a car drive to Howth and other places round the "Bee

of Dublin." Accordingly we agreed to take his advice; but as our primary

object in visiting Dublin is to see the Exhibition, we will first attend

to that on our arrival in the Irish capital; and if, after that, time

will permit, the extraneous lions will receive our attention. First of

all, we must describe how we got there, what we saw on the way, and what

were our impressions on entering Dublin Bay.



As we said before, nothing particular occurred during our journey

through England to excite our attention or curiosity; but on passing

into Wales--Flintshire--our attention is at once arrested by the

difference of the scenery through which we pass. Soon after leaving

Chester, we get a sight of the river Dee on our right, and continue to

run down by its side past Flint, Bagillt, Holywell, and Mostyn, then we

take a bend to the left and skirt a part of the Irish Channel past Rhyl,

Abergele, and Colwyn to Conway, with its extensive ruins of a once vast

and noble castle, through, under, and about the ruins of which the

double lines of iron rails twist and twine and sinuously encoil

themselves like a boa constrictor of civilization and demolisher of

wrecks, ruins, and vestiges of the feudal ages and semi-barbarism. Our

iron charger dashes up to the very walls of the ancient stronghold,

close past the base of a tower, and right under the hanging ruins of

another, which is in truth a "baseless fabric," but no "vision," for

there it is suspended in mid air, a fabric without a base, holding on to

its surroundings by the cohesive power of their early attachments. We

rush into the very bowels of the keep itself, snorting and puffing

defiance to the memoried sternness of the grim warriors who once held

the place against all intruders. Anyone who has not had an opportunity

before of visiting North Wales should keep a sharp look-out right and

left, and they will get a peep at most of the principal places on the

route: the Welsh mountains on the left, their summits illuminated by the

sun sinking towards the west, and the mass of them thrown into shadow in

fine contrast.



Now we are at Penmaenmawr, that pretty little watering place, with its

neat-looking houses snugly nestling in the laps of the hills, and we

pass along so close to the sea, we can feel the spray from the waves as

they break on the shore.



Passing Llanfairfechan and Aber we are at Bangor, and almost immediately

afterwards make a dive into the long, dark chamber of the Tubular

Bridge, with a shriek and rumbling rattle that is almost startling. In

a few seconds we are out into the daylight again, and get a view of the

Straits of Menai; and on the right-hand side, looking back, get an

excellent sight of the Tubular Bridge. At the moment of our passing, a

ship in full sail was running before the wind through the Straits, which

added considerably to the picturesque beauty of the scene. On the left a

fine view of the "Suspension Bridge" is obtained. We are soon past

Llanfair, and across that bleak and desolate part of the island of

Anglesea between the Menai Straits and the Valley. Arriving at Holyhead,

we go on board the steamer which is to carry us across the Channel to

Dublin. The boat not starting immediately, but giving us a little time

to look around, we go on shore again, and saunter up and down the narrow

hilly streets of Holyhead, listening in vain for the sound of a word

spoken in our mother tongue. Not a word could we hear, not a word of

English could we get without asking for it. The most of the people can

speak English with a foreign-like accent, but you seldom hear it unless

you address them in English. Even the urchins in the streets carry on

their games and play in the Welsh and unintelligible sounds resembling

language.



We also had time to examine the stupendous breakwater which the

Government is building at Holyhead to form a harbour of refuge. The wall

is a mile and three-quarters in length, and of immense thickness, in the

form of three terraces, the highest towards the sea. At one place we

noticed that the solid slatey rocks were hewn and dressed into shape,

and thus formed part of the wall itself, a mixture of Nature's handiwork

and the work of man.



Time to go on board again, and as the wind was blowing rather strong, we

expected to have a rough voyage of it; and sure enough we had, for we

were scarcely clear of the sheltering kindliness of the sea wall and the

"north stack" till our vessel began to "pitch and toss," and roll and

creak, and groan in agony; and so highly sympathetic were we that we

did the same, and could not help it, do what we could. Strong tea,

brandy and water, were all no use. Down we went, like prostrate sinners

as we were, on our knees, with clasped hands, praying for the winds and

the waves "to be still;" but they did not heed our prayer in the least,

and kept up their inhumane howling, dancing, and jumbling until, by the

time we reached the middle of the Channel, we began to think that the

captain had lost his course, and that we were somewhere between Holyhead

and purgatory, if not in purgatory itself, being purged of our sins, and

becoming internally pure and externally foul. But we discovered that we,

and not the captain, had lost the course and the even tenour of our way,

for we fancied--perhaps it was only fancy--that we could hear him

humming snatches of old song, among them "Oh! steer my bark to Erin's

Isle!" and soon the mountains of Wicklow are in sight. As we near, and

get under the lee of the land--for it was a stiff "sou'-wester" that

bothered us--our sensations and feelings begin to improve, and we pick

ourselves up out of the mire, and turn our eyes eagerly and hopefully

towards the Emerald Isle, and Dublin Bay more particularly.



As we approach the Bay, the Carlingford Hills can be seen on the right,

and a little more southwards Lambay and Ireland's Eye. The latter island

is rugged and precipitous, seaward, in the extreme--a barren and

desolate-looking spot, possessing an unenviable notoriety on account of

the murder of a lady by her husband having been committed there a few

years ago: Howth, the light-house, and the Bailey Rock, where the _Queen

Victoria_ steamer was wrecked, now attract our attention. And, as nearly

as we can remember, these are the most striking features on the north

side of the Bay. On the south the Harbour of Kingstown is distinctly

visible, and we saw the mail steamer which crosses from Holyhead to

Kingstown, a distance of sixty miles, in three and a half hours, blowing

off her steam. By paying a little extra you can cross in the mail

steamers, if you wish, but it is not worth while paying the difference,

as the ordinary steamers cross from Holyhead to Dublin in about five and

a half hours. All round the south side of the Bay we could trace the

Kingstown and Dublin railway, which is the oldest line but one in the

United Queendoms of Great Britain and Ireland. An obelisk commemorates

the visit of the last of the four Georges to Ireland in 1821. Right

over Kingstown the Killinny Hills are to be seen, and all along the

water-line the Bay is studded with pretty little villas, and the scene

is truly beautiful. If possible, arrange your entrance into the Bay of

Dublin in the early morning, for then the sun, rising in the east,

lights up the subjects to the very best advantage, and throws a charm

about them which they do not exhibit at any other time of the day. By

waiting at Holyhead for the early morning boat you can easily manage

this. But now we are at the North Wall, and on landing are besieged by

Carmen to have a "rowl," and jumping on to one of those light,

odd-looking, jaunting cars which are one of the institutions of the

country, we are "rowled" up the North Wall for nearly a mile, past the

Docks, over the drawbridges, and past the Custom House--a large stone

building, too large for the business of the port--along Carlisle Bridge,

down Westmoreland Street, past the Bank of Ireland--once the Houses of

Parliament--and up Dame Street, leaving the College on our left, and

passing King William's statue, representing a mounted Roman with

_gilded_ laurels and ornamental toga, we arrive at Jury's Hotel, a

commercial and family house of superior arrangements which was well

recommended to us before we left London; and here we rest.



After breakfast, and having made ourselves internally and externally

comfortable, we start for the Exhibition, which is within easy walking

distance of the hotel; but the car fares are so very moderate that we

prefer a "rowl." The fare is sixpence a "set down;" that is, you may

ride from one end of the city to the other for sixpence, but if you get

off to post a letter, or buy an umbrella to keep the rain off--for the

cars have no covering--that is a "set down;" and so every time you get

down and get up again you have sixpence to pay, no matter how short the

distance you are taken each time. So we hailed a car at the door of the

hotel, determined to be "rowled" to the Exhibition for sixpence each. We

go down Dame Street, across College Green, up Grafton Street, along the

west and south sides of St. Stephen's Green or Square to Earlsfort

Terrace and the principal entrance to the Dublin Exhibition, which

occupies the site of what was formerly Coburg Gardens.



Arriving at the entrance-hall, we pay our admission fee, and on passing

the registering turnstiles we are at once in the sculpture hall on the

ground floor, the contents of which we shall notice more particularly

by-and-by. Passing through the Sculpture Hall we are within the western

transept, or winter garden portion of the Exhibition. This transept is

500 feet long and of lofty proportions, with galleries on each side, and

tastefully hung with the banners and flags of the nations exhibiting.

The northern court is about 300 feet long, also of iron and glass, with

galleries running round both sides similar to the western transept. The

ground floor and part of the galleries of the northern court are devoted

to the productions of the United Kingdom. On the north side of the

northern court is the machinery department, both at rest and in motion.

Here machines of the most delicate and ponderous nature are at work.

There a forge-hammer daintily cracking nuts, or coming down with a

crushing force at the will of the attendant. In another place a delicate

curving-machine is at work; and another can be seen making steel pens.

There are high pressure engines, sewing machines, and photographic

rolling-presses. Indeed, there is almost everything to be seen and

everything going on that is instructive, edifying, and amusing. The

Exhibition building is small, but well arranged and compact, and

partakes of the character of an art and industrial exhibition and place

of amusement and recreation, like our Crystal Palace at Sydenham, with

ornamental gardens and archery grounds attached. The gardens are

small--a little larger than the area of the building itself--but most

tastefully laid out. And there are fountains and grottoes, and rockeries

and cascades, with flowers growing about them, which give the whole

place a pleasant, healthy, and delightful appearance. Stepping out of

the western transept into the gardens, we found the band of the 78th

Highlanders playing in the centre, and their pipers walking about the

grounds ready to take up the strains of music in another key, for

presently we saw them marching about, playing "Hielan' Skirls," and

sounding the loud pibroch, with a five-bag power that was more stunning

than the nocturnal wailings of a dozen or two Kilkenny cats. The

directors furnish music and offer other inducements to secure a good

attendance, and their efforts ought to be successful, and it is to be

hoped they will be so.



On the first day of our visit there was a grand archery meeting, and the

turn-out of Dublin belles was double in numbers. There was a large

attendance of bowmen, too, and belles and beaux were banging away at the

targets most unmercifully in keen contest for the prize; whether it was

a medal, a ring, or an heiress, we could not learn; but if nothing more

than the privilege of entering the lists against such lovely

competitors, the bowmen ought to have been satisfied; but we don't

suppose they were, for men are both ambitious and avaricious, and

probably some of them hoped to win a prize medal, kill a beauty, and

catch an heiress all at once, with one swift arrow sent whizzing and

quivering into the very heart and gilded centre of the gaily-painted

target.



Perched up on the top of the cascades we noticed a double sliding-front

stereoscopic camera, and doubtless Mr. York was busy photographing the

scene we have been describing--impressions of which the London

Stereoscopic Company will probably issue ere long. We must, however,

leave this gay scene and turn our attention to other things, certainly

not more attractive; but duty calls us away from beauty, and we must

submit.



Re-entering the Exhibition building, we seek the photographic

department, which we readily find on the ground floor, between the music

hall and the first-class refreshment-room. Entering from the Belgian

department in the western transept, we find three rooms in the main

building devoted to the exhibition of photographs, and a lobby between

the rooms pretty well filled with apparatus. To Sir J. Jocelyn Coghill

are photographers indebted for obtaining so much space for their works,

and in such a get-at-able situation; but it is a pity the rooms are not

better lighted. Many of the pictures on the screens are very

indistinctly seen, and some are in dark corners scarcely to be seen at

all.



The foreign department, which is the first room we enter, is mainly made

up of reproductions of old and modern engravings, and copies of drawings

and paintings. One very remarkable photograph on the wall of this room

is an immense magnification of a flea, by A. Duvette. What a subject for

the camera!--one that suggests in sporting phraseology something more

than the "find," the "chase," and the "death."



A panoramic view of Rome, by M. Petagna, is a great achievement in

panoramic photography. There are seven impressions from 15 by 12 plates,

all carefully joined, and of equal tone. The point of view is "Tasso's

Oak," and the panorama gives us an excellent idea of Rome at the present

day.



The British part of the Photographic Exhibition in Dublin might be very

properly denominated an enlargement of the Society's exhibition now open

in Conduit Street, London. Nearly all the principal exhibitors there

have sent duplicates of their chief works to the Dublin Exhibition.

There is Robinson's beautiful picture of "Brenda," his "May Gatherers,"

"Sunshine," "Autumn," "Somebody Coming," "Bringing home the May," &c.,

all old and familiar pictures, every one of which we have seen before.

Robinson himself in his study--a beautiful piece of photography, even to

his black velvet coat. Blanchard also repeats his "Zealot," and other

subjects, and sends a frame full of his exquisite stereographs. England

also sends some of his charming stereoscopic pictures of Switzerland and

Savoy. Bedford's contribution is much the same as his pictures in the

London exhibition. Among them are his lovely Warwickshire pictures.

Wet-plate photography is well represented, both in landscape,

portraiture, and composition. Among the latter, Rejlander is most

prominent. One frame containing some pictures showing the "expression"

of the hands, illustrates Rejlander's artistic knowledge and ability

more than many of his other pictures. None but a thoughtful and

accomplished artist could have disposed of those members in such a

skilful manner. His pictures of "Grief," "The Mote," "The Wayfarer,"

"'Tis Light within--Dark without," and his "Home, Sweet Home," reveal

exquisite feeling in his treatment of such subjects. Thurston Thompson

also exhibits some of his fine reproductions of Turner. There is

"Crossing the Brook," and "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage;" but a much

larger collection of these beautiful copies of Turner's pictures are now

on view at Marion's, in Soho Square.



Dry plate photography is exemplified in all its phases, from the oldest

form of albumen alone, to the latest modifications with collodion,

collodio-albumen, Fothergill, tannin, malt, &c. The most prominent and

largest contributor to this department is Mr. Mudd. In addition to the

duplicates in the London Exhibition, he sends a few others, the most

remarkable of which is a large view of "Borrowdale," a noble picture,

exquisitely treated, showing masses of light and shade and pleasing

composition which stamp it at once as a work of art.



Mr. G. S. Penny exhibits some very fine examples of the tannin and malt

process. They are soft and delicate, and possess sufficient force to

give powerful contrasts when necessary. Mr. Bull's tannin and malt

pictures are also very good; his "Menai Bridge" particularly so.



The amateur photographers, both wet and dry, make a good show. And

among the Irish followers of our delightful art are Sir J. J. Coghill,

who exhibits twelve very pretty views of the neighbourhood of

Castletownsend. Dr. Hemphill, of Clonmel, also exhibits a variety of

subjects, many of them pretty compositions and excellent photography.



Dr. Bailey, of Monaghan, contributes both landscapes and portraits of

very good quality. Mr. T. M. Brownrigg shows seventeen photographs all

excellent examples of the wet collodion process. Many of them are

exquisite bits of photography, and evince an amount of thought and care

in selecting the best point of view, arranging the lines of the subject,

and catching the best effect of light so as to make them pictures, which

is seldom attended to by professional photographers.



Amongst the Irish professional photographers in landscape work, Mr. F.

Mares, of Dublin, stands pre-eminent. His pictures of Killarney, and

views in the county of Wicklow, are very beautiful, and give evidence of

a cultivated eye and artistic taste in the selection of his subjects and

points of view. There are other excellent views and architectural

subjects by Irish photographers; but we are sorry to observe some that

really ought not to have been admitted. They are not even average

photography, being utterly destitute of manipulative skill, and as

deficient in art-excellence as they can well be.



One branch of landscape, or, we should say, marine photography, is

without competition. We refer to those exquisite and charming

transparencies by Mr. C. S. Breese. His moonlight effect is wonderfully

managed; the water looks "alive," and the moonlight is dancing on the

waves just as we have seen it far away upon the sea. His "Breaking Wave"

is marvellous, coming to shore with its cavernous curl; we almost fancy

we hear its angry howl as it dashes itself into foam on the beach. We

have seen such a wave sweep the deck of a ship before now, and know well

with what a ponderous weight and velocity it comes; and we wonder the

more at Mr. Breese's success in catching the wave in such a position. We

cannot, however, speak so highly of the "Sunlight" effects by the same

artist. The transparencies as photographs are inimitable; but there is

colour introduced into the skies which ought to have been taken up by

the rocks, and so carried into the foregrounds of the pictures, to be

natural. Such warm skies and cold middle distances and foregrounds are

too antagonistic for the harmony of nature.



In portraiture, our Irish brethren of the camera contribute somewhat

liberally. In that branch we noticed the works of Messrs. Robertson and

Co., S. Lawrence, and G. Schroeder, of Grafton Street; Millard and

Robinson, Nelson and Marshall, and S. Chancellor, of Sackville Street,

Dublin. T. Cranfield, Grafton Street, also exhibits some photographs

beautifully coloured in oil.



The most eminent English photographers also show up well. We saw the

well-known works of Mayall, Silvy, Claudet, Maull and Co., and others,

eminent in plain photography. Messrs. Lock and Whitfield exhibit a Royal

case of exquisitely coloured photographs of the Prince and Princess of

Wales, and Prince Albert Victor. Mr. G. Wharton Simpson also exhibits a

few specimens of his beautiful collodio-chloride of silver printing

process. There are some lovely specimens of that process with such a

frightfully ugly name, but which, in plain parlance, are pictures on

opal glass, though Mr. Helsby has christened them "Helioaristotypia

miniatures." As a set-off to this, the next dry process that is

discovered should be called "Hydrophobiatypia."



In amateur portraiture, Mr. H. Cooper, Jun., exhibits a large number of

his clever life studies, as well as those quiet and charming

representations of his friends in their habits as they live.



Solar camera enlargements are very numerously contributed. Mr. Claudet

sends some good pictures enlarged by solar camera, and developed with

gallic acid. Mr. Salomon also has some very good examples of enlarging.

Dr. D. Van Monckhoven is an exhibitor of the capabilities of his direct

printing camera. Mr. Mayall exhibits two series of very interesting

enlargements by the Monckhoven camera, printed direct on albumenized

paper; one is Tennyson, in eight different sizes, from a one-ninth to a

life-size head on a whole sheet of paper; of the other, Captain Grant,

there are seven similar pictures. These photographs are all bold and

vigorous and uniform in colour, and come nearer to our idea of what an

enlargement should be than anything we have yet seen. Of the two, that

of the Poet-Laureate is the best; the other is harsher, which is in all

probability due to the difference in the subjects themselves. We can

easily imagine that the face of Captain Grant, bronzed and

weather-beaten as it must be, will present more obstacles to the

obtaining of a soft negative than that of Tennyson. Specimens of

photo-sculpture are also to be seen at the Dublin Exhibition, many of

which are very pretty and life-like statuettes; but some of the figures

seem much too large in the _busts_, and the plinths on which the figures

of ladies stand are in very bad taste; being diminishing beads of a

circular form, they suggest the idea of a huge crinoline just dropped.



Nearly all the denominations of photography have their representative

forms and impressions in this Exhibition; and the history of the art,

from the early days of the Daguerreotype to the latest vagary of the

present day, may be traced in the collection of photographs spread

before you on the walls and screens of the Dublin International

Exhibition. There is the Daguerreotype, the Ambrotype, and the

collodiotype, which ought to have been known as the Archertype; for the

wet collodion process, although it is the most important of all the

discoveries in photography that have been made since the first pictures

were obtained by Wedgwood, is without a name conferring honour on the

man who first applied collodion to photography. Archer's name is

generally associated with it, but without taking that definite and

appellative form it ought to. We know that another claimant has been

"cutting in" for the honour, but unless that claim can be "backed up" by

data, we are not disposed to believe that it was anterior to 1851--the

year of the first exhibition; at that date we know that Mr. Archer took

photographs on collodionized glass plates. Then why should we not honour

Archer as the French honoured Daguerre, and call the wet collodion

process the Archertype?



In printing and toning, there are samples of nearly all the formulae that

have been discovered since the days of printing on plain salted paper

and fixing in "hypo" only. There are prints on plain paper and on

albumenized paper, toned and fixed in every conceivable way. There are

prints on glass, porcelain, and ivory; prints in carbon, from the

negative direct; and impressions in printer's ink from plates, blocks,

and lithographic stones, which have had the subjects transferred to them

by the aid of photography. There are Wothlytypes, and Simpsontypes, and

Tooveytypes, and all the other types that have sprung from a desire to

introduce novelties into the art.



In graphs and the various forms and fanciful applications of photography

to portraiture, &c., there are stereographs and micrographs, and the

old-fashioned "sit-on-a-chair" graphs, the "stand-not-at-ease" graphs,

the "small carte" graph, the "large carte" graph, the "casket gem"

graph, the "magnesium" graph, the "cameo" graph, the "double-stupid"

graph, and the latest of all novelties, the "turn-me-round" graph. The

latter is a great curiosity, and must have been suggested by a

recollection of that "scientific toy" of ancient manufacture with which

we used to awaken the wonder of our little brothers and sisters at

Christmas parties when we were boys, by twirling before their

astonished eyes a piece of cardboard with a bird painted on one side and

a cage on the other, both pictures being seen at the same time during

the rapid revolution of the card.



In apparatus there is not much to talk about, the Pantascopic camera

being the chief novelty. There are several of the manufacturers

exhibiting in the photographic department, but we could not reconcile

ourselves to the circumstance of Mr. Dallmeyer not exhibiting in the

right place. His name is honoured by photographers, and he should have

honoured Photography by going in under her colours. If he must go to the

"scientific department," he ought to have gone there with his scientific

instruments alone, and shown his photographic apparatus in the place

assigned for that purpose. True, he makes a handsome show, but that does

not atone for his mistake. Photographers are queer animals--jealous of

their rights, and as sensitive to slight as their plates are to light;

and we fear we are ourselves not much better. A large majority of

photographers stand by Mr. Dallmeyer, and very justly believe in his

1 and 2 B's as shippers do in A 1's at Lloyd's; and _his_ stand should

have been in the photographic department.



In other parts of the Exhibition building there are various subjects

highly interesting to photographers.



The chemical department has its attractions in samples of

collodio-chloride of silver, prepared by Messrs. Mawson and Swan, for

the opal printing process and the Simpsontype. Specimens of each type

are also to be seen there; and there are other chemicals used in

photography, even to dextrine and starch: the purity of the latter is

known by the size and length of its crystals.



In metallurgy there is also something to interest photographers. Messrs.

Johnson and Sons exhibit some very fine samples of nitrate of silver,

double and treble crystallized, silver dippers, chloride of gold,

nitrate of uranium, and other scarce metals.



Messrs. Johnson, Matthey, and Co. also exhibit some fine samples of

nitrate of silver and chloride of gold; and some wonderful specimens of

magnesium, in various forms, in wire and ribbon. One coil of ribbon is

4,800 feet long, and weighs 40 ounces; and there is an obelisk of

magnesium about 20 inches high, and weighing 162 ounces.



There are many other things in this case of great value which have a

photographic bearing--amongst these a platinum boiler, valued at L1,500,

for the concentration and rectification of sulphuric acid; a platinum

alembic, value L350, for the separation and refining of gold and silver;

also an ingot of platinum, weighing 3,200 ounces, and valued at L3,840.

The exhibitors say that "such a mass of fused platinum is never likely

to be again produced." The whole of the contents of Messrs. Johnson,

Matthey, and Co.'s case of precious metals, most of which have a direct

or indirect application to photography, are estimated at the enormous

value of L16,000!



Mining, too, has its attractions for us; and as we near the Nova Scotia

division of the Exhibition building the needle of our observation dips

towards a bar of pure gold, weighing 48 pounds, and valued at L2,200

sterling.



By the gentlemanly courtesy of the Rev. Dr. Honeyman, Honorary Secretary

and Commissioner in Dublin, from the province of Nova Scotia, we were

favoured with a "lift" of this valuable lump of gold, and we could not

help exclaiming, "What a lot of chloride this would make!" But we had to

"drop it" very quickly, for the muscles of our fingers could not bear

the strain of holding it more than a few seconds. This bar of gold was

obtained from very rich quartz, specimens of which are to be seen near

it; and Dr. Honeyman informed us that the average daily remuneration

from such quartz was thirty shillings sterling per man.



It is not generally known that the province of Nova Scotia is so rich in

gold; but, from statistics by the Chief Commissioner of Mines for the

province, we find that the average yield of the Nova Scotia quartz is

over 19 dwt. per ton, and richer than the quartz of Australia; and the

deeper the shafts are sunk the richer the quartz becomes. In 1864 the

total yield from all the gold districts of Nova Scotia was 20,022

ounces, 18 dwts., 13 grs. Gold dust and scales have also been found in

the sands on the sea coast of the province, and in the sands of Sable

Island, which is eighty miles distant, in the Atlantic Ocean. Having in

our own colonies such an abundance of one of the precious metals so

extensively used in the practice of our art, photographers need not be

under any apprehension of having their supplies cut off.



Continuing our general survey, we stumble upon many things of

considerable interest. But, as our space will only allow us to

particularize those articles which have a photographic attraction,

direct or indirect, we must as far as possible imagine ourselves

something like animated photometers for the time being, registering the

aspects, changes, and remarkable phenomena connected with our art, and

whatever can be applied to photography and the use of photographers; or

whatever photography can be applied to, artistically or commercially

considered.



Of some things non-photographic, but of interest to photographers as

well as others, we may be induced to say a little; but of most subjects

foreign to our profession we shall simply say to our readers, "We have

seen such wondrous things, go ye and do likewise."



We finished our last paper with a few comments on what was

photographically interesting in the province of Nova Scotia. Passing

from that to the provinces of the Lower and Upper Canadas, which are

very properly placed next door to each other, we are struck with some

very good and interesting photographs of Canadian scenery, both plain

and in colours, and a frame of portraits of the delegates of the British

North American Confederation. Samples of all kinds of native and Indian

manufactures, and specimens of mineral ores, chiefly iron and copper,

are also displayed here.



Pursuing our way southwards from the Colonial division of the galleries,

we come to China and Japan. The geographical and relative positions of

the countries exhibiting are not strictly adhered to in the plan of the

Exhibition, so we must, of necessity, make some "long legs," and

experience some imaginary transitions of temperature during our journey

of observation. In Japan we stop to look at a life-size group of female

figures, representing a princess at her toilette, attended by four

female slaves, books illustrated with wood-cuts, plain and coloured,

bronzes, and many other articles of art and manufacture, by the

Japanese, of much interest.



In China, there is a State bedstead of great beauty, books of paintings

upon rice-paper, and many beautiful bronzes, carvings, and other

specimens of Chinese art.



We pass through Turkey, and next come to Siam, but the latter country

does not exhibit much, except of a "seedy" character. We admit we are

sometimes addicted to making puns, but the Siamese send puns for

exhibition. There is an article called "pun," which is "prepared lime,

coloured pink with turmeric," but to what use it is applied we have not

been enlightened.



Passing through France, Austria, Prussia, Belgium, and Holland, without

stopping to notice anything particularly, and turning into the south

corridor, we enter the Water Colour Gallery, which we quickly leave,

sighing, "How unlike that beautiful and attractive section of the Art

Treasure Exhibition at Manchester in 1857!" Hastening into the Central

Picture Gallery, we are much struck with the different appearance it

presents, and find numbers of ladies and gentlemen admiring the numerous

productions by painters belonging to the various foreign schools. Among

these works are some grand subjects, both in historical and ideal

composition, and landscape representations. This gallery has a

particularly noble and handsome appearance. It is oblong, well-lighted,

and open in the middle, by which means the Sculpture Hall, which is

underneath, is lighted. The sides of the gallery next the open space are

handsomely railed round, and pedestals, with marble busts and statuettes

on them, are tastefully arranged at intervals, leaving room enough for

you to look down into the Sculpture Hall below. What with the fine

pictures on the walls and staircase, and the noble statues in marble

about and below, you cannot but come to the conclusion that this is a

noble temple of art.



We next enter the east front room, which contains the works of the

Belgian artists. Many of these paintings are very finely conceived and

executed. The largest and most striking of them is the "Defeat of the

Duke of Alencon's Troops by the Citizens of Antwerp," painted by A.

Dillens.



Now we enter the Great Picture Gallery, which is devoted to the painters

belonging to the British school. Here we find many of the well-known

works from the National Gallery and Kensington Museum. There are

examples of the works of Callcott, Collins, Wilkie, Wilson, Turner,

Landseer, Mulready, Etty, Egg, Ward, Leslie, and a host of others. Her

Majesty the Queen also sends several pictures from her private

collection, as examples of the works of Winterhalter, Thomas, and

Stanfield. Nearly all the British artists are creditably represented in

the Dublin International Art Exhibition.



We next come to the Collection of Ancient Masters in the North Gallery,

which we enter from the North Corridor. To this part of the Fine Art

Exhibition the Earl of Portarlington is the most liberal contributor. He

sends examples of Titian, Rubens, Carlo Dolci, Tintoretto, Canalette,

Claude, Watteau, Rembrandt, Gerard Dow, Schneiders, Vandevelde, Sir

Joshua Reynolds, Sir Peter Lely, and others. The Marquis of Drogheda

also sends several examples of the same masters, some of them very fine

ones. Sir Charles Coote sends a great many paintings; among them a

Murillo, a Guido, and a Gainsborough.



Thence we pass into the Mediaeval Court, where we find nothing but

croziers, sacramental cups and plates, carved panels for pulpits and

clerks' desks, reminding us of "responses" and "amens." These we leave

to Churchmen, enthusiastic Puseyites, and devotees of Catholicism. And

we wend our way round the galleries, passing through Switzerland and

Italy into the United Kingdom, where we stop to examine some of the art

manufactures peculiar to Ireland, and are particularly interested in the

specimens of Irish bog oak, carved most tastefully into various

ornaments, such as brooches, pins, paper-knives, &c., and sculptured

into humorous and characteristic statuettes. The most noticeable of that

class of Irish art and industry is a clever group, entitled, "Where's

the man that dare tread on my coat?" This really humorous and artistic

statuette is one of a group of two. One is a rollicking Irishman

brandishing his shillelagh over his head and trailing his coat on the

ground, which is the Irishman's challenge for a fight at such places as

Donnybrook Fair. The other Irishman, who is equally ready for a "row,"

is in the act of treading on the coat, as an acceptance of the

challenge. The story is so cleverly told, that we almost fancy we see

the fight begin, and hear the shillelaghs cracking crowns in a genuine

Irish row.



Pushing on through India to the British Colonies again, whence we

started, we descend to the ground floor, and resume our survey of

Sweden, Norway, Italy, and Rome, and turn into the Music Hall, which is

on the south side of the entrance and Statuary Hall. Here we find the

organ builders at work on the grand organ, blowing up one pipe after

another, and producing such volumes of inharmonious sounds that we are

glad to leave them to the full and hearty enjoyment of their pipes,

chords, discords, and bellows-blowing. The walls of the Music Hall are

nearly covered with cartoons and paintings of a high-class, some of

them so high that we require an opera-glass to bring them within the

range of our visual organs.



We next enter the Sculpture Hall with a view of examining the statues

and describing them carefully. But they are so numerous that we can only

find space to call attention to the most striking. There are over three

hundred pieces of sculpture from various countries, comprising colossal

and life-size figures, groups, busts, statuettes, and alto-relievos in

marble and bronze. The most attractive of the marble statues are

"Michael Angelo, when a child, sculpturing the head of a Faun" (his

first work), by Emilio Zocchi, of Florence. The earnestness of purpose

and devotion to his task are wonderfully expressed in the countenance of

the boy-sculptor. Plying the hammer and chisel actively and vigorously,

every part of the figure betokens a thorough abandonment to his

occupation. A very remarkable work by a lady sculptor--Miss Harriett

Hosmer--entitled "The Sleeping Faun," is the very opposite to the other,

in its complete abandonment to repose. This fine statue has been

purchased by Mr. Guiness, and we were told he had given a munificent sum

for it. Another piece of exquisite beauty and daring skill in marble

working is "The Swinging Girl," by Pietro Magni, of Milan, the sculptor

of "The Reading Girl," which attracted so much attention in the

International Exhibition of 1862. The figure of the girl swinging is

beautifully modelled, and entirely free from contact with the base; and

is supported only by the swing attached to the branch of a tree, and the

hand of a boy giving action to the subject. "Ophelia," by W. C.

Marshall, is perhaps the most poetic conception of the loveliest and

most mournful of Shakespeare's creations that has ever been sculptured.

It is almost impossible to look at this touching representation of

Ophelia in her madness without exclaiming, in a modified quotation of

her own description of Hamlet--



  "O, what a gentle mind is here o'erthrown."



But we must stop. To go on in this way describing all the beautiful

works of art in the Dublin Exhibition would fill a volume. Already we

have allowed our admiration to carry us beyond the limits we had

assigned ourselves. We have been tempted to describe more than

photographic works, but none that have not a value artistically or

otherwise to photographers. We recommend all our readers that possibly

can to go and see for themselves. The trip is a very pleasant one, and

need not be expensive; nor need much time be spent unnecessarily. A

week's absence from business will give you five clear days in Dublin,

the other two only being occupied in travelling. Five days will be amply

sufficient to see the Exhibition and the "extraneous lions" of Dublin

also. If your time is limited, give a carman a job to "rowl" you to the

principal places of interest. But "by all means" select a rough, ragged,

red-headed, laughing-faced Irishman for your jarvey, and depend upon it

he will keep you in good humour during the whole of your trip. And every

time you come to a public-house he will say his "horse wants a dthrink,"

and "Won't yer honours have a dthrop?" as if he was going to stand

treat; but of course you know what he means; besides, the idea of

allowing a carman to treat his fare is not to be entertained for a

moment, nor can you resist the good-humoured intimation of his desire to

drink your health, for which honour, as a matter of course, you pay

costs.



Having endeavoured to conduct our readers to Dublin, and give them a

glance at the Exhibition, photographically and generally, we shall now

take our leave of the capital of Ireland, and return to town in much the

same manner as we went. We leave the Irish capital at 1.30 in the

afternoon, and, after a pleasant and quiet run across the Channel, enter

Holyhead harbour about seven o'clock. This arrangement gives you an

opportunity of seeing the Welsh coast to the best advantage as you

approach. Stepping into the train which is waiting our arrival, we are

speedily on our way home. At Rugby we have to change, and wait a little;

but before leaving there we pass the sign which only old masons and

travellers know, and are provided with a first-class bed and _board_,

and so make ourselves comfortable for the night. We know nothing more of

the remainder of the journey. Old Somnus has charge of us inside, and an

old kind-hearted guard takes care of us outside, until we are aroused by

the guard's "Good morning, gentlemen!" about six o'clock, a.m., within a

few miles of Euston Square. In conclusion, we sincerely recommend as

many of our readers as can to take a trip "to Dublin and back," and a

glance at the Dublin International Exhibition.





PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE NORTH.



On a recent journey northwards, I was tempted to stop at York, take a

look at the Exhibition there, and see if there were anything worth

notice in the Photographic Department. That part of the Exhibition is

exceedingly scanty, but the best Yorkshire photographers are well

represented, both in landscape and portraiture. Among the contributors

are the names of Sarony, Glaisby, Holroyd, Gowland, and other well-known

names. Mr. Sarony exhibits a couple of frames containing several "new

photo-crayons," cartes-de-visite vignettes, which are very sketchy and

effective, exhibiting those free and "dashy lines" and "hatchings" so

characteristic of the "softening off" of artistic crayon drawings. This

effect may be produced by a process of double printing, but it is more

likely to have been obtained direct in the camera from a screen, having

the edges of the aperture "softened off" with some free touches, the

screen, in all probability, being placed between the lens and the

sitter. Mr. Sarony also exhibits some large photographs very beautifully

finished in colours. Messrs. Gowland exhibit, in a revolving case, a

very unique collection of medallions and vignettes, both plain and

coloured, mounted on tinted grounds, which give the pictures a very

chaste and delicate appearance. The photographs themselves are exquisite

bits of artistic pose and careful manipulation. They also exhibit a

charming vignette of twenty-nine young ladies, all cleverly arranged,

each figure sharp and distinct, and evidently recognisable portraits.

This picture reminds one of Watteau, for the figures are in the woods,

only, instead of semi-nude nymphs, the sitters are all properly and

fashionably dressed young ladies. Messrs. Holroyd contribute some very

excellent cartes-de-visite and enlargements. Mr. E. C. Walker, of

Liverpool, exhibits some very beautiful opalotypes, or "photographs on

enamelled glass." Mr. Swan, Charing Cross, London, also sends specimens

of his crystal cube portraits. Mr. A. H. Clarke, a deaf and dumb

photographer, exhibits some very good groups of the Princess of Wales,

Lady Wharncliffe, Lady Maud Lascelles, Countess Granville, and the Hon.

Mrs. Hardinge, taken in the conservatory, when the Princess and suite

were on a visit to Studley Royal, Yorkshire.



Amongst the landscape photographs are to be found some of Bedford's

finest views of Egypt and Jerusalem, Devonshire and Warwickshire, the

beauties of which are so well-known to everyone interested in

photography. Some of the local views by local artists are very fine; W.

P. Glaisby's views of York Minster are capital, especially the

interiors. Messrs. Jackson Brothers, of Oldham, exhibit some very fine

views, and show what atmospheric effects the camera is capable of

rendering. That view of "Birstall Church" is a perfect master-piece of

photo-aerial perspective. There are also a considerable number of

photographic productions from the South Kensington Museum. Mr. Gregson,

of Halifax, exhibits some excellent photographs of machinery. In

apparatus there is nothing novel or striking, there being but one case

of cameras, &c., exhibited by a London maker. There is a "water

agitator" in the machinery "annexe," for washing photographic prints,

but the invention is more ingenious than effective, for the water is not

agitated sufficiently, except in the immediate neighbourhood of the fan

or "agitator," which moves backwards and forwards in the water, in a

manner somewhat similar to the motion of the pendulum of a clock, and so

laves the water to and fro; but the force is not sufficient to prevent

the prints from lying close together at the extremities of the trough,

and imperfect washing is sure to be the result. The motion is given to

the "agitator" by the water falling on a small wheel, something like

"Williams's revolving print washing machine."



To describe the Exhibition itself: It is rather like a "compound

mixture" of the church, the shop, and the show. The "Great Hall" is

something like the nave of a wooden cathedral, with galleries running

all round, and a grand organ at the end, peeling forth, at intervals,

solemn strains of long measure. Over the organ, in white letters on a

red ground, is the quotation, "He hath made all things beautiful in his

time."



The show cases on the floor of the Grand Hall are arranged as

indiscriminately as the shops in Oxford Street. In one case there are

exhibited samples of Colman's mustard, in that next to it samples of

"Elkington and Co.'s plated goods," and in another close by are samples

of saddlery, which give the place more the business aspect of a bazaar

than the desirable and advantageous classification of an exhibition.

Then you are reminded of the show by the frequent ringing of a loud

bell, and cries of "This way to the fairy fountain, just going to begin,

only twopence." Such things jar on the ears and nerves of quiet

visitors, and are only expected in such a place as the Polytechnic in

London.



The great features of the York Exhibition are the picture galleries; and

here a better order of things prevails. The collections are classified;

one gallery, or part of it, being devoted to the works of the old

masters, another to the modern, and another to the water-colours. Among

the old masters are some fine portraits by Velasquez, Tintoretto,

Rembrandt, Vandyke, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Gainsborough, Sir Peter Lely,

and others. And some of those grand old landscapes by Salvator Rosa,

Rubens, Claude, Wilson, the English Claude, and George Morland, such

pictures as are rarely seen out of private collections. The modern

masters are abundantly represented by Wilkie, Etty, Frith, Westall,

Faed, Cope, E. Nicol, Stanfield, Linnell, and a host of others. Amongst

the water-colours are many fine examples of the works of Turner, the

Richardsons (father and sons), Birket Foster, &c., &c.



Sculpture is very faintly represented, but there is a charming little

Canova, Dirce, exhibited by Lord Wenlock; an antique bust of Julius

Caesar, which seems to have been found in fragments and carefully joined

together. This bust is exhibited by the Hon. P. Downay, and was found in

Rome amongst some rubbish, while some excavations were being made. There

is also an interesting series of marble busts of the Twelve Caesars,

exhibited by Lord Londesborough. The Exhibition is open in the evening,

and brilliantly lighted with gas till ten o'clock; and, taking it "all

in all," it is a very creditable effort in the right direction, and does

honour to York and Yorkshiremen.



Further north still, at Newcastle-on-Tyne, there is another exhibition

of "Arts and Manufactures," the chief photographic feature of which is a

considerable display of "Swan's Carbon Prints," from several well-known

negatives by Bedford and Robinson. The promise of this process is very

great, and its commercial advantages were singularly demonstrated to me

when visiting the printing establishment of Mr. Swan, which I happened

to do on a dark and unfavourable day--one totally unfit for silver

printing; and yet I saw several very beautiful carbon prints that had

been produced that day, the rate of production being about eight to one

over silver printing. As a proof of the certainty and commercial

application to which Mr. Swan has reduced his beautiful process, I need

only mention that he has undertaken the printing of two thousand copies

of the celebrated picture of "The First General Assembly of the Church

of Scotland," painted by D. O. Hill. This historical picture contains

four hundred and fifty portraits: the negatives were taken from the

original painting by Mr. Annan, photographer, Glasgow, and are 32 by 14

inches, and 24 by 9 inches; and Mr. Swan has to turn off one thousand

copies of each within a given time. The publishers of the work give a

guarantee to their subscribers that every print shall be of a high

standard, for each one has to pass the examination of two competent

judges. They also very justly pride themselves on being the very first

to translate and multiply such noble works of art by a process "so

beautiful, and, at the same time, _imperishable_." I saw several of the

prints, both in process of development and complete; and anything more

like rich, soft, and brilliant impressions of a fine mezzotint engraving

I never saw, by any process of photography.



Mr. Swan's arrangements for conducting the various parts of his process

are very extensive and complete; and his mode of "developing and

transferring" seems to be the very acme of perfection. But, as Mr. Swan

is about to publish a work containing a full description of the process,

with a beautiful specimen print as frontispiece, I will not anticipate

him, or mar his own comprehensive account of the details of a process

which he has brought to such a state of beauty and perfection, by an

amount of patient perseverance and thoughtful application rarely

exhibited or possessed by one individual.



I also visited the photographic establishment of Messrs. Downey in

Newcastle, and there saw some _cabinet pictures_ of the Princess of

Wales, taken recently at Abergeldie Castle. Messrs. Downey have just

returned from Balmoral with upwards of two hundred negatives, including

whole-plate, half-plate, and _cabinet_ size, which will be published in

one or all those sizes, as soon as the orders of Her Majesty have been

executed. From the well-known reputation of the Messrs. Downey as

photographers, it is, in all probability, a treat in store for the

lovers of photography, to get a sight of their latest works at Balmoral

and Abergeldie.



Mr. Parry, another excellent photographer in Newcastle, was also making

arrangements to introduce the new cabinet size picture in a style that

will insure its success.



Altogether, the movements of the best photographers in the North are

highly commendable, and, with their notoriously practical minds, there

is little doubt of their undertakings becoming a success. Let us hope

that the same elements of energy and "push" will speedily impregnate the

minds of all photographers, and create a combination that will develop a

new form of popular beauty, and result in forming a salt that will

savour their labours, produce deposits of gold, and create innumerable

orders of merit.





ERRORS IN PICTORIAL BACKGROUNDS.



We have recently had a few papers on the necessity of art culture and

art knowledge in relation to photography, but they have chiefly been of

a theoretical and speculative character, few, if any, assuming a

practical form. "Apply the rod to teach the child" is an old saying, and

our artist friends and teachers _have_ applied the rod and belaboured

photography most unmercifully, but they have _not_ taught the child.

They have contented themselves with abusing photographers for not doing

what was right, instead of teaching them how to avoid what was wrong.



It will be my endeavour to point out, in this paper, some errors that

have crept into photographers' and artists' studios, and I hope to be

able to suggest a remedy that will lessen these evils, and elevate

photography in the scale of art. The faults in pictorial backgrounds

that I invite your attention to, arise from the neglect of the

principles of linear and aerial perspective. I do not speak of the

errors in perspective that may exist in the backgrounds themselves,

viewing them as pictures; but I refer to the manifest fault of depicting

the sitter--the principal object--according to one condition of

perspective, and the background that is placed behind him according to

another. An unpardonable error in any work of art, whether photograph or

painting, is to represent a natural object in an unnatural position. By

this I do not mean an awkward and constrained attitude, but a false

position of the principal subject in relation to the other objects by

which it is surrounded. We frequently see portraits, both full-length

and three-quarter size, with landscape backgrounds--or a bit of

landscape to be seen through a painted or actual window--of the most

unnatural proportions in relation to the figure itself. The head of the

subject is stuck high in the heavens--sometimes so high that, in

relation to the painted landscape, nothing shorter than a church steeple

could attain such an altitude. The trees and castles of the pretty

landscape, supposed to be behind the sitter, are like children's toys;

the mountains are like footballs in size, and the "horizon" is not so

much in relation to the figure as the width of a fishpond is to a man

standing on one side of it. It must be admitted that artists themselves

have set this bad example of departing from truth to give increased

importance to their subjects by placing their figures against diminutive

backgrounds; but that is a liberty taken with nature which photographers

should neither imitate nor allow. Photography is, in all other respects,

so rigidly truthful that it cannot consistently sanction such a

violation of natural laws.



Pictorial backgrounds have usually been painted on the same principle as

a landscape picture, and one of the earliest things the painter has to

determine is, where he shall represent that line where the sky and

earth appear to meet--technically, the _horizontal line_. This settled,

all the lines, not vertical or horizontal in the picture, below this are

made to appear to rise up to it, and those above descend, and if all

these are in due proportion the perspective is correct, no matter

whether this governing line is assumed to be in the upper, lower, or

middle part of the picture. A painter can suppose this imaginary line to

be at any height he pleases in his picture, and paint accordingly. In

photography it is invariable, and is always on a level with the lens of

the camera. To illustrate the relation of the horizontal line to the

human figure, when a pictorial background is to be introduced, let us

imagine that we are taking a portrait out-of-doors, with a free and open

country behind the person standing for his carte-de-visite. The camera

and the model are, as a matter of course, on the same level. Now focus

the subject and observe the linear construction of the landscape

background of nature. See how all the lines of the objects below the

level of the lens run up to it, and the lines of the objects above run

down to it. Right across the lens is the horizontal line, and the centre

is the point of sight, where all the lines will appear to converge.

Suppose the lens to be on a level with the face of the subject, the

horizontal line of the picture produced on the ground glass will be as

near as possible as high as the eyes of the subject. Trees and hills in

the distance will be above, and the whole picture will be in harmony.

This applies to interior views as well, but the ocular demonstration is

not so conclusive, for the converging lines will be cut or stopped by

the perpendicular wall forming the background. Nevertheless, all the

converging lines that are visible will be seen to be on their way to the

point of sight. Whether a natural background consisted of an interior,

or comprised both--such as a portion of the wall of a room and a peep

through a window on one side of the figure--the conditions would be

exactly the same. All the lines above the lens must come down, and all

that are below must go up. The following diagrams will illustrate this

principle still more clearly.



    [Illustration: Fig. 1.]



    [Illustration: Fig. 2.]



Fig. 1 is a section of the linear construction of a picture, and will

show how the lines converge from the point of observation to the point

of sight. Artists, in constructing a landscape of an ordinary form,

allot to the sky generally about twice the space between the base and

horizontal lines. But for portraits and groups, where the figures are of

the greatest importance and nearer to the eye, the proportion of sky and

earth is reversed, so as to give increased value to the principal

figures, by making them apparently larger, and still preserving the

proper relation between them and the horizontal line (see fig. 2). This

diagram represents the conditions of a full-length carte portrait, where

the governing horizontal line is on a level with the camera. If a

pictorial background, painted in the usual way, with the horizontal line

low in the picture, is now placed behind the sitter, the resulting

photograph will be incongruous and offensive. It will be seen, on

referring to fig. 2, that all the lines below the horizon must of

necessity run up to it, no matter how high the horizontal line may be,

for it is impossible to have two horizons in one picture; that is, a

visible horizon in the landscape background, and an imaginary one for

the figure, with the horizontal line of the background far below the

head of the figure, and the head far up in the sky. The head of a human

figure can only be seen so far above the horizontal line under certain

conditions; such as being elevated above the observer by being mounted

on horseback, standing on higher ground, or otherwise placed

considerably above the base line, none of which conditions are present

in a studio. Whenever the observed and observer are on the same level,

as must be the case when a photographer is taking the portrait of a

sitter in his studio, the head of the subject could not possibly be seen

so high in the sky, if the lens included a natural background instead of

a painted one. As, for convenience, the painted background is intended

to take the place of a natural one, care should be taken that the linear

and aerial perspectives should be as true to nature as possible, and in

perfect harmony with the size of the figures. The lens registers, on the

prepared plate, the relative proportions of natural objects as

faithfully as the retina receives them through the eye, and if we wish

to carry out the illusion of pictorial backgrounds correctly, we _must_

have the linear construction of the picture, which is intended to

represent nature, as true in every respect as nature is herself.



Aerial perspective has not been sufficiently attended to by the painters

of pictorial backgrounds. There are many other subjects in connection

with art and photography that might be discussed with advantage--such as

composition, arrangement of accessories, size, form, character, and

fitness of the things employed; but I leave all these for another

opportunity, or to someone more able to handle the subjects. For the

present, I am content to point out those errors that arise from

neglecting true perspective, and while showing the cause, distinctively

supply a remedy.



It is not the fault of perspective in the background where the lines are

not in harmony with each other--these too frequently occur, and are

easily detected--but it is the error of painting a pictorial background

as if it were an independent picture, without reference to the

conditions under which it is to be used. The conditions of perspective

are determined by the situation of the lens and the sitter. If the

actual objects existed behind the sitter, and were photographed

simultaneously with the sitter, the same laws of perspective would

govern the two. What I urge is, that if, instead of the objects, a

representation of them be put behind the sitter, that representation be

also a correct one. The laws of perspective teach how it may be made

correctly, and the starting point is the position of the lens in

relation to the sitter.



Some may say that these conditions of painting a background cannot be

complied with, as the lens and sitter are never twice exactly in the

same relation to each other. There is less force in this objection than

at first appears. Each photographer uses the same lens for all his

_carte_ portraits--and pictorial backgrounds are very frequently used

for these--and the height of his camera, as well as the distance from

his sitter, are so nearly constant, that the small amount of errors thus

caused need not be recognized. If the errors that exist were not far

more grave, there would be no necessity for this paper. Exceptional

pictures should have corresponding backgrounds.



When a "sitter" is photographed standing in front of a pictorial

background, the photograph will represent him either standing in a

natural scene, or before a badly-painted picture. Nobody should

wittingly punish his sitter by doing the latter when he could do the

former, and the first step to form the desirable illusion is pictorial

truth. There is no reason why the backgrounds should not be painted

truthfully and according to correct principles, for the one is as easy

as the other. I daresay the reason is that artists have not

intentionally done wrong--it would be too bad to suppose that--but they

have treated the backgrounds as independent pictures, and it is for

photographers to make what use of them they think proper. The real

principles are, however, now stated, by which they can be painted so as

to be more photographically useful, and artists and photographers have

alike the key to pictorial truth.



In conclusion, I would suggest to photographers the necessity of

studying nature more carefully--to observe her in their walks abroad, to

notice the gradual decrease of objects both in size and distinctness, to

remember that their lens is to their camera what their eye is to

themselves, to give as faithful a transcript of nature as they possibly

can, to watch the flow of nature's lines, as well as natural light and

shade, and, by a constant study and exhibition of truth and beauty in

their works, make photography eventually the teacher of art, instead of

art, as is now the case, being the reviler of photography.





PERSPECTIVE.



_To the Editors._



Gentlemen,--At the end of Mr. Alfred H. Wall's reply to Mr. Carey Lea's

letter on _Artists and Photographers_, I notice that he cautions your

readers not to receive the very simple rules of perspective laid down in

my paper, entitled _Errors in Pictorial Backgrounds_, until they have

acquired more information on the subject. Allow me to state that all I

said on perspective in that paper only went to show that there should be

but one horizon in the same picture; that the lines of all objects

_below_ that horizon should run up to it; that the lines of all objects

_above_ should run down, no matter where that _one_ horizon was placed;

and that the horizon of the landscape background should be in due

relation to the sitter and on a level with the eye of the observer, the

observer being either the lens or the painter.



If your correspondent considers that I was in error by laying down such

plain and common sense rules, which everyone can see and judge for

himself by looking down a street, then I freely admit that your

correspondent knows a great deal more about _false_ perspective than I

do, or should like to do.



Again, if your correspondent cannot see why I "volunteered to instruct

artists" or painters of backgrounds, perhaps he will allow me to inform

him that I did so simply because background painters have hitherto

supplied photographers with backgrounds totally unfit for use in the

photographic studio.



In spite of Mr. Wall's assumption of superior knowledge on subjects

relating to art, I may still be able to give him a hint how to produce a

pictorial background that will be much more natural, proportionate, and

suitable for the use of photographers than any hitherto painted.



Let Mr. Wall, or any other background painter, go _out_ with the camera

and take a _carte-de-visite_ portrait out-of-doors, placing the subject

in any well-chosen and suitable natural scene, and photograph the

"sitter" and the natural scene at the same time. Then bring the picture

so obtained into his studio and enlarge it up to "life-size," which he

can easily do by the old-fashioned system of "squaring," or, better

still, by the aid of a magic lantern, and with the help of a sketch of

the scene as well, to enable him to fill in correctly that part of the

landscape concealed by the figure taken on the spot; so that, when

reproduced by the photographer in _his_ studio, he will have a

representation of a natural scene, with everything seen in the

background in correct perspective, and in natural proportions in

relation to the "sitter." This will also show how _few_ objects can

naturally be introduced into a landscape background; and if the distant

scenery be misty and undefined, so much the better. It is the sharpness,

hardness, and superabundance of subjects introduced into pictorial

backgrounds generally that I object to, and endeavoured to point out in

my paper; and I consider it no small compliment to have had my views on

that part of my subject so emphatically endorsed by so good an authority

as Mr. Wallis, in his remarks on backgrounds at the last meeting of the

South London Photographic Society.



I make no pretensions to the title of "artist," although I studied

perspective, drawing from the flat and round, light and shade, and other

things in connection with a branch of art which I abandoned many years

ago for the more lucrative profession of a photographer. Were I so

disposed, I could quote Reynolds, Burnett, and Ruskin as glibly as your

correspondent; but I prefer putting my own views on any subject before

my readers in language of my own.



I endeavour to be in all my words and actions thoroughly independent and

consistent, which is more than I can say for your correspondent "A. H.

W." In proof of which, I should like to call the attention of your

readers to a passage in his "Practical Art Hints," in the last issue of

_The British Journal of Photography_, where he says:--"It is perversion

and degradation to an art like ours to make its truth and unity

subservient to conventional tricks, shams, and mechanical dodges," while

at the last meeting of the South London Photographic Society, when

speaking of backgrounds, he admitted they were _all conventional_.



Now, that is just what we do not want, and which was the chief object I

had in view when I wrote my paper. We have had too many of those

art-conventional backgrounds, and want something more in accordance with

natural truth and the requirements of photography.



In conclusion, allow me to observe that I should be truly sorry were I

to mislead anyone in the pursuit of knowledge relative to our

profession, either artistically or photographically. But let it be borne

in mind that it is admitted on all sides, and by the best authorities,

that nearly all the pictorial backgrounds now in use are quite

unnatural, and totally unsuited for the purposes for which they are

intended. Therefore the paper I read will have done the good I intended,

and answered the purpose for which it was written, if it has been the

means of calling attention to such glaring defects and absurdities as

are now being perpetrated by background painters, and bringing in their

place more natural, truthful, and photographically useful backgrounds

into the studios of all photographers.--I am, yours, &c.,



J. Werge.



_February 10th, 1866._





PERSPECTIVE IN BACKGROUNDS.



_To the Editors._



Gentlemen,--I must beg of you to allow me to reply to Mr. Wall once

more, and for the last time, on this subject, especially as that

gentleman expects an answer from me.



To put myself into a fair position with regard to Mr. Wall and your

readers, I will reply to the latter part of his letter first, by stating

that I endeavour to avoid all personality in this discussion, and should

be sorry to descend to anything of the kind knowingly. When I spoke of

"independency and consistency," I had not in view anything relative to

his private character, but simply that kind of independence which

enables a man to trust to his own powers of utterance for the

expression of his ideas, instead of that incessant quoting the language

of others, to which your correspondent, Mr. Wall, is so prone. As to his

inconsistency, I mean that tendency which he exhibits to advocate a

principle at one time, and denounce it at another. I shall prove that

presently. Towards Mr. Wall, personally, I have neither animosity nor

pique, and would take him by the hand as freely and frankly as ever I

did were I to meet him at this moment. With his actions as a private

gentleman I have nothing to do. I look upon him now as a controvertist

only. So far, I hope I have made myself clearly understood by Mr. Wall

and all concerned.



I also should like to have had so important a question discussed without

introducing so much of that frivolous smartness of style generally

adopted by Mr. Wall. But, as he has introduced two would-be-funny

similes, I beg to dispose of them before going into more serious matter.

Taking the "butcher" first (see the fifth paragraph in Mr. Wall's last

letter), I should say that, if I were _eating_ the meat, I should be

able to judge of its quality, and know whether it was good or bad, in

spite of all the butcher might say to the contrary; and surely, no man

not an out-and-out vegetarian, or lacking one of the five senses--to say

nothing of _common sense_--will admit that it is _necessary_ to be a

"butcher" to enable him to be a judge of good meat. On the same ground,

I contend that it is _not_ necessary for a man to be an artist to have a

thorough knowledge of perspective; and I have known many artists who

knew as little about perspective, practically, as their easel did. They

had a vague and dreamy idea of some governing principles, but how to put

those principles into practice they had not the slightest notion. I once

met an artist who could not put a tesselated pavement into perspective,

and yet he had some right to the title of artist, for he could draw and

paint the human figure well. Perspective is based on geometrical

principles, and can be as easily mastered by any man not an artist as

the first book of Euclid, or the first four rules of arithmetic; and,

for all that, it is astonishing how many artists know so little about

the working rules of perspective.



Again: Mr. Wall is surely not prepared to advance the dictum that no one

can know anything about art but a professional artist. If so, how does

he reconcile that opinion with the fact of his great and oft-quoted

authority, Ruskin, not being an artist, but simply, in his public

character, a voluminous writer on art, not always right, as many artists

and photographers very well know.



Mr. Wall objects to my use of the word "artist," but he seems to have

overlooked the fact that I used the quotation marks to show that I meant

to apply it to the class of self-styled artists, or men who arrogate to

themselves a title they do not merit--not such men as Landseer, Maclise,

Faed, Philips, Millais, and others of, and not of, the "Forty." Mr. Wall

may be an artist. I do not say he is not. He also is, or was, a painter

of backgrounds. So he can apply to himself whichever title he likes

best; but whether he deserves either one or the other, depends on what

he has done to merit the appellative.



Mr. Wall questions the accuracy of the principles I advocated in my

paper. I contend that I am perfectly correct, and am the more astonished

at Mr. Wall when I refer to vol. v., page 123, of the _Photographic

News_. There I find, in an article bearing his own name, and entitled

"The Technology of Art as Applied to Photography," that he says:--



"If you make use of a painted cloth to represent an interior or out-door

view, the horizontal line must be at somewhere about the height which

your lens is most generally placed at, and the vanishing point nearly

opposite the spot occupied by the camera. * * * * I have just said that

the horizon of a landscape background and the vanishing point should be

opposite the lens; I may, perhaps, for the sake of such operators as

are not acquainted with perspective, explain why. The figure and the

background are supposed to be taken at one and the same time, and the

camera has the place of the spectator by whom they are taken. Now,

suppose we have a real figure before a real landscape: if I look up at a

figure I obtain one view of it, but if I look down on it, I get another

and quite a different view, and the horizon of the natural landscape

behind the figure is always exactly the height of _my_ eye. To prove

this, you may sit down before a window, and mark on the glass the height

of the horizon; then rise, and, as you do so, you will find the horizon

also rises, and is again exactly opposite your eye. A picture, then, in

which the horizontal line of the background represents the spectator as

looking up at the figure from a position near the base line, while the

figure itself indicates that the same spectator is at that identical

time standing with his eyes on a level with the figure's breast or

chin--such productions are evidently false to art, and untrue to nature.

* * * * The general fault in the painted screens we see behind

photographs arises from introducing too many objects."



Now, as I advanced neither more nor less in my paper, why does Mr. Wall

turn round and caution your readers not to receive such simple truths

uttered by me? I was not aware that Mr. Wall had forestalled me in

laying down such rules; for at that date I was in America, and did not

see the _News_; but, on turning over the volume for 1861 the other day,

since this discussion began, I there saw and read, with surprise, the

above in his article on backgrounds. I am perfectly aware that I did not

say all that I might have said on perspective in my paper; but the

little I did say was true in principle, and answered my purpose.



When Mr. Wall (in the second paragraph of his last letter) speaks of the

"principal visual ray going from the point of distance to the point of

sight, and forming a right angle to the perspective plane," it seems to

me that he is not quite sure of the difference between the points of

_sight_, _distance_, and _observation_, or of the relation and

application of one to the other. However, his coming articles on

perspective will settle that. It also appears to me that he has

overlooked the fact that my diagrams were _sections_, showing the

perspective inclination and declination of the lines of a parallelogram

towards the point of sight. In my paper I said nothing about the _point

of distance_; with that I had nothing to do, as it was not my purpose to

go into all the dry details of perspective. But I emphatically deny that

anything like a "bird's eye view" of the figure could possibly be

obtained by following any of the rules I laid down. In my paper I

contended for the camera being placed on a level with the head of the

sitter, and that would bring the line of the horizon in a pictorial

background also as high as the head of the sitter. And if the horizon of

the pictorial background were placed anywhere else, it would cause the

apparent overlapping of _two_ conditions of perspective in the resulting

photograph. These were the errors I endeavoured to point out. I maintain

that my views are perfectly correct, and can be proved by geometrical

demonstration, and the highest artistic and scientific testimony.



I wish it to be clearly understood that I do not advocate the use of

pictorial backgrounds, and think I pretty strongly denounced them; but

if they _must_ be used by photographers, either to please themselves or

their customers, let them, for the credit of our profession, be as true

to nature as possible.



I think I have now answered all the points worth considering in Mr.

Wall's letter, and with this I beg to decline any further correspondence

on the subject.--I am, yours, &c.,



J. Werge.



_March 5th, 1866._





NOTES ON PICTURES IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY.



In the following notes on some of the pictures in the National Gallery,

it is not my intention to assume the character of an art-critic, but

simply to record the impressions produced on the mind of a photographer

while looking at the works of the great old masters, with the view of

calling the attention of photographers and others interested in

art-photography to a few of the pictures which exhibit, in a marked

degree, the relation of the horizon to the principal figures.



During an examination of those grand old pictures, two questions

naturally arise in the mind: What is conventionality in art? and--In

whose works do we see it? The first question is easily answered by

stating that it is a mode of treating pictorial subjects by established

rule or custom, so as to obtain certain pictorial effects without taking

into consideration whether such effects can be produced by natural

combinations or not. In answer to the second question, it may be boldly

stated that there is very little of it to be seen in the works of the

best masters; and one cannot help exclaiming, "What close imitators of

nature those grand old masters were!" In their works we never see that

photographic eye-sore which may be called a binographic combination of

two conditions of perspective, or the whereabouts of two horizons in the

same picture.



The old masters were evidently content with natural combinations and

effects for their backgrounds, and relied on the rendering of natural

truths more than conventional falsehoods for the strength and beauty of

their productions. Perhaps the simplest mode of illustrating this would

be to proceed to a kind of photographic analysis of the pictures of the

old masters, and see how far the study of their works will enable the

photographer to determine what he should employ and what he should

reject as pictorial backgrounds in the practice of photography. As a

photographer, then--for it is the photographic application of art we

have to consider--I will proceed to give my notes on pictures in the

National Gallery, showing the importance of having the horizontal line

in its proper relation to the sitter or figure.



Perhaps the most beautiful example is the fine picture by Annibale

Carracci of "Christ appearing to Peter." This admirable work of art as

nearly as possible contains the proportions of a carte-de-visite or

whole-plate picture enlarged, and is well worthy the careful attention

and study of every photographer; not only for its proportions and the

amount of landscape background introduced, showing the proper position

of the horizon and the small amount of sky visible, but it is a

wonderful example of light and shade, foreshortening, variety and

contrast of expression, purity of colour, simplicity of design, and

truthfulness to nature. Neither of the figures lose any of their force

or dignity, although the horizontal line is as high as their heads, and

the whole of the space between is filled in with the scene around them.

In its linear perspective it is quite in keeping with the figures, and

the scenery is in harmonious subjection, controlled and subdued by

aerial perspective.



The large picture of "Erminia takes refuge with the Shepherds," by the

same artist, is also a fine example of a horizon high in the picture.

The figure of Erminia is separated from the other figures, and could be

copied or reproduced alone without any loss of beauty and dignity, or

any violation of natural laws.



Murillo's picture of "St. John and the Lamb" suggests an admirable

background for the use of the photographer. It consists of dark masses

of rock and foliage. Nothing distinct or painfully visible, the distant

masses of foliage blend with the clouds, and there is nothing in the

background but masses of light and shade to support or relieve the

principal objects.



In the picture of "Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene," by Titian, the

water-line is above the head of Christ, but if the figure were standing

upright, the head of the Saviour would break the horizontal line.



Titian's "Bacchus and Ariadne" also has the water-line breast high,

almost to the neck of Ariadne. The figure of Bacchus springing from the

car, as a matter of course, is much higher in the sky. This picture

presents the perspective conditions of the painter having been seated

while painting such figures from nature, or similar to the results and

effects obtained by taking a group with the lens on a level with the

breast or lower part of the necks of figures standing.



In Titian's portrait of Ariosto there is a dark foliated background

which gives great brilliancy to the picture, but no sky is visible. The

"Portrait of a Lady," by Paris Bardone, has an architectural background

in which no sky is to be seen. The picture is very brilliant, and the

monotony of a plain background is skilfully overcome.



The picture of "St. Catharine of Alexandria," by Raphael, has a

landscape background, with the horizon about as high as the breast, as

if the artist had been seated and the model standing during the process

of painting.



Raphael's picture of "The Vision of a Knight" is another example of the

fearlessness of that artist in putting in or backing up his figures with

a large amount of landscape background.



The proportions of Correggio's "Venus, Mercury, and Cupid," are as

nearly as possible those of a carte-de-visite enlarged; and that picture

has no sky in the background, but a very suitable dark, cool, rocky

scene, well subdued, for the rocks are quite near to the figures. This

background gives wonderful brilliancy to the figures, and contrasts

admirably with the warm and delicate flesh tints.



Correggio's "Holy Family" has a landscape and architectural background,

with a very little sky visible in the right-hand corner.



In the "Judgment of Paris," by Rubens, the horizontal line of the

background cuts the waist of the first female figure, showing that the

artist was seated. The other two female figures are placed against a

background of rocks and dark masses of foliage. Rubens' picture of the

"Holy Family and St. George" is also a good example of the kind of

picture for the photographer to study as to the situation of the

horizontal line.



The picture of "The Idle Servant," by Nicolaes Maes, is also an

excellent subject for study of this kind. It shows the due relation of

the horizon of an interior in a very marked degree, and its shape and

subject are very suitable to the size and form of a carte-de-visite. So

are his pictures of "The Cradle" and "A Dutch Housewife."



The picture of "John Arnolfini of Lucca and his Wife," painted by John

Van Eyck in the fifteenth century, is an excellent specimen of an

interior background, with a peep out of a window on one side of the

room. This is a capital subject for the study of photographers who wish

to use a background representing an interior.



"The Holy Family at a Fountain," a picture of the Dutch school, painted

by Schoorel in the sixteenth century, has an elaborate landscape

background with the horizon above the heads of the figures, as if the

artist had been standing and the models sitting.



For an example of a portrait less than half-length, with a landscape

background, look at the portrait of "An Italian Gentleman," by Andrea da

Solario. This picture shows how very conscientiously the old masters

worked up to the truth of nature in representing the right amount of

landscape in proportion to the figure; but the background is much too

hard and carefully worked out to be pleasing. Besides, it is very

destructive to the force and power of the picture, which will be at once

visible on going to the portraits by Rembrandt, which have a marvellous

power, and seem to stand right before the dark atmospheric backgrounds

which that artist generally painted in his portraits.



There are other examples of half-length portraits with landscape

backgrounds, wherein the horizontal line passes right through the eyes

of the principal figure, one of which I will mention. It is that of the

"Virgin and Child," by Lorenzo di Credi. In this picture the horizontal

line passes right through the eyes of the Virgin without interfering

with the interest of the chief object.



Several examples of an opposite character are to be seen in the National

Gallery, with the horizon of the landscape background much too low in

the picture. It is needless to call special attention to them. After

carefully examining the works already named, and comparing them with the

natural effects to be observed daily, it will be quickly seen which is a

truthful picture in this respect, and which is a false one.





SHARPNESS AND SOFTNESS _V._ HARDNESS.



The discussion on "Sharpness: what is it?" at the meeting of the South

London Photographic Society in May, 1861, and the more recent discussion

on "Focussing" at the last meeting of the same Society, seem to me to

have lost much of their value and importance to photographers for want

of a better definition of the term _hardness_ as applied to art, and as

used by _artists_ in an _artistic sense_. Webster, in his second

definition of the word "hardness," gives it as "difficulty to be

understood." In that sense Mr. Wall succeeded admirably when he gave

the term _concentration_, in reply to Mr. Hughes, who asked Mr. Wall

what he meant by _hardness_. Fairholt gives the _art meaning_ of the

word as "want of refinement; academic drawing, rather than artistic

feeling." But even that definition would not have been sufficiently

comprehensive to convey an adequate idea of the meaning of the term in

contradistinction to the word _sharpness_, and I cannot but think that

Mr. Wall failed in his object in both papers, and lost considerable

ground in both discussions, by not giving more attention to the nice

distinctions of the two terms as used in art, and explaining their

artistic meanings more clearly.



Sharpness need not be hardness; on the contrary, sharpness and softness

can be harmoniously combined in the representation of any object

desired. On the other hand, a subject may possess abundance of detail,

and yet convey to the mind an idea of _hardness_ which the artist did

not intend. This kind of hardness I should attribute to a miscarriage of

thought, or a failure, from want of manipulative skill, to produce the

desired effect. For example: one artist will paint a head, model it

carefully, and carry out all the gradations of light and shade, and for

all that it will be _hard_--hard as stone, resembling the transcript of

a painted statue more than flesh. With the same brushes and colours

another artist will paint a head that may be no better in its drawing,

nor any more correct in its light and shade, but it will resemble

_flesh_, and convey to the mind of the observer a correct impression of

the substance represented--its flexibility and elasticity--that it is

something that would be warm and pleasant to the touch, and not make you

recoil from it as if it were something cold, hard, and repulsive, as in

the former case. Again, two artists will paint a fabric or an article of

furniture (say a table) with the same brushes, pigments, and mediums:

the one artist will render it so faithfully in every respect that it

would suggest to the mind the dull sound peculiar to wood when struck,

and not the sharp, clear ring of metal which the work of the other

artist would suggest.



Another example: one artist paints a feather, and it appears to have all

the feathery lightness and characteristics of the natural object; the

other will paint it the same size, form, and colour, and yet it will be

more like a painted chip, wanting the downy texture and float-in-the-air

suggestiveness of the other. Thus it will be seen that both artists had

similar ideas, had similar materials and means at their disposal to

render on canvas the same or similar effects. The one succeeded, and the

other failed, in giving a faithful rendering of the same subjects; but

it was no fault in the materials with which they worked. The works of

one artist will convey to the mind an idea of the thing itself; with its

texture, properties, weight, and proportions; nothing undervalued;

nothing overrated, nothing softer, nothing harder, than the thing in

nature intended to be portrayed. The other gives the same idea of form

and size, light and shade, and colour, but not the texture; it is

something harder, as iron instead of wood, or hard wood instead of soft

wood, or stone instead of flesh. This, then, is the artistic meaning of

hardness (or concentration, as Mr. Wall said), and that is an apparent

packing together, a compression or petrifaction of the atoms or fibre of

which the natural materials are composed. This difference in the works

of artists is simply the effects of _feeling_, of power over the

materials employed, and ability to transfer to canvas effects that are

almost illusions. And so it is with photographers in the production of

the photographic image. There is the same difference in feeling and

manipulative skill, the same difference of power over the materials

employed, that enables one photographer to surpass another in rendering

more truthfully the difference of texture. Photographers may and do use

the same lenses and chemicals, and yet produce widely different results.

One, by judgment in lighting and superior manipulation, will transfer to

his plates more texture and suggestiveness of the different substances

represented than the other. It is a fact well known to old photographers

that in the best days of the Daguerreotype practice two widely

different classes of pictures were produced by the most skilful

_Daguerreotypists_, both sharp and full of exquisite detail; yet the one

was _hard_, in an artistic sense, not that it wanted half-tone to link

the lights and shades together, but because it was of a bronzy

hardness, unlike flesh from which it was taken, and suggested to the

mind a picture taken from a bronze or iron statue of the individual,

rather than a picture taken from the warm, soft flesh of the original.

The other would be equally sharp as far as focussing and _sharp lenses_

could make it, and possess as much detail, but it would be different in

colour and texture; the detail would be soft, downy, and fleshy, not

irony, if I may use that word in such a sense; and this difference of

effect arose entirely from a difference of feeling, lighting,

preparation of the plate, and development of the pictures. They might

all use the best of Voightlander's or C. C. Harrison's lenses, the

favourite lenses of that day. They might all use the same make of

plates, the same iodine, bromine, and mercury, yet there would be this

difference in the character of the two classes of pictures. Both would

be sharp and possess abundance of detail, still one would be _soft_ and

the other hard in an artistic acceptation of the word _hardness_.



Collodion positives exhibited a similar difference of character. The

works of one photographer would be cold and metallic looking, while the

works of another would be softer and less metallic, giving a better idea

of the texture of flesh and the difference of fabrics, which many

attributed to the superiority of the lens; but the difference was really

due to manipulation, treatment, and intelligence. And so it is with the

collodion negative. A tree, for instance, may be photographed, and its

whole character changed by selecting a bad and unsuitable light, or by

bad manipulation. The least over-development or "piling up" of a high

light may give it a sparkling effect that would change it into the

representation of a tree of cast iron, rather than a _growing tree_,

covered with damp, soft, and moss-stained bark. Every object and every

fabric, natural or manufactured, has its own peculiar form of "high

light" or mode of reflecting light, and care must be taken by both

artist and photographer not to exceed the amount of light reflected by

each particular object, else a _hardness_, foreign to the natural

object, will be represented. But not only should the artist and

photographer possess this feeling for nature in all her subtle beauties

and modes of expressing herself, to prevent a miscarriage in the true

rendering of any object, the photographic printer should also have a

sympathy for the work in hand, or he will, by over-fixing, or in various

other ways, mar the successful labours of the photographer, and make a

negative that is full of softness, and tenderly expresses the truth of

nature, yield prints that are crude, and convey to the mind a sense of

_hardness_ which neither the natural objects nor the negative really

possess.



Now, I think it will be seen that _hardness_ in a painting or a

photograph does not mean sharpness; nor is the artistic meaning of the

word _hardness_ confined to "rigid or severe drawing," but that it has a

broader and more practical definition than concentration; and that the

converse to the art meaning of _hardness_ is softness, tenderness,

truthfulness in expressing the varied aspects of nature in all her

forms, all of which are coincident with sharpness.--J. Werge

(_Photographic News_).





UNION OF THE NORTH AND SOUTH LONDON PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETIES.



_To the Editors, British Journal._



Gentlemen,--Allow me to express my opinion on the suggestion to unite

the North and South London Societies, and to point out a few of the

advantages which, I think, would accrue from a more extensive

amalgamation.



Though I am a member of all the three London photographic societies, I

have long been of opinion that there are too many, and that the objects

of all are considerably weakened by such a diffusion of interests. If

the furtherance of the art and the free and mutual interchange of

thought and experience among the members were the only things

considered, there would be but one society in London; and with one

society embodying all the members that now make the three, how much more

good might be done!



In the first place, the amounts now paid for rent by the three would, if

united, secure an excellent meeting room or chambers, in a central

position, for the _exclusive_ use of the society, where the ordinary and

special meetings, annual exhibitions, and _soirees_ could be held much

more independently than now, and at a cost little or no more than what

is now paid for the privilege of holding the ordinary meetings alone.



Secondly: If such a place of meeting were secured, then that laudable

scheme of an art library, so strenuously advocated by Mr. Wall and Mr.

Blanchard at the South London Photographic Society, might be

successfully carried into effect. Then a library and a collection of

works of art might be gradually gathered together, and one of the

members could be chosen curator and librarian, to attend the rooms one

evening in the week, or oftener, as circumstances might require, so as

to give members access to the library to make exchanges, extracts from

bulky books, &c.



Thirdly: If the union were effected, and the place of meeting more

central, there would be a larger attendance of members, and more

spirited and valuable proceedings would be the result. Papers to be read

at the regular meetings would be much more certain, and the discussions

would be more comprehensive and complete. The members would become

personally acquainted with each other, and a much better feeling would

pervade the whole photographic community.



These, gentlemen, are a few of the advantages which ought to accrue from

a union of the three societies; but, if that cannot be effected, by all

means let the triumvirate now existing be reduced to a biumvirate. If it

be not possible for the "Parent Society" and her offspring to reunite

their interests and affection for the common good, surely the other two

can, and thereby strengthen themselves, and secure to their members a

moiety of the advantages which would result from the triple alliance.



But, before proceeding farther, let me ask--Has such a thing as a triple

alliance ever been considered? Has it been ascertained that an amicable

amalgamation with the Photographic Society of London is impossible? If

so, what are the motives of the proposers of the union of the North and

South London Societies? Do they wish to form a more powerful antagonism

to the other society, or do they simply and purely wish to further the

advancement of our art-science, and not to gratify personal pique or

wounded pride? I do not wish to impute such unworthy motives to anyone;

but it does seem singular that the proposition should come from the

Chairman of the North London Photographic Association almost

simultaneously with the resignation of his seat at the council board of

the Parent Society.



If, however, the motives are pure, honest, and earnest, I heartily

approve of the suggestion as a step in the right direction, although I

candidly admit that I would much rather see all the societies united in

one, and fully believe that that would be the most advantageous

arrangement that could possibly be made for all concerned.--I am,

yours, &c.,



Union Jack (J. Werge).



_London, February 18th, 1867._





UNION OF THE LONDON PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETIES.



_To the Editors of the British Journal._



Gentlemen,--Perhaps I am in courtesy bound to answer the questions of

your correspondents, Mr. Homersham and "Blue Pendant," but in

self-justification I do not think it necessary, for it turns out that my

suspicions of antagonism to the Parent Society were well founded; and,

from their remarks, and the observations of your contributor "D.," I

learn that the disaffection is more widely spread than I at first

thought it was.



I may have been wrong in suspecting the Chairman of the North London

Photographic Association of unworthy motives; if so, I frankly beg that

gentleman's pardon. But I am not wrong in suspecting that antagonism is

mixed up with the movement.



Your contributor "D." chooses to construe my unwillingness to make a

direct charge--my hope that there were no such unworthy motives--into

timidity; but I beg to remind "D." that there is not much, if any, of

that apparent in my putting the plain questions I did, which,

by-the-by, have not yet been very satisfactorily answered.



I flatter myself that I know when and how to do battle, and when to sue

for peace, as well as any in the service under whose flag I have the

honour to sail; and I, as much as anyone, admire the man that can fight

courageously when in the right, or apologise gracefully when in the

wrong; but, as the object of this correspondence is neither to make

recriminations, nor indulge in personal abuse, I return to the primary

consideration of the subject, and endeavour to sift the motives of the

movers of the proposition to unite the North and South London Societies,

and ascertain, if possible, whether they have the good of those

societies and the furtherance of photography really at heart or not.



_Imprimis_, then, let us consider the arguments of "D.," who cites the

resignation of three gentlemen in proof of the management of the London

Photographic Society being "out of joint." He might as well say,

"because a man is sick, leave him and let him die." If there were

anything they disliked in the government of the Society, or any evil to

be corrected, their most manly course was to have held on, and fought

the evils down. They all had seats at the Council board, and if they had

wished well to the Society, they would not have resigned them, but

battled for the right, and brought their grievances, real or imagined,

before the members. A special meeting has been called before now to

consider personal grievances which affected the honour of the Society,

and I should think it could have been done again. I do not maintain that

all is right in the Society, but I do think that they were wrong in

resigning their seats because an article appeared in the Society's

journal condemnatory of a process to which they happened to be devotedly

attached.



It can scarcely be supposed that the cause of reform, or the general

good of the country, would have been forwarded had Gladstone, Bright,

and Earl Russell resigned their seats as members of either House because

they could not carry their ministerial bill of last session. From this I

argue that men who have the object they advocate, and the "best

interests" of the Society, thoroughly at heart, will stick to it

tenaciously, whether in or out of office, and, by their watchfulness,

prevent bad becoming worse, in spite of captious opposition, fancied

insults, or journalistic abuse.



The next paragraph by "D." on which I shall comment contains that bold

insinuation of timidity, which I have already noticed as much as I

intend to do. But I wish to discuss the question of "absorption" a

little more fully. I cannot at all agree with the sentiments of "D." on

that subject. Absorption is in many instances a direct and positive

advantage to both the absorber and absorbed, as the absorption of Sicily

by Italy, and Frankfort and Hanover by Prussia. Nitric acid absorbs

silver, and how much more valuable and useful to the photographer is the

product than either of the two in their isolated condition; and so, I

hold, it would be with the Society were the two other Societies to join

the old one, impart to it their chief characteristics, re-model the

constitution, and elect the members of the Council by ballot. We should

then have a society far more powerful and useful than could ever be

obtained by the formation of a new one.



In the foregoing, I think I have also answered the question of Mr.

Homersham, as well as that part of "Blue Pendant's" letter relating to

the establishment of a _fourth_ society. On that point my views

harmonise with those of your contributor, "D."



On the subject of "members of Council," I do not agree with either "D."

or your correspondent "Blue Pendant." The Council should be elected from

and by the body of members, and the only qualifications necessary should

be willingness and ability to do the work required. No consideration of

class should ever be admitted. The members are all recommended by

"personal knowledge," and elected by ballot, and that alone should be

test sufficient on the score of respectability.



Concerning "papers written as puffs," I cordially agree with "Blue

Pendant" as far as he goes; but I go further than that, and would insist

on each paper being scrutinised, before it is read, by a committee

appointed for the purpose, so as to prevent "trade advertisements" and

such shamefully scurrilous papers as I have heard at the South London

Photographic Society.



With reference to the questions put by "Blue Pendant," I beg to decline

answering his second, it not being pertinent; but I shall reply to his

first more particularly. He seems to have forgotten or overlooked the

fact that I thought the advantages I enumerated would result from a

union of the _three_ societies--not from an alliance of the two only.

That I still look upon suspiciously as antagonistic to the Parent

Society; and "Blue Pendant's" antagonism is proved beyond doubt when he

says it is "tottering to its fall," and he almost gloatingly looks

forward to its dissolution coming, to use his own words, "sooner or

later," and "perhaps the sooner the better." But I venture to think that

"Blue Pendant" is not likely to be gratified by seeing the "aged Parent"

decently laid in the ground in his time. There is too much "life in the

old dog yet"--even since the secession--for that to come to pass. It

cannot be denied that the Parent Society has amongst its members some

of the best speakers, thinkers, writers, and workers in the whole

photographic community.



While discussing this subject, allow me, gentlemen, to advert to an

article in your contemporary of Friday last. In the "Echoes of the

Month," by an Old Photographer, the writer thinks that the advantages I

pointed out as likely to accrue from a union of the societies are a

"pleasant prospect that will not bear the test of figures." It is a fact

that "figures" are subject to the rules of addition as well as of

subtraction, and I wish to show by figures that my ideas are not so

impracticable as he imagines. In addition to the eight guineas a year

paid by the North and South London Photographic Societies for rent, I

notice in the report of the London Photographic Society, published last

month, two items in the "liabilities" which are worth considering. One

is "King's College, rent and refreshment, L42 4s. 6d.," which, I

presume, is for one year. The other is "King's College _soiree_ account,

L20 15s. 6d.," part of which is undoubtedly for rent of rooms on that

occasion. Now there is a clear showing of over L50 12s. 6d. paid in one

year by the three societies for rent and refreshment, the latter not

being absolutely necessary. I may be mistaken in my estimate of the

value of central property; but I do think a sum exceeding L50 is

sufficient to secure a room or chambers large enough for the purposes of

meeting, and keeping a library, &c.; or, if not, would it not be worth

while making a strain to pay a little more so as to secure the

accommodation required? If the Coventry Street experiment were a failure

from apathy or other causes, that is no proof that another attempt made

by a more numerous, wealthy, and energetic body would also be abortive.

In sea phraseology, "the old ship has made a long leg to-day!" but I

hope, gentlemen, you will not grudge the space required for the full and

careful consideration of this subject. The "developing dish" and the

ordinary _modus operandi_ of photography can well afford to stand aside

for awhile to have this question discussed to the end. I have not said

all I can on the amalgamation project, and may return to it again with

your kind permission, if necessary.--I am, yours, &c.,



Union Jack (J. Werge).



_London, March 4, 1867._





THE SOCIETY'S EXHIBITION.



Impressions and Convictions of "Lux Graphicus."



The brief and all but impromptu Exhibition of the Photographic Society,

recently held in the rooms of the Architectural Society, 9, Conduit

Street, Regent Street, where the Society's meetings are to be held in

future, was one of the pleasantest and most useful expositions in

connection with photography that has been consummated for many years. In

the first place the idea of an exhibition evening free from the

formalities of a _soiree_ was a happy one; the _locale_ was happily

chosen; and the whole arrangements most happily successful. Everybody

seemed to be pleased; cordial expressions of agreeable surprise were

freely exchanged; and there were abundance and variety enough of

pictorial display to satisfy the most fastidious visitor.



As might have been expected, the works of M. Salomon, exhibited by

Mr. Wharton Simpson, were the chief objects of attraction, and

during the whole of the evening an anxious group surrounded the

collection; and it was curious to remark with what eagerness these

pictures were scrutinized, so as to ascertain whether they were

examples of photography "pure and undefiled," or helped by artistic

labour afterwards. That they are the very finest specimens of

art-photography--both in the broad and masterly treatment of light and

shade, pose, manipulation, tone of print, and after finish--that have

ever been exhibited, is unquestionable; but to suppose that they are

photographs unaided by art-labour afterwards is, I think, a mistake. All

of the heads, hands, and portions of the drapery bear unmistakable

proofs of after-touching. Some of them give evidence of most elaborate

retouching on the hands and faces, on the surface of the print. I

examined the pictures by daylight most minutely with the aid of a

magnifying glass, and could detect the difference between the retouching

on the negative, and, after printing, on the positive. The faces of

nearly all the ladies present that appearance of dapple or "stipple"

which nothing in the texture of natural flesh can give, unless the

sitter were in the condition of "goose flesh" at the moment of sitting,

which is a condition of things not at all likely. Again, hatching is

distinctly visible, which is not the photographic reproduction of the

hatch-like line of the cuticle. In support of that I have two forms of

evidence: first, _comparison_, as the hatchings visible on the surface

of the print are too long to be a reproduction of the hatch-like

markings of the skin, even on the hands, which generally show that kind

of nature's handiwork the most. Besides, the immense reduction would

render that invisible even under a magnifying glass, no matter how

delicate the deposit of silver might be on the negative; or even if it

were so, the fibre of the paper would destroy the effect. Again, the

hatchings visible are not the form of nature's hatchings, but all

partake of that art-technical form called "sectional hatchings." I could

name several of the prints that showed most conclusive evidence of what

I say, but that is not necessary, because others saw these effects as

well as I did. But I wish it to be distinctly understood that I have not

been at the pains to make these examinations and observations with the

view of lessening the artistic merit of these pictures. I unhesitatingly

pronounce them the most beautiful achievements of the camera that have

ever been obtained by combining artistic knowledge and skill with the

mechanical aid of the camera and ability to handle the compounds of

photographic chemistry. There is unmistakable evidence of the keenest

appreciation of art, and all that is beautiful in it in the production

of the negative; and if the artist see or think that he can perfect his

work by the aid of the brush, he has a most undoubted right to do it.

This question of pure and simple photography has been mooted all the

summer, ever since the opening of the French Exhibition, and I am glad

that I, as well as others, have had an opportunity of seeing these

wonderful pictures, and judging for myself. Photography is truth

embodied, and every question raised about the purity of its productions

should be discussed as freely and settled as quickly as possible.



There was another picture in the exhibition very clever in its

conception, but not so in its execution, and I am sorry to say I cannot

endorse _all_ the good that has been said of it. I allude to Mr.

Robinson's picture of "Sleep." How that clever photographer, with such a

keen eye to nature as he generally manifests in his composition

pictures, should have committed such a mistake I am at a loss to know.

His picture of "Sleep" is so strangely untrue to nature, that he must

have been quite overcome by the "sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleeve

of _care_" when he composed it. In the centre of the picture he shows a

stream of light entering a window--a ghost of a window, for it is so

unsubstantial as not to allow a shadow to be cast from its _seemingly_

massive bars. Now, if the moon shone through a window at all, it would

cast shadows of everything that stood before it, and the shadows of the

bars of the window would be cast upon the coverlet of the bed in broken

lines, rising and falling with the undulations of the folds of the

covering, and the forms of the figures of the children. In representing

moonlight, or sunlight either, there is no departing from this truth. If

the direct ray of either stream through a closed window and fall upon

the bed, so will the shadows of the intervening bars. Any picture,

either painted or photographed, that does not render those shadows is

simply untrue to nature; and if the difficulty could not have been

overcome, the attempt should have been abandoned. Then the beams are not

sharp enough for moonlight, and the shadows on the coverlet and children

are not deep enough, and the reflections on the shadow side of the

children's faces are much too strong. In short, I do not know when Mr.

Robinson more signally failed to carry out his first intentions. Wanting

in truth as the composition is, it proves another truth, and that is,

the utter inability of photography to cope with such a subject. Mr.

Robinson exhibited other pictures that would bear a very different kind

of criticism; but as they have been noticed at other times I shall not

touch upon them here.



Herr Milster's picture bears the stamp of truth upon it, and is a

beautiful little gem, convincing enough that the effect is perfectly

natural.



Mr. Ayling's pictures of the Victoria Tower and a portion of Westminster

Abbey are really wonderful, and the bit of aerial perspective "Across

the Water" in the former picture is truly beautiful.



Mrs. Cameron persists in sticking to the out-of-the-way path she has

chosen, but where it will lead her to at last is very difficult to

determine. One of the heads of Henry Taylor which she exhibited was

undoubtedly the best of her contributions.



The pictures of yachts and interiors exhibited by Mr. Jabez Hughes were

quite equal to all that could be expected from the camera of that

clever, earnest, and indefatigable photographer. The portrait

enlargements exhibited by that gentleman were exquisite, and of a

totally different character from any other exhibitor's.



Mr. England's dry plate pictures, by his modified albumen process, are

undoubtedly the best of the kind that have been taken. They lack that

appearance of the representation of _petrified_ scenes that most, if

not all, previous dry processes exhibited, and look as "juicy" as "humid

nature" can well be rendered with the wet process.



Mr. Frank Howard exhibited four little gems that would be perfect but

for the unnatural effect of the artificial skies he has introduced. The

"Stranded Vessels" is nicely chosen, and one of the wood scenes is like

a bit of Creswick uncoloured.



Messrs. Locke and Whitfield exhibited some very finely and sketchily

coloured photographs, quite up to their usual standard of artistic

excellence, with the new feature of being painted on a ground of carbon

printed from the negative by the patent carbon process of Mr. J. W.

Swan.



Mr. Adolphus Wing's cabinet pictures were very excellent specimens, and

I think it a great pity that more of that very admirable style of

portraiture was not exhibited.



Mr. Henry Dixon's copy of Landseer's dog "Pixie," from the original

painting, was very carefully and beautifully rendered.



Mr. Faulkner's portraits, though of a very different character, were

quite equal in artistic excellence to M. Salomon's.



Mr. Bedford's landscapes presented their usual charm, and the tone of

his prints seemed to surpass the general beauty of his every-day work.



Mr. Blanchard also exhibited some excellent landscapes, and displayed

his usual happy choice of subject and point of sight.



An immense number of photographs by amateurs, Mr. Brownrigg, Mr.

Beasley, and others, were exhibited in folios and distributed about the

walls, but it is impossible for me to describe or criticise more.



I have already drawn my yarn a good length, and shall conclude by

repeating what I said at starting, that a pleasanter evening, or more

useful and instructive exhibition, has never been got up by the

Photographic Society of London, and it is to be hoped that the success

and _eclat_ attending it will encourage them to go and do likewise next

year, and every succeeding one of its natural life, which I doubt not

will be long and prosperous, for the exhibition just closed has given

unmistakable evidence of there being "life in the old dog yet."



_Photographic News, Nov. 22nd, 1867._





THE USE OF CLOUDS IN LANDSCAPES.



The subject of printing skies and cloud effects from separate negatives

having been again revived by the reading of papers on that subject at

the South London Photographic Society, I think it will not be out of

place now to call attention to some points that have not been commented

upon--or, at any rate, very imperfectly--by either the readers of the

papers or by the speakers at the meetings, when the subject was under

discussion.



The introduction of clouds in a landscape by an artist is not so much to

fill up the blank space above the object represented on the lower part

of the canvas or paper, as to assist in the composition of the picture,

both as regards linear and aerial perspective, and in the arrangement of

light and shade, so as to secure a just balance and harmony of the

whole, according to artistic principles.



Clouds are sometimes employed to repeat certain lines in the landscape

composition, so as to increase their strength and beauty, and to unite

the terrestrial part of the picture with the celestial. At other times

they are used to balance a composition, both in form and effect, to

prevent the picture being divided into two distinct and diagonal

portions, as evidenced in many of the pictures by Cuyp; on other

occasions they are introduced solely for chiaroscuro effects, so as to

enable the artist to place masses of dark upon light, and _vice versa_.

Of that use I think the works of Turner will afford the most familiar

and beautiful examples.



In the instances cited, I make no allusion to the employment of clouds

as repeaters of colour, but merely confine my remarks to their use in

assisting to carry out form and effect, either in linear composition, or

in the arrangement of light and shade in simple monochrome, as evidenced

in the engraved translations of the works of Rembrandt, Turner, Birket

Foster, and others, the study of those works being most applicable to

the practice of photography, and, therefore, offering the most valuable

hints to both amateur and professional photographers in the management

of their skies.



Before pursuing this part of my subject further, it may be as well,

perhaps, to state my general opinions of the effects of so-called

"natural skies," obtained by one exposure and one printing. Admitting

that they are a vast improvement on the white-sky style of the early

ages of photography, they fall far short of what they should be in

artistic effect and arrangement. In nearly all the "natural skies" that

I have seen, their office appears to be no other than to use up the

white paper above the terrestrial portion of the picture. The masses of

clouds, if there, seem always in the wrong place, and never made use of

for breadth of chiaroscuro.



No better illustrations of this can be adduced than those large

photographs of Swiss and Alpine scenery by Braun of Dornach, which

nearly all contain "natural clouds;" but, on looking them over, it will

be seen that few (if any) really exhibit that artistic use of clouds in

the composition of the pictures which evidence artistic knowledge. The

clouds are taken just as they happen to be, without reference to their

employment to enhance the effects of any of the objects in the lower

portion of the view, or as aids to the composition and general effect.

For the most part, the clouds are small and spotty, ill-assorting with

the grandeur of the landscapes, and never assisting the chiaroscuro in

an artistic sense. The most noticeable example of the latter defect may

be seen in the picture entitled "Le Mont Pilate," wherein a bald and

almost white mountain is placed against a light sky, much to the injury

of its form, effect, and grandeur; indeed, the mountain is barely saved

from being lost in the sky, although it is the principal object in the

picture. Had an artist attempted to paint such a subject, he would have

relieved such a large mass of light against a dark cloud. An example of

a different character is observable in another photograph, wherein a

dark conical mount would have been much more artistically rendered had

it been placed against a large mass of light clouds. There are two or

three fleecy white clouds about the summit of the mountain, but, as far

as pictorial effect goes, they would have been better away, for the mind

is left in doubt whether they are really clouds, or the sulphurous puffs

that float about the crater of a slumbering volcano. That photographs

possessing all the effects required by the rules of art are difficult,

and almost impossible to obtain at one exposure in the camera, I readily

allow. I know full well that a man might wait for days and weeks before

the clouds would arrange themselves so as to relieve his principal

object most advantageously; and, even if the desirable effects of light

and shade were obtained, the chances are that the forms would not

harmonize with the leading lines of the landscape.



This being the case, then, it must be self-evident that the best mode of

procedure will be to _print in skies_ from separate negatives, either

taken from nature or from drawings made for the purpose by an artist

that thoroughly understands art in all its principles. By these means,

especially the latter, skies may be introduced into the photographic

picture that will not only be adapted to each individual scene, but

will, in every instance where they are employed, increase the artistic

merit and value of the composition. But to return to the subject chiefly

under consideration.



Clouds in landscape pictures, like "man in his time," play many

parts--"they have their exits and their entrances." And it is almost

impossible to say enough in a short paper on a subject so important to

all landscape photographers. I will, however, as briefly and lucidly as

I can, endeavour to point out the chief uses of clouds in landscapes.

Referring to their use for effects in light and shade, I wrote, at the

commencement of this paper, that the engraved translations of Turner

afford the most familiar and beautiful examples, which they undoubtedly

do. But when I consider that Turner's skies are nearly all sunsets, the

study of them will not be so readily turned to practical account by the

photographer as the works of others,--Birket Foster, for instance. His

works are almost equal to Turner's in light and shade; he has been

largely employed in the illustration of books, and five shillings will

procure more of his beautiful examples of sky effects than a guinea will

of Turner's. Take, for example, Sampson Low and Son's five shilling

edition of Bloomfield's "Farmer's Boy," or Gray's "Elegy in a

Churchyard," profusely illustrated almost entirely by Birket Foster; and

in them will be seen such a varied and marvellous collection of

beautiful sky effects as seem almost impossible to be the work of one

man, and all of them profitable studies for both artist and photographer

in the varied uses made of clouds in landscapes. In those works it will

be observed that where the lower part of the picture is rich in variety

of subject the sky is either quiet or void of form, partaking of one

tint only slightly broken up. Where the terrestrial part of the

composition is tame, flat, and destitute of beautiful objects, the sky

is full of beauty and grandeur, rich in form and masses of light and

shade, and generally shedding a light on the insignificant object below,

so as to invest it with interest in the picture, and connect it with the

story being told.



From both of these examples the photographer may obtain a suggestion,

and slightly tint the sky of his picture, rich in objects of interest,

so as to resemble the tint produced by the "ruled lines" representing a

clear blue sky in an engraving. Hitherto that kind of tinting has

generally been overdone, giving it more the appearance of a heavy fog

lifting than a calm blue sky. The darkest part of the tint should just

be a little lower than the highest light on the principal object. This

tint may either be obtained in the negative itself at the time of

exposure, or produced by "masking" during the process of printing. On

the other hand, when the subject has little to recommend it in itself,

it may be greatly increased in pictorial power and interest by a

judicious introduction of beautiful cloud effects, either obtained from

nature, or furnished by the skill of an artist. If the aid of an artist

be resorted to, I would not recommend painting on the negative, but let

the artist be furnished with a plain white-sky print; let him wash in a

sky, in sepia or india ink, that will most harmonise, both in form and

effect, with the subject represented, take a negative from that sky

alone, and put it into each of the pictures by double printing. This may

seem a great deal of trouble and expense, and not appear to the minds of

some as altogether legitimate, but I strenuously maintain that any means

employed to increase the artistic merit and value of a photograph is

strictly legitimate; and that wherever and however art can be resorted

to, without doing violence to the truthfulness of nature, the status of

our art-science will be elevated, and its professional disciples will

cease to be the scorn of men who take pleasure in deriding the,

sometimes--may I say too often?--lame and inartistic productions of the

camera.





THE USE OF CLOUDS AS BACKGROUNDS IN PORTRAITURE.



There has long been in the world an aphorism that everything in Nature

is beautiful. Collectively this is true, and so it is individually, so

far as the adaptability and fitness of the object to its proper use are

concerned; but there are many things which are truly beautiful in

themselves, and in their natural uses, which cease to be so when they

are pressed into services for which they are not intended by the great

Creator of the universe. For example, what can be more beautiful than

that compound modification of cloud forms commonly called a "mackerel

sky," which is sometimes seen on a summer evening? What can be more

lovely, or more admirably adapted to the purposes of reflecting and

conducting the last flickering rays of the setting sun into the very

zenith, filling half the visible heavens with a fretwork of gorgeous

crimson, reflecting a warm, mysterious light on everything below, and

filling the mind with wonder and admiration at the marvellous beauties

which the heavens are showing? Yet, can anything be more unsuitable for

forming the background to a portrait, where everything should be

subdued, secondary, and subservient to the features of the individual

represented--where everything should be lower in tone than the light on

the face, where neither colour nor light should be introduced that would

tend to distract the attention of the observer--where neither accessory

nor effect should appear that does not help to concentrate the mind on

the grand object of the picture--the likeness? Still, how often do we

see a photographic portrait stuck against a sky as spotty, flickering,

and unsuitable as the one just described! How seriously are the

importance and brilliancy of the head interfered with by the

introduction of such an unsuitable background! How often is the interest

of the spectator divided between the portrait and the "overdone" sky, so

elaborately got up by the injudicious background painter! Such

backgrounds are all out of place, and ought to be abandoned--expelled

from every studio.



As the photographer does not possess the advantages of the painter, to

produce his effects by contrast of colour, it behoves him to be much

more particular in his treatment of light and shade; but most

particularly in his choice of a background that will most harmonise

with the dress, spirit, style, and condition in life of his sitter. It

is always possible for a member of any class of the community to be

surrounded or relieved by a plain, quiet background; but it is not

possible, in nine cases out of ten, for some individuals who sit for

their portraits ever to be dwellers in marble halls, loungers in the

most gorgeous conservatories, or strollers in such delightful gardens.

In addition to the unfitness of such scenes to the character and

every-day life of the sitter, they are the most unsuitable for pictorial

effect that can possibly be employed. For, instead of directing

attention to the principal object, they disturb the mind, and set it

wandering all over the picture, and interfere most seriously with that

quiet contemplation of the features which is so necessary to enable the

beholder to discover all the characteristic points in the portrait. When

the likeness is a very bad one, this may be advantageous, on the

principle of putting an ornamental border round a bad picture with the

view of distracting the attention of the observer, and preventing the

eye from resting long enough on any one spot to discover the defects.



When clouds are introduced as backgrounds to portraits, they should not

be of that small, flickering character previously alluded to, but broad,

dark, and "massy," so as to impart by contrast more strength of light to

the head; and the lighter parts of the clouds should be judiciously

placed either above or below the head, so as to carry the light into

other parts of the picture, and prevent the strongly-lighted head

appearing a spot. The best examples of that character will be found in

the engraved portraits by Reynolds, Lawrence, Gainsborough, and others,

many of which are easily obtained at the old print shops; some have

appeared in the _Art Journal_.



As guides for introducing cloud effects, accessories, and landscape bits

into the backgrounds of carte-de-visite and cabinet pictures, no better

examples can be cited than those exquisite little figure subjects by R.

Westall, R.A., illustrating Sharpe's Editions of the Old Poets. The

engravings are about the size of cartes-de-visite, and are in themselves

beautiful examples of composition, light, and shade, and appropriateness

of accessory to the condition and situation of the figures, affording

invaluable suggestions to the photographer in the arrangement of his

sitter, or groups, and in the choice of suitable accessories and

backgrounds. Such examples are easily obtained. Almost any old bookstall

in London possesses one or more of those works, and each little volume

contains at least half-a-dozen of these exquisite little gems of art.



Looking at those beautiful photographic cartes-de-visite by Mr. Edge, I

am very strongly impressed with the idea that they were suggested by

some such artistic little pictures as Westall's Illustrations of the

Poets. They are really charming little photographs, and show most

admirably how much the interest and artistic merit of a photograph can

be enhanced by the skilful and judicious introduction of a suitable

background. I may as well observe, _en passant_, that I have examined

these pictures very carefully, and have come to the conclusion that the

effects are not produced by means of any of the ingeniously contrived

appliances for poly-printing recently invented and suggested, but that

the effects are produced simply by double printing, manipulated with

consummate care and judgment, the figure or figures being produced on a

plain or graduated middle tint background in one negative, and the

landscape effect printed on from another negative after the first print

has been taken out of the printing-frame; the figures protected by a

mask nicely adjusted. My impressions on this subject are strengthened

almost to conviction when I look at one of Mr. Edge's photographs, in

particular a group of two ladies, the sitting figure sketching. In this

picture, the lower part of the added landscape--trees--being darker than

the normal tint of the ground, shows a _line_ round the black dress of

the lady, as if the mask had overlapped it just a hair's breadth during

the process of secondary printing. Be that as it may, they are lovely

little pictures, and afford ample evidence of what may be done by skill

and taste to vary the modes of treating photography more artistically,

by introducing natural scenery sufficiently subdued to harmonise with

the portrait or group; and, by similar means, backgrounds of clouds and

interiors may be added to a plain photograph, which would enrich its

pictorial effect, and enable the photographer to impart to his work a

greater interest and beauty, and, at the same time, be made the means of

giving apparent occupation to his sitter. This mode of treatment would

enable him, in a great measure, to carry out the practice of nearly all

the most celebrated portrait painters, viz., that of considering the

form, light, shade, and character of the background _after_ the portrait

was finished, by adapting the light, shade, and composition of his

background to the pose and condition of life of his sitter.



I shall now conclude my remarks with a quotation from Du Fresnoy's "Art

of Painting," bearing directly on my subject and that of light and

shade:--



   "Permit not two conspicuous lights to shine

    With rival radiance in the same design;

    But yield to one alone the power to blaze,

    And spread th' extensive vigour of its rays;

    There where the noblest figures are displayed,

    Thence gild the distant parts and lessening fade;

    As fade the beams which Phoebus from the east

    Flings vivid forth to light the distant West,

    Gradual those vivid beams forget to shine,

    So gradual let thy pictured lights decline."



       *       *       *       *       *



"LUX GRAPHICUS" ON THE WING.



Dear Mr. Editor,--I have often troubled you with some of my ideas and

opinions concerning the progress and status of photography, and you have

pretty often transferred the same to the columns of the _Photographic

News_, and troubled your readers in much the same manner. This time,

however, I am going to tell you a secret--a family secret. They are

always more curious, interesting, and important than other secrets,

state secrets and Mr. McLachlan's photographic secret not excepted. But

to my subject: "_The_ Secret." Well, dear Mr. Editor, you know that my

vocations have been rather arduous for some time past, and I feel that a

little relaxation from pressing cares and anxieties would be a great

boon to me. You know, also, that I am a great lover of nature, almost a

stickler for it, to the exclusion of _prejudicial art_. And now that the

spring has come and winter has fled on the wings of the fieldfares and

woodcocks--that's Thomas Hood's sentiment made seasonable--I fain would

leave the pent-up city, where the colour of the sky can seldom be seen

for the veil of yellow smoke which so constantly obscures it, and betake

myself to the country, and inhale the fresh breezes of early spring;

gladden my heart and eyes with a sight of the bright blue sky, the

glistening snowdrops and glowing yellow crocuses, and regale my ears and

soul with the rich notes of the thrush and blackbird, and the earliest

song of the lark at the gates of heaven.



It is a pleasant thing to be able to shake off the mud and gloom of a

winter's sojourn in a town, in the bright, fresh fields of the country,

and bathe your fevered and enfeebled body in the cool airs of spring, as

they come gushing down from the hills, or across the rippling lake, or

dancing sea. I always had such a keen relish for the country at all

seasons of the year, it is often a matter of wonder to me that I ever

could bring my mind to the necessity of living in a town. But bread and

butter do not grow in hedgerows, though "bread and cheese" do; still the

latter will not support animal life of a higher order than grub or

caterpillars. "There's the rub." The mind is, after all, the slave of

the body, for the mind must bend to the requirements of the body; and,

as a man cannot live by gazing at a "colt's foot," and if he have no

appetite for horseflesh, he is obliged to succumb to his fate, and abide

in a dingy, foggy, slushy, and bewildering world of mud, bricks, and

mortar, instead of revelling in the bright fields, fresh air, and

gushing melodies which God created for man, and gave man senses to enjoy

his glorious works.



But, Mr. Editor, I am mentally wandering among "cowslips," daises,

buttercups, and wild strawberry blossoms, and forgetting the stern

necessity of confining my observations to a subject coming reasonably

within the range of a class journal which you so ably conduct; but it is

pardonable and advantageous to allow mind to run before matter

sometimes, for the latter is more frequently inert than the former, and

when the mind has gone _ahead_, the body is sure to follow. Melancholy

instances of that present themselves to our notice too frequently. For

example, when a poor lady's or gentleman's wits are gone, _lettres des

cachets_, and some kind or _un_kind friends, send the witless body to

some retreat where the wits of all the inmates are gone. I must,

however, in all sober earnestness, return to my subject, or I fear you

will say: "He is going to Hanwell." Well, perhaps I am, for I know that

photography is practised at that admirable institution; and now that I

have struck a professional chord, I may as well play on it.



Lenses and cameras, like birds and flowers, reappear in spring, and, as

the season advances and the sun attains a higher altitude, amateurs and

professionals are quickened into a surprising activity. Renewed life is

imparted to them, and the gregarious habits of man are developed in

another form, and somewhat in the manner that the swallows return to

their old haunts. At first, a solitary scout or reconnoitering party

makes his appearance, then another, and another, until a complete flock

of amateur and professional photographers are abroad, seeking what food

they can devour: some preferring the first green "bits of foliage" that

begin to gem the woods with emeralds, others waiting till the leaf is

fully out, and the trees are thickly clothed in their early summer

loveliness: while others prefer a more advanced state of beauty, and

like to depict nature in her russet hues, when the trees "are in their

yellow leaf." Some are contented with the old-fashioned homesteads and

sweet green lanes of England for their subjects; others prefer the

ruined abbeys and castles of the feudal ages, with their deeply

interesting associations; others choose the more mythical monuments of

superstition and the dark ages, such as King Arthur's round tables,

druidical circles, and remains of their rude temples of stone. Some

delight in pictorializing the lakes and mountains of the north, while

others are not satisfied with anything short of the sublime beauty and

terrific grandeur of the Alps and Pyrenees. Truly, sir, I think it may

be safely stated that photographers are lovers of nature, and, I think,

they are also lovers of art. If some of them do not possess that art

knowledge which is so necessary for them to pursue advantageously either

branch of their profession, it is much to be regretted; but there is now

no reason why they should continue in darkness any longer. I know that

it requires years of study and practice to become an artist, but it does

not require a very great amount of mental labour or sacrifice of time to

become an artistic photographer. A little hard study of the subject as

it appears in the columns of your journal and those of your

contemporaries--for I notice that they have _all_ suddenly become alive

to the necessity of imparting to photographers a knowledge of art

principles--will soon take the scales off the eyes of a man that is

blind in art, and enable him to comprehend the mysteries of lines,

unity, and light and shade, and give him the power to compose his

subject as readily as he could give a composing draught to an infant,

and teach him to determine at a glance the light, shade, and atmospheric

effects that would most harmonize with the scene to be represented.

Supposing that he is master of the mechanical manipulations of

photography, he has acquired half the skill of the artist; and by

studying and applying the rules of composition and light and shade to

his mechanical skill, he is then equal to the artist in the treatment of

his subject, so far as the means he employs will or can enable him to

give an art rendering of nature, fixed and immovable.



I do not profess to be a teacher, but I do think it is much more genial

in spirit, and becoming the dignity of a man, to impart what little

knowledge he has to others, than to scoff at those who do not know so

much. If, therefore, Mr. Editor, in the course of my peregrinations, I

see an opportunity of calling your attention, and, through you, the

attention of others, to any glaring defects or absurdities in the

practice of our dearly beloved art, I shall not hesitate to do so; not,

however, with any desire to carp and cavil at them for cavilling's sake,

but with the more laudable desire of pointing them out, that they may be

avoided. During the coming summer I shall have, or hope to have, many

opportunities of seeing and judging, and will endeavour to keep you duly

advised of what is passing before me.



My letters may come from all parts--N., E., W., and S.--so that they

will, in that sense at least, harmonize with the nomenclature of your

periodical. Where I may be at the date of my writing, the post-mark will

reveal to you. And now I must consider my signature: much is in a name,

you know. I can hardly call myself your "Special Correspondent"--that

would be too much _a la Sala_; nor can I subscribe myself an "Old

Photographer," for that would be taking possession of another man's

property, and might lead to confusion, if not to difficulties; neither

can I style myself a "Peripatetic Photographer"--though I am one--for

that name sometimes appears in the columns of a contemporary; and my own

name is such a long one, consisting of nearly half the letters of the

alphabet. Well, I think, all things considered, I cannot do better than

retain my old _nom de plume_. And with many apologies for this long,

roundabout paper, and every expression of regard, I beg to subscribe

myself your obliged and humble servant,



Lux Graphicus (J. Werge).



_March 27th, 1868._



       *       *       *       *       *



"LUX GRAPHICUS" ON THE WING.



Oxford and Cambridge--Cabinet Portraits--Mr. McLachlan's Secret.



Dear Mr. Editor,--Do not let the above heading alarm you. I have no

desire to convert the columns of your valuable journal into a kind of

photographic _Bell's Life_ or _Sporting Chronicle_. Although the great

University boat race has just been decided for the eighth consecutive

time in favour of Oxford, it is not of that aquatic struggle that I am

going to write, but of another matter in which the Cantabs seem to be

behind the Oxonians in the race of life, or the pursuit of novelties.

Not only are the Cantabs short in their stroke with the oars, and unable

to obtain the first place in the contests on the Thames, they are also

slow in giving their orders for a certain article of commerce which is

of very great importance to professional photographers, especially those

in the neighbourhood of the University of Cambridge. It is a remarkable

fact, that while Oxford has gone in with a rush for those very charming

portraits technically named "cabinets," Cambridge holds aloof. How is

this, I wonder. There are as good photographers in Cambridge--Mr.

Mayland, to wit, whose work is all of the first class--as in Oxford; the

sun shines as brightly in the region of the Cam as he does in that of

the Isis. Have the Cantabs made up their minds not to be _cabinet_ men

in opposition to Oxford? or is the fact due to the lukewarmness of the

Cambridge photographers themselves? It seems somewhat strange that two

places likely to be so similar in tastes and a refined appreciation of

the beautiful should so differ in this respect. Are the men of the two

great seats of learning in this country opposed in matters of

photographic proportion as they are in other matters of minor

importance--as in the proper pronunciation of either and neither, for

instance? Not having graduated at either, I do not know which is

correct, neither do I care; but I am concerned in this question of

photography. While at Oxford the cabinet picture has taken deep root,

and has grown into a strong and vigorous article of demand, it is a

well-known fact that at Cambridge it is "sicklied o'er with the pale

cast of thought," and languishes on in a state trembling between life

and death. Whether the producers or consumers are to blame for this

langour in the demand for an article that is certainly worth being

cultivated, is more than I can say. I know that the discrepancy exists,

and the rest I leave to those most immediately interested. It cannot,

however, be supposed that a demand for any particular size or style can

spring up spontaneously; that must be created by the producer, by

popularising the style in some attractive and judicious manner, and the

cabinet size is well deserving of a very strenuous effort being made in

its favour.



Of all the photographic sizes that have been introduced to the public,

the cabinet is the most artistic in its proportions. As nearly as

possible it falls under that art rule of producing an oblong or

parallelogram of the most agreeable proportions, which is as the

diagonal is to the square. The size of the cabinet is 5-1/2 by 4, and if

you measure the diagonal of the square of 4 inches, you will find that

the length of the cabinet, 5-1/2 inches, is as near that as possible.

Doubtless Mr. Window had this in view when he introduced the size, and

whether for upright or horizontal pictures, such proportions are

decidedly the best. Many of the sizes already in use are too long,

others are too short and square. In addition to the beautiful

proportions of the cabinet size, it gives the portrait photographer more

room and opportunities to introduce harmonious forms and effects in the

posing and arrangements of portraits and groups; and I have seen some

very charming views on the cabinet size, 5-1/2 by 4 inches horizontally;

as well as some very beautiful interiors of Westminster Abbey, by Mr. V.

Blanchard, on the cabinet cards vertical, which proves pretty

conclusively that the proportions of the diagonal to the square of any

size will suit both vertical and horizontal pictures. I have not the

least doubt but a much greater demand for those cabinet pictures, both

portrait and landscape, could be created, if photographers would set

about introducing them with a will: depend upon it if they will but put

their heart into the matter, they would put money into their pockets. I

know how much has been done by launching them fearlessly on the sea of

public patronage in several localities, and I feel certain the demand

would be much more general if the cabinet picture were judiciously

introduced. Mr. H. P. Robinson and Mr. Nelson K. Cherrill, having

entered into partnership, are on the point of opening a photographic

establishment at Tunbridge Wells, where they intend to incur

considerable expense to introduce the cabinet portrait, and give it that

prominence it so justly merits.



Since writing you last, I learn from a friend who is intimate with Mr.

McLachlan that there is every possibility of his secret being revealed

ere long. That this secret formula will be an immense boon to all

photographers, there can be little doubt. If an absolute immunity from

streaks in the direction of the dip, brain-markings, and pinholes--which

are the advantages said to be derived from the process--can be

guaranteed, then will the manipulatory part of photography be at once

made easy; and Mr. McLachlan will have conferred a personal obligation

on every photographic manipulator. Not only will photographers be

benefitted by Mr. McLachlan's generous conduct, the whole world will

participate in the advantages he intends to place as a gift in the hands

of photographers; and even _art_, that is so afraid of a photographic

amalgamation, will be _honoured_ by the revelation. But once let the

mind of the operator be for ever free from the cares and anxieties of

his negative being clean, spotless, and excellent in quality, he will

then have more time and inclination to put his art knowledge, if he have

any, into practice, by paying more attention to the pose of his sitters

and the artistic choice and arrangement of accessories. If he be without

art knowledge he will be obliged to acquire it and put it into practice,

or be driven out of his field of operations. For, if the chemical

difficulties and uncertainties are to be so summarily disposed of, and

all the manipulations reduced to a certainty and dead level, a

pre-eminence in the profession can only be maintained by him who

exhibits a taste, feeling, and love for his labours superior to the

desire to palm upon the public, for mere gain, works that are a disgrace

and a scandal to the profession of which he is a member. That such a

condition of things photographic may be quickly brought about is much to

be desired, and if such be the result of Mr. McLachlan's very noble

willingness to give to the photographic community experiences that have

cost him much time and money in acquiring by close observation and

experiment, he will, at the least, be entitled to the sincere and hearty

acknowledgments of all well-wishers and lovers of our art-science.



_Apropos_ of clean and easy development, I should like to know if any of

your numerous readers have tried the effect of sulphate of zinc with the

iron developer. I understand its use obviates the necessity of using

acetic acid as a retardant; that the deposit of silver is much more

delicate than that produced by iron alone; that the control over it is

very great; that any amount of intensity can be obtained by one or more

applications, without the aid of pyrogallic acid, and without producing

harshness or hardness. With such recommendations it is certainly worth a

trial. I have had no time to try it myself, but think it is of

sufficient importance to give your readers an opportunity of

experimenting with it, and judging for themselves.



_Photographic News, April 10th, 1868._



       *       *       *       *       *



"LUX GRAPHICUS" ON THE WING.



The Late Lord Brougham--New Fields for Photography--Natural Objects

Coloured--The Monochrome and Autotype--Mr. McLachlan again.



Death has just swept away one of the most gigantic intellects of the

nineteenth century. For me to state what the late Lord Brougham was, or

attempt to enumerate his vast attainments, or measure the strength of

his colossal mind, would be a piece of intolerable presumption; but I

think I may safely say that he was an enthusiastic admirer of

photography. Years ago, in the midst of his parliamentary and other

pressing duties, whenever he could find time to enjoy the quiet of

Brougham Hall, near Penrith, his giant mind was not above indulging in

the delightful relaxation it afforded; and many a pleasant hour he used

to spend chatting with Mr. Jacob Thompson, an artist of great ability,

and also a very early amateur photographer, on the wonderful results

obtained by the new art. The late Lord Brougham began his literary

career by publishing a treatise on "Light," before photography was known

or thought to be practicable; in after life he interested himself in its

marvellous productions, and his last literary labour was also about

light. Not only did the great statesman "know a little of everything,"

he did a little in everything. The deceased lord took a lively interest

in the progress of photography during his lifetime, from its earliest

introduction to within a short period of his death; and it would have

been a graceful and fitting compliment to the memory of the great man of

law, politics, literature, and science, if the English newspapers had

embellished their memoirs of the late Lord Brougham with a photographic

portrait of his lordship. Such a thing is quite practicable, and has

been done successfully by our more enterprising confreres in Canada and

the United States. The _Montreal Weekly Herald_ of April 18th

illustrates its memoir of the late Mr. T. d'Arcy McGhee with a very

excellent carte-de-visite portrait of the lamented and unfortunate

Canadian Minister, mounted on the upper corner of the front page,

surrounded with a deep black border. What an appropriate accompaniment

such a presentation would have been to the able articles and memoirs

which appeared in the daily press on Monday, May 11th, 1868! How much

more interesting and valuable those clever biographical sketches of

great men, as they pass away to their rest, which appear in the _Daily

Telegraph_ and other daily and weekly papers, would appear if

illustrated with a photograph from life! That it can be done the

_Montreal Weekly Herald_ has recently and satisfactorily shown; and

surely there is enterprise, spirit, and wealth enough among the British

newspaper proprietors to follow the very laudable example of our

transatlantic cousins. Negatives of great men are always attainable, and

there need be no commercial difficulty between the photographer and

newspaper proprietor on the score of supply. A multiplication of

negatives or Woodbury's process, would afford all the necessary

facilities for producing the prints in large numbers.



Many new fields for the good of photography are opening up. Pathological

works have been photographically illustrated with some amount of

success. But far pleasanter fields are open to enterprising

photographers in the faithful representation of natural objects, such as

flowers, fruits, ferns, grasses, shrubs, trees, shells, seaweeds, birds,

butterflies, moths, and every variety of animal life, from the lowest

orders to the highest. I believe the time is not far distant when the

best works on all the physical sciences will be illustrated by coloured

photographs. Those very beautiful German photographs of flowers recently

introduced show most conclusively of what photography is capable as a

help to a study of the natural sciences. The flowers are not only

photographed from nature, but exquisitely coloured after the same

fountain of truth; and the sense of reality, roundness, and relief which

they convey is truly wonderful.



Hitherto the colouring of natural objects photographed from nature has

been a very difficult thing to accomplish; but now it is done, and with

a marvellous success.



The monochromatic process is also making great strides in advance. Those

very beautiful transparencies, cabinet size, of the Queen and Royal

Family are now to be seen in most of the photographic picture

shop-windows in town and country. These transparencies are the

productions of the Disderi Company, by Woodbury's photo-relief process,

and the results now obtained are really beautiful, both in effect and

colour, and sold at a very low price. But the _chef d'oeuvre_ of all

monochromatic effects has just been achieved by the triple labours of

Mr. Macnee, the artist, and Mr. Annan, the photographer, of Glasgow, and

Mr. J. W. Swan, of Newcastle. The subject in question is a work of art

in every respect. The original is a full-length portrait of Lord

Belhaven, painted by Daniel Macnee, and now in the Royal Academy

Exhibition. A photograph taken from the painting by Mr. Annan was worked

up in monochrome by the eminent artist, from which another negative was

taken by the same skilful photographer, and placed in the hands of Mr.

J. W. Swan to be printed in carbon, which the latter gentleman has done

in the most admirable manner. Altogether, the result is the most

satisfactory reproduction by photography that has ever been placed

before the public, and is less like a photograph and more like a fine

mezzotint engraving than anything I ever saw. Mr. Annan is now

publishing the work on his own responsibility, and a specimen of it can

be seen at the offices of "The Autotype Printing and Publishing Co.," 5,

Haymarket, London. Mr. Hill, of Edinburgh, is also about to publish, in

carbon, a photograph of that beautifully painted picture entitled "A

Fairy Raid," which was exhibited last year in the rooms of the Royal

Academy by Sir Noel Paton. As in the former case, Mr. Annan copied the

painting, Sir Noel worked on a print in monochrome, which was again

photographed by Mr. Annan, and the negative passed to Mr. J. W. Swan to

be printed in carbon. I understand that Poynter's celebrated picture of

"Israel in Egypt" is about to be published, in a similar manner, by the

Autotype Company. It is therefore quite evident that photography is

becoming, in reality, more and more "a foe to graphic art," and

eclipsing the lights and deepening the shadows of the _unluxy_ engraver.



Mr. McLachlan has again spoken without giving any very materially new

facts, or throwing much more light on his mysterious mode of working.

The great point is, to throw light on the concentrated solution of

nitrate of silver; and until that has been done it will be impossible

for any one to say from experience and practice that there is nothing in

the principle. Mr. McLachlan attributes a chemical property to the

action of light on the bath that has never been thought of before, and

he seems to believe it so sincerely himself, and expresses his

convictions so earnestly, that I think photographers are somewhat bound

to wait patiently till time and light will enable them to comply with

all the conditions he lays down, and make a series of careful

experiments, before they can say whether they are under obligations to

him or not. At any rate, natural justice suggests that they should not

render a foregone verdict.



_May 17th, 1868._



       *       *       *       *       *



The Exhibition of National Portraits--The Tintype of America--The Spirit

of Photography in Canada--The "Wise Week," and the Total Eclipse of the

Sun.



Dear Mr. Editor,--From various causes I have been absent from your

columns as a contributor for some time, but not as a reader. The chief

reason for this was the weather, which of late has been so hot and

prostrating as to dry up both my ink and my energies. Now that the

atmosphere is more cool, moist, and pleasant, my ink and my thoughts may

flow together, and the resulting epistle may find a place on some page

of the Photographic News; if not, I shall not be angry. I know that the

world--and photography is my world--is not always mindful of its atoms.

The great and immortal Cicero discovered that even he could be absent

from Rome, and all Rome not know it. How much easier, then, for your

readers not to discover my absence from your pages. But my inability to

write and attend to other duties entailed more serious losses to myself.

Amongst others I missed seeing the Royal Academy Exhibition, but found a

compensating pleasure in going to see the Exhibition of National

Portraits at South Kensington. What a school it is for photographers!

What a variety of pose, arrangement, management of light and shade, is

to be seen in that glorious collection of Vandykes, Hogarths,

Gainsboroughs, Reynolds, Opies, Wilkies, Raeburns, Northcotes,

Lawrences, Phillips, Shees, Richmonds, Grants, and many others of the

present day! I hope many photographers have seen the collection. None

ought to have missed the opportunity. All that saw must have profited by

the sight. Portraits of great men that have been familiar to me in black

and white for years were there before me in the rich mellow colouring of

Vandyke, Reynolds, Wilkie, and Lawrence, and the mind seemed carried

back into the past while looking at the works of those great artists.



The exhibition will soon close, and all that have not seen it should

endeavour to do so at once. There may never again be seen such a

gathering together of the great of England, painted by England's

greatest portrait painters. The Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition was

a great assemblage of the glory of England, but it was not so complete,

nor so instructive, nor so comfortable to view as that now open at South

Kensington. In addition to the paintings there is a large and valuable

collection of rare engravings, both in mezzotints and in line. The

latter collection alone would make a visit highly pleasing, and, in a

sense, remunerative to every photographer. Art is beginning to take

root in the minds of those who follow photography, either professionally

or for amusement, and those exhibitions are the salt that "savoureth the

earth," which in due time will bring forth rich fruits.



The "Tintype" is now being largely practised in America, and is fitted

into an envelope or slip, carte-de-visite size. The slip is formed of

paper, with an aperture to show the picture, and a flap to fall over it

as a protector. I had some of these shown to me a short time ago. The

tintype is only another name for the ferrotype or melainotype, which is

a collodion positive picture taken on a piece of tin or iron, coated

with black japan on the front, and a varnish on the back, to prevent the

metal from acting on the bath. The carte-de-visite form of the tintype

fitted in the envelope or holder is a very good and ready way of

supplying all portraits wanted in a hurry, and its adoption might be

found very serviceable to many photographers in England. The American

examples that I have seen are very brilliant and beautiful, and, to my

mind, next in delicacy of detail and richness of colour to the long

discarded but ever beautiful Daguerreotype. I must admit, _en passant_,

that the Americans always excelled in producing fine, brilliant

Daguerreotypes, and it is much the same with them in the production of

glass positives, ferrotypes, or tintypes.



The spirit of photography in America and Canada is admirable. Mr.

Notman, of Montreal, has long been doing some excellent cabinet pictures

representing out-of-door-life, pleasures, and pastimes. Now Mr. Inglis,

of Montreal, also produces most beautiful carte-de-visite and cabinet

pictures of indoor and out-of-door scenes, such as drawing-rooms,

libraries, &c., with suitably arranged and occupied figures in the

former, and boating, bathing, and fishing parties in the latter. Some of

these pictures have recently been shown to me. They are all very fine

examples of photography. The tone and quality of some are beautiful.

Many of them are admirably arranged, and exhibit considerable knowledge

of composition; but some of them, particularly the interiors, are sadly

at fault in their chiaroscuro. They possess no dominant light, or, if

they do, it is in the wrong place, leading the eye away from the

principal object. In most cases the lights are too scattered, giving a

spotty and flickering effect to the picture, which is painful to look

at. With his out-of-door scenes Mr. Inglis is more happy, and probably,

from his antecedents, more at home. For example, the "Boating Party" is

very happily composed, embracing the double form of angular

composition--the triangle and the lozenge--and just a little more skill

or care would have made it perfect in its lines. The whole scene is well

lighted and got up. The boat, foreground of pebbles, stones, shrubs, and

trees are all real; the water is represented by tin-foil, wet black

oilcloth, or something of the kind, which reflects the forms and colours

of objects placed upon or above it. The reflections seem too sharp to be

those of water. The plan adopted by Mr. Ross, of Edinburgh, is the best.

That gentleman has a large shallow trough fitted up in his studio with

water in it.



Surely such pictures of groups of friends and families would take in

London and the provinces if people only knew where to get them. At

present I know there is not a place in London where photographic

pictures possessing such a variety and interest can be obtained. Mr.

Faulkner is the only photographer that has yet attempted to produce such

rural subjects in London, but I am not aware that he has yet introduced

"the boat" into his studio.



This is the "Wise Week," and it is to be hoped that the gathering

together of the wisdom of the world at Norwich will in some way be

beneficial to photography. You, Mr. Editor, I presume, will attend the

meetings, and I shall look forward with considerable interest to your

gleanings from the harvest of science that will this year be garnered in

the transactions of the British Association.



As I think of the date to affix to my letter, I am reminded that this is

the day of the great total eclipse, visible in India, and that several

expeditions are engaged in taking observations. The photographic

arrangements, I notice, are more than usually complete, and I most

sincerely hope that the astronomical photographers are favoured with

bright and calm weather, so that they may succeed in obtaining the best

photographic representations of the phenomenon. In this I am not

influenced by the mere photographic idea of getting a picture, but

rather with the hope that photography may be the legitimate and

honourable handmaiden to the savants, astronomers, and mathematicians in

enabling them to ascertain the constitutional condition, mode of

sustenance, and interminable length of life of the great source of all

our labours and achievements. Then would the sun write his

autobiography, and his amanuensis would be his favoured child,

photography.



_August 18th, 1868._



       *       *       *       *       *



The Harvest is over, the Granaries are Full, yet Famine is in our

Midst--Photographers' Benevolent and Provident Societies--Photography

Ennobled--Revival of the Eburneum Process--The Societies and the Coming

Session--Photographic Apparatus _v._ Personal Luggage.



Dear Mr. Editor,--My quill is as restless as my wing, and, as I skim

about like the swallows, many things fall under my observation that

would otherwise not do so, some of which are noteworthy and of interest

to the photographic profession, many are not; but harvest time is

interesting to everyone, and it is of this I am going to make a few

remarks. It is always a subject of grave importance and anxiety to a

nation like ours, with a very limited area of cereal land, until it is

known whether the harvest has been abundant or otherwise. It is also

equally important that the harvest, however plentiful, should be

carefully reaped and garnered, so that famine may not fall upon the

people before another season of plenty shall come in its course. The

cereal harvest is over, and has been wonderfully abundant, in spite of

the unusually long, dry, and hot summer. The stack-yards are full, and

the granaries are teeming with plenty, and there is bread enough for all

that can afford to buy. There, that is the qualification that brings to

my mind the most serious part of this subject. Although the season has

been wonderfully fine and favourable for a rich harvest of all things,

"famine is in our midst." A cry of woe is mingled with our mirth. A

glorious summer and autumn have, on the whole, yielded a rich reward to

the labourers in the pleasant and profitable fields of photography; yet

there is want among some of the workers. In the columns of your

contemporary I observe a letter "begging alms" on behalf of a poor widow

and her little orphans. It is a case of pure charity, and far be it from

me to say to anyone, "Do not help her;" "They have no claim on the

sympathies of the photographic public;" "Neither she nor her late

husband did anything to forward the progress of the art nor advance the

interests of photographers in general." I grant the latter hypothesis,

and say, "He that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord." Nevertheless,

I cannot refrain from expressing my opinion that such painful appeals

should not be allowed to appear in the columns of the photographic

journals; all such private cases could and should be provided for by any

of the provident organisations so common to other trades. The subject

has been frequently mooted in your own columns, but no action has been

taken. Very recently a lady correspondent called attention to the

subject again, and now, in the pages of your contemporary, I notice an

elaborate plan is laid down as the ground-work of a Photographers'

Provident and Benevolent Society. That plan is open to some objections,

but it is certainly desirable that such a society should be formed. It

is rather late in the season for photographers to make any provision for

cases 1 and 2, as the correspondent in your contemporary suggests--this

year, at least; but I think his other plan of making a provision,

however small, for widows and orphans is highly to be commended, and, if

only carried into effect, would undoubtedly mitigate the anguish and

lessen the fear of want in the minds of many deserving women, and might

prevent the recurrence of those painful appeals to which I have just

alluded. It is just as important and imperative a duty for every man to

make some sort of provision for those dependent upon him as it is for

the husbandman to reap and carefully house his harvest. Knowing the

interest which you, Mr. Editor, personally take in this subject, I trust

that you will exert your influence, and see if it be possible to found a

society _at once_ that will grow in after years to be a monument to

photography and to the goodness and forethought of the photographers of

the present generation.



Photography, like the fine arts, is honoured with a title of nobility. A

baronetcy has recently fallen to the lot of one who for years has

followed photography as a profession, taking cartes-de-visite and other

photographs in the usual business-like manner. Of all the styles of

distinction that are conferred upon men, I think baronetcies have been

subject to the greatest number of vicissitudes, and spiced with the

greatest amount of romance, from the romantic succession of Sir Robert

Innes to Sir William Don, "a poor player;" and now the photographic

profession includes among its members one of the baronets of England.



Your description of the Eburneum process, given recently in your "Visits

to Noteworthy Studios," has awakened quite a new interest in that

beautiful form of photograph, introduced a few years ago by Mr. Burgess.

Several photographers whom I know have set about producing them. The

specimens which I have seen are very beautiful as cards, but they are

particularly suitable for lockets, brooches, studs, pins, rings, &c.,

being sharp, clear, and delicate, and easily cut to fit any size or

shape.



Next month some of the London photographic societies will commence the

session of 1868-9, and it might be asked, What are their prospects? It

is to be hoped that the North London will do better than it did last

session. There was more than one _nil_ meeting. The South London will

doubtless keep up its character, and exhibit its usual vitality. The

personal interest taken in the meetings by their kind, genial, and

courteous President is almost sure to develop all the latent force of

the members. It is also to be hoped that _the_ Society will make as

brilliant a start as it did at the commencement of the session last

November. Such an exhibition as that in Conduit Street may easily be

repeated, though it may not be such a startling one.



The question raised, whether photographic apparatus be or be not

considered "personal luggage" by the railway companies, is one of very

great importance to photographers, but particularly to amateurs, for if

decided against them it will cause no end of inconvenience, vexation,

and expense by delays and extra charges. On the other hand, it must be

admitted that the view taken by the railway authorities is technically

correct. The very word "personal" shows that they mean such articles as

are really and absolutely necessary for the personal comfort and

convenience of travellers, which can only rightly include wearing

apparel, changes of linen, dressing-cases, ladies' work boxes, and

writing desks. These are absolutely indispensable for the comfort and

convenience of travellers. Photographic apparatus, and particularly

chemicals, do not come under that classification, and I think it is of

great consequence to the railway companies and their passengers to know

what should, or should not, be put into the "luggage van." I know a case

where an amateur photographer was travelling by rail with a 12 by 10

bath full of nitrate of silver solution packed among his clothes in a

box in the luggage van. The bath leaked, the solution spoiled all his

shirts, and he was driven to the shift of papering the fronts. Now,

supposing the box containing the leaky bath had stood upon someone

else's box--say a lady's--it might have run through and spoiled some

valuable dresses; at the least, it would have spoiled the appearance of

the box, to the great annoyance of the lady passenger, and the probable

claim on the company for compensation. There are always two sides to a

question, and though few men have travelled more with photographic

apparatus in the luggage van than myself, I think, in this case, the

best of the argument may be fairly ceded to the railway companies.



_September 18th, 1868._



       *       *       *       *       *



"LUX GRAPHICUS" ON THE WING.



His Flight to and from the Exhibition of the Photographic Society.



Dear Mr. Editor,--On Tuesday night last I took the liberty of looking

into the rooms of the Architectural Society, to see the photographs, and

listen to the gossip of the visitors at the _conversazione_ of the

Photographic Society. To hear the complimentary remarks and the

exclamations of pleasure was as delightful to my ear as the first song

of the lark in spring.



The assemblage--not brilliant, but genial, pleasant, and happy--was as

refreshing to the eye as the first glimpse of the vernal flowers; and

the pictures hung upon the walls and screens, and laid upon the tables,

were, in more senses than one, a feast to the mind almost without alloy.

For my own part, I felt so joyful, I could not help fluttering my wings,

shaking my feathers, and flitting about from one place to another,

chirping, chatting, and pecking lovingly about this pretty thing, and at

that old friend, till long after my usual time of going to roost. And

when I did at last tear myself away and fly home, I could not help

exclaiming, Well, there never was a pleasanter evening nor a nicer

exhibition in the whole history of the Society! But I could not sleep;

I put my head under my wing, shook my feathers, and tried to settle into

the most comfortable and cosy positions, but it was no use. The pretty

landscapes and pleasing portraits I had seen shone brighter and brighter

before me; I was compelled to mentally review them; and here follows the

result of my incubations. My first thoughts were to work the pleasures

of the evening by a kind of rule-of-three process, by considering the

value of the landscapes and portraits exhibited, to arrive at the worth

of the exhibition; but not so much in a money point of view, as in the

merits of the works, and their probable influences on the workers.



Taking the landscape portion of the exhibition as first in the order

into which I had mentally catalogued the pictures, it was an easy and

delightful thing to skim over such a vast extent of this world's surface

that evening. To journey to and from the glens of Scotland, the dales of

England and Wales, the lakes of Ireland, the mountains of the Tyrol, to

Abyssinia and the famous heights of Magdala, was but the work of a few

minutes, thanks to the purveyors of that mental banquet. But to do full

justice to the exhibitors I must endeavour to enumerate their principal

works, and comment thereon with the utmost impartiality. Most

unquestionably the gems of the landscape portion of the exhibition were

eight exquisite little pictures by Mr. Russell Manners Gordon, affording

unmistakable proof of what the gum-gallico dry process is capable of

yielding in his hands. It is almost, if not quite, equal to the wet

process for detail and delicacy. This is particularly noticeable in the

view of Carnarvon Castle. Indeed, Mr. Bedford's picture of the same

subject--which, I presume, is by the wet process--on the other side of

the screen, contrasts rather unfavourably with it. Mr. Gordon's

selection of his point of sight, and general treatment of that subject

alone, are unmistakable proofs of his refined taste and feeling for the

art capabilities of landscape photography. The wet collodion pictures by

Mr. Gordon are also beautiful examples of the art. His cottages with

sheep browsing in the foreground, which is an instantaneous picture, is

remarkable for its beauty and arrangement. These pictures are

beautifully printed, and possess a tone which harmonizes charmingly with

the subjects. Amongst the other landscape photographers Mr. England and

Mr. Bedford stand unrivalled in their peculiar branches. The views in

the Tyrol, lately taken by Mr. England, are so excellent that they

cannot but add to that gentleman's high reputation.



Mr. Bedford's views are also quite equal, if not superior, to his

previously-exhibited works. Some pretty views of the Lakes of Killarney

by Mr. Archibald Irvine were well worthy of notice. Mr. F. Beasley,

Junr., exhibited some very excellent examples of the Fothergill process;

some printed in silver, and others in carbon, from the same negatives. I

think the carbon prints were superior in colour, but the silver prints

possess most detail and depth. Views of Wimbledon and other places by

Mr. Vernon Heath were also good examples of that gentleman's

photography. Some beautiful cloud effects by Messrs. Robinson and

Cherrill, of Tunbridge Wells, and Mr. Fox, of Brighton, attracted

considerable attention, and elicited great praise. The large composition

picture, "Returning Home," by Mr. Robinson, was greatly admired by

nearly everyone that looked at it. One or two ill-natured or ignorant

remarks were made about that picture, but I candidly think it is the

very best picture that Mr. Robinson has produced. The sunshine on the

one side, and the rain storm sweeping over the other, are both cleverly

and artistically managed. I am sorry I cannot say the same of the group

of children which hung near the latter. The group, though perfect in its

photographic details and tone, is too suggestive of scissors and paste

to be a good picture, in my estimation.



Mr. Wardley's large Taupenot pictures were very excellent. The very

interesting pictures of Abyssinia by the 10th Company of Engineers were

very attractive. Groups of the captives--political, religious, and

artisan, with their families--and the officers of the Expedition, formed

interesting pictures. The views of Magdala, Theodore's house, the

mushroom fortifications, and other flimsy defences, as revealed by the

truth-telling camera, seemed to lessen considerably the glory of the

capture of Magdala.



Having dismissed the landscape portion of the exhibition without

mentioning all the many excellent contributions thereto, I next turn my

thoughts again to the contributions of portraits. The examples of that

branch of photography were nearly all of first-rate excellence, a large

number of them being _a la Salomon_, M. Adam-Salomon himself

contributing no less than fifteen. With one or two remarkable

exceptions, these pictures were not equal to those exhibited last year,

and a general feeling prevailed that they were neither his later works,

nor the best of his former; still, they were a very effective display,

and attracted great and deserved attention. As I have, on a former

occasion, expressed my opinion on the great excellence of M. Salomon's

works, I shall not comment further thereon at present, but proceed to

notice those which most nearly approached them in photographic

and artistic essentials. Undoubtedly Mr. Valentine Blanchard's

contributions, both in number and quality, come nearer to M. Salomon's

works than any other contributor's. Mr. Blanchard exhibited ten

portraits _a la Salomon_, some of which are quite equal to the French

artist's best works, without the elaborate working-up which the latter

exhibit. Mr. Blanchard has not been at all times fortunate in his

sitters, which is very much to be regretted, for we all know how much a

beautiful subject helps a good photograph. Hitherto, Mr. Blanchard has

been an exhibitor chiefly as a landscape and figure-study photographer.

Now that he has taken more kindly to portraiture, and exhibits such

capabilities for its successful practice, I hope he will find it

sufficiently remunerative to induce him to be a steady and persevering

disciple of M. Salomon. Messrs. Robinson and Cherrill also exhibited two

beautiful and Salomon-like portraits: one of M. Salomon himself, and one

of Mr. Hain Friswell; the latter, I think, is decidedly the best. Mr.

Mayland, of Cambridge, sent six very excellent portraits in Salomon's

style, all very good but one; a gentleman in a velvet coat was

particularly successful.



The pictures exhibited by Mr. Briggs, of Leamington, though extremely

forcible and beautiful, were not exactly an imitation of the style of M.

Salomon.



Mr. Leake, of Cornhill, had a frame containing six very capital

portraits in the style of the eminent French photographer, but a little

overdone in after-touching--too much elaborated. In this respect he far

outdid his great prototype. Messrs. Fradelle and Leach also exhibited a

number of whole-plate pictures _a la Salomon_, which were very good

indeed. Messrs. Slingsby, Burgess, Ashdown, Dunmore, and S. Fry, were

also exhibitors of the same style of portraits, 10 by 8 size; but it is

a pity the latter did himself the injustice of exhibiting so many, for

there was only one--an old gentleman with a grey beard--that was really

worthy of him. Never did any man's joke recoil more forcibly on himself

than that of Mr. Fry's. The faces of some of his female portraits--one

in particular--were, in my estimation, as flat, white, and shadowless as

a piece or knob of sal-ammoniac itself; but I must say that the portrait

of the gentleman above referred to was all that could be desired as an

artistic photograph.



Amongst the cabinet pictures exhibited by English photographers, I think

those by Mr. Hubbard were decidedly the finest. One entitled "The

Toilet," and another of a lady seated at a window, which might be named

"A Sultry Day in Town," are charmingly artistic photographs. A

composition picture by the same artist was also very skilfully treated;

indeed, it was mistaken by many to be a copy of a picture, and might

easily have been taken for a copy of a painting by T. Faed. Mr. Briggs,

Mr. Godbold (of Hastings), Mr. Gillo, Messrs. Lucas and Box, also

exhibited some beautiful cabinet pictures.



Cartes-de-visite in their ordinary form were somewhat scarce, but Dr.

Wallich, Mr. Charles Heath, Mr. Bateman, and others, made a good show of

vignettes.



Mrs. Cameron exhibited some large pictures in her peculiar style; but my

own opinion and that of others was, that she is improving.



Mr. Ernest Edwards exhibited a large collection of carbon pictures, in

black and other colours; some mounted on chromo-tinted paper, and some

excellent enlargements in carbon. The Autotype Company exhibited a fine

copy of Lord Belhaven, which I noticed some time ago; also a very

valuable and beautiful collection of copies from drawings by old

masters, all bound together, making a handsome and very interesting

collection.



Mr. Rejlander had a large collection of his art photographs on view, all

of which were clever, some facetious, and many very beautiful

conceptions.



A frame of coloured enamels by Mr. Bailey, and some in black-and-white

by Mr. Henderson and Mr. Barnes, also attracted considerable notice.



The eburneumtypes by Mr. Burgess, a coloured collodio-chloride portrait

on ivory by Mr. J. Edwards, and other collodio-chloride and opalotype

pictures, were very much admired. The cabinet vignettes by Reutlinger,

and the cabinet pictures by Wenderoth, were both in request at the

table, on account of their beauty and interest.



I must not forget to mention a very interesting series of twenty-four

stereoscopic pictures by Mr. Alfieri, illustrative of "The Potter's

Art."



Mr. Jabez Hughes and Mr. Meagher were both exhibitors of very excellent

and useful apparatus--cameras, camera-stands, and rolling-presses.



Now I think such an exhibition as I have but partially described cannot

fail to have produced a pleasing and beneficial effect on the minds of

all who saw it, and ought, on the whole, to have given infinite pleasure

and satisfaction to both exhibitors and visitors. Yet I think I heard

one or two growls of discontent about the hanging from someone whose

pictures or whose friend's pictures were not on the line; but I think I

may safely say there never was a case of hanging yet that was not

objected to by one individual at least. Even the hangers of the Royal

Academy do not escape censure, and they are supposed to have far more

skill, taste, and experience in hanging than the volunteer hangers of

the late photographic exhibition. I think, however, that the hangers

performed their duties both conscientiously and creditably, especially

when it is considered in how very short a time the work had to be done.

Anyone who felt aggrieved, and expressed himself churlishly on that

point, must surely have been in that unenviable state which the French

very adroitly designate _Etre marque au B_.



After these reflections I felt too drowsy to reflect any more, and was

barely awake enough to subscribe myself--Yours very truly.



_November 10th, 1868._



       *       *       *       *       *



The Refunding of the Balance of the Goddard Fund--The Photographers'

Provident Society--A Ferocious Doorsman--The South London Dinner--A

Christmas Carol.



My Dear Sir,--Now that the balance of the Goddard Fund is returned to

the contributors, and all the trials and vexations the administration of

the fund brought upon the chief promoters are known, I think the very

best thanks of the whole body of subscribers to that fund are due to the

committee for their firm and sensible determination to provide for the

wants of the poor imbecile recipient in the manner they did, and for

their withstanding the attempt made by a person who was not in the

least related to the late Mr. Goddard to obtain possession of the

balance in hand. I, for one, a subscriber to the fund, return them my

most hearty acknowledgments, not for the money returned to me, but for

the straightforwardness of their report, and the wise and judicious

manner in which they dispensed the funds. While congratulating myself

and confreres on seeing the money not required for the relief of the

late Mr. Goddard returned to the subscribers instead of going into the

possession of a person for whom it never was intended, I think it is to

be regretted that no responsible party had foreseen that much of this

returned money would have been gladly placed to the credit of some

benevolent or provident institution connected with photography. The

whole amount, or even the half of it, would have made a very handsome

nucleus for the commencement of such a fund. I have heard several wishes

to that effect expressed during the last few days. Doubtless the

committee did the very best thing they could have done for their own

credit and the entire satisfaction of the whole of the subscribers; but

I am afraid an opportunity has been lost in the interest of the

incipient relief fund by not having had a receiver for these stray and

unexpected sums appointed. The praiseworthy act of Messrs. Ross and

Pringle, as noticed in another journal, confirms this impression.



While the subject of a photographers' provident or relief fund is before

me, I may mention that in the Report of the Friendly Societies recently

issued by Mr. Tidd Pratt, he speaks in the highest terms of those

societies which are managed by the members themselves without salaries,

and condemns the extravagance exhibited by the societies of a similar

nature which are conducted by salaried officials. Now, as it is a

friendly society pure and simple that sick or needy photographers ought

to look to for future help, in my opinion the former is the kind of

society that should be established. The movement is not to be started

as a business speculation, and there should be no salaries attached to

any of the offices. Each member joining the provident society should be

prepared to submit to the tax on his time and energies, if elected to

office, as part and parcel of the amount he subscribes for the general

welfare of the body and relief of individual members. For my part, I

object to the contemplated society taking the form of a relief fund

depending upon donations, collections at dinners, &c., for its support.

Such means for raising the necessary funds to start the society may be

allowable; but after it is commenced, every individual connected with it

should be a subscribing member, and not allowed to receive any benefit,

except under the most urgent necessities, until he has paid a certain

number of subscriptions.



During one of my peregrinations about town lately I stumbled upon a very

ferocious doorsman. My attention was suddenly arrested, while passing

one of those photographic establishments which keep a kind of two-legged

hyena prowling up and down before their doors, by hearing the somewhat

startling and cannibalistic exclamation of "I'll eat yer!" Looking

round, I saw that one of those prowling bipeds had fastened upon two

quiet-looking young gentlemen, evidently strangers in town and to town

ways, and had so importuned them to sit for "a correct likeness," until

they turned upon him, and threatened to give him in charge if he did not

desist; when he retaliated by threatening to eat them, and used a great

deal of sanguinary and abusive language as a substitute for more

palatable suavity. Is such an "outsider" or hanger-on a fit and proper

person to join a photographers' provident society, or be the recipient

of a benevolent relief fund?



The South London Photographic Society's annual dinner came off on

Saturday evening last at the "Salutation Tavern," Newgate Street.

Twenty-three members and friends, all told, sat down to dinner, and

enjoyed a thoroughly English repast. After the cloth was removed, the

pleasantest part of the evening commenced. The worthy and honoured

president, the Rev. F. F. Statham, M.A., who occupied the chair, was all

geniality, and gave the toast of the evening--"The South London

Photographic Society"--in his usually felicitous style. To Mr. Jabez

Hughes was allotted the task of proposing the next important

toast--"Photography"--which he did in the most glowing and eloquent

terms, dwelling on the rise and progress of the art in England, its

position in a competitive point of view at the Paris Exhibition,

interspersed with some racy and facetious remarks on the different modes

and kinds of rewards, from the bronze, silver, and gold medals, to the

paper certificates, which he considered the most honourable mentions

that could be given by a discerning public. From that he soared into the

higher aspirations of photographers and sublime regions of photography,

giving, with thrilling effect, a description of the social joys,

scientific pursuits, and human ameliorations to which photography

administers. Mr. Baynham Jones, being the oldest photographer present,

had the honour of replying on behalf of the art. Mr. G. Wharton Simpson,

in very appropriate terms, gave the toast, "Art Photography," which was

responded to by Mr. O. G. Rejlander. Mr. Johnson, of the Autotype

Company, had the honour of proposing the toast "Professional

Photography," which was responded to by Mr. Valentine Blanchard,

who occupied the vice-chair. Other toasts of a professional and

semi-professional character were given and responded to. The intervals

were filled up with part and instrumental music by members of the

Society. Mr. Cooper contributed greatly to the evening's enjoyment by

giving two charming performances on the cornet-a-piston, which were

admirably accompanied by Mr. Henry Cooper on the piano. Taking it all in

all, it was one of the pleasantest and merriest evenings I have ever

enjoyed at the convivial meetings of the South London Photographic

Society, and formed a delightful introduction to the season of universal

festivity which is close at hand.



Christmas, all over the civilized world, is not only a period of festive

reunion, but, according to the only rational interpretation of the word,

a time of good will towards men, and peace upon earth. Photographers,

like other men, have had their little differences of opinion, which have

produced partial estrangements during a portion of the year which will

so soon expire; but let the approaching season, which is held in

commemoration of the birth of the greatest Peacemaker that ever came

among men, be looked upon by all as the fittest time to forget and

forgive all slights, injuries, or insults, real or imaginary; and let

not the great festival of our common faith be clouded or eclipsed by an

angry thought, nor the immeasurable charity of true Christianity be

dimmed by one unforgiving feeling. The light of the Christian faith is a

light that should penetrate to the dark cells of our hearts, and dispel

all the gloomy and corrosive accumulations of controversy that may have

lodged there, and unconsciously eaten away any part of our better

nature. Few of us--none but the most presumptuous--can lay his hand upon

his heart and say, "Mine is immaculate!" None of us are without sin, and

charity and forgiveness are the greatest of the Christian virtues; and

they should be the more carefully studied and practised by all who live

in and by the Light of the world.



_December 15th, 1868._





PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE IMMURED POMPEIIANS.



Everyone must be sensible of the many and varied applications of

photography. Even photographers themselves, familiar as they are with

the capabilities of the art they practise, must necessarily have their

wonder excited occasionally at the scope of their art-science,

especially when they consider that the process, as practised at the

present day, is not more than seventeen years old. That it should be the

historian of the life and manners of the present period more fully and

faithfully than any written account, is not so much a matter of

surprise. Appealing, as it does, to the vanity and affections of the

people, it is at once a recorder of the changes of fashion, a registrar

of marriages, births, and deaths, and a truthful illustrator of the

times in which we live; but that it should be brought to bear upon the

past, and make the inhabitants of the world in the nineteenth century

familiar with the forms, fashions, manners, life, and death of the

people of the first century of the Christian Era, is something to be

marvelled at, and at first seems an impossibility. Yet such is the fact;

and photography has been made the cheap and easy means of informing the

present generation of the manner in which the ancients behaved,

suffered, and died in the midst of one of the most appalling

catastrophes that ever overtook the inhabitants of any part of the

world, ancient or modern, as vividly and undeniably as if the calamity

had occurred but yesterday.



The foregoing reflections were excited by seeing very recently some

photographs from plaster casts of the forms of human beings as they had

fallen and died when Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed by the first

known and terrible eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The photographs alluded

to reveal with a fearful fidelity the dreadful agonies of some of those

who perished at Pompeii, and, while looking at the pictures, it is very

difficult to divest the mind of the idea that they are not the works of

some ancient photographer who plied his lens and camera immediately

after the eruption had ceased, so forcibly do they carry the mind back

to the time and place of the awful immurement of both a town and its

people.



That these photographs were not obtained from the lifeless forms of the

Pompeiians the reader will readily understand, for their bodies have not

been preserved entire from that day to this. The question then naturally

arises, "How could plaster casts be obtained from which the photographs

were produced?" To answer that question I must briefly explain that

Pompeii was not, as is generally understood, destroyed by an overflow of

red hot lava, which would have burnt up every particle of human flesh

with which it came in contact almost instantly, without leaving a mould

or impress of the form which it surrounded. The _black mud_ which flowed

from Vesuvius into the doomed town of Pompeii entombed the houses and

inhabitants--covered them up and formed a thick crust over them, which

gradually hardened, and as the bodies crumbled away to dust a mould or

matrix was left, from which plaster casts of great beauty and finish

might have been obtained of almost everything that was destroyed.

Unfortunately, this was not discovered until very recently, after many

of the beautiful moulds had been destroyed by the process of hurried,

thoughtless, and unsystematic excavation. It was only a short time

ago, since Naples was united to Italy, that careful and intelligent

excavation secured to future generations impressions from those matrices

made by the most terrible process of natural mould making.



Sig. Fiorelli, who was appointed superintendent of excavations at

Pompeii, happily thought of obtaining casts from these natural moulds by

pouring in soft plaster of Paris, and thus secure more useful mementos

than by preserving the moulds themselves. Amongst the first casts thus

obtained were the forms of four human beings, described as follows in

the _Quarterly Review_ for 1864:--



"These four persons had perished in the streets. Driven from their

homes, they sought to flee when it was too late. These victims of the

eruption were not found together, and they do not appear to have

belonged to the same family or household. The most interesting of the

casts is that of two women, probably mother and daughter, lying feet to

feet; they appear from their garb to have been people of poor condition.

The elder seems to lie tranquilly on her side, overcome by the noxious

gases. She probably fell and died without a struggle. Her limbs are

extended, and her left arm drops loosely. On one finger is still seen

her coarse iron ring. Her child was a girl of fifteen; she seems,

poor thing, to have struggled hard for life. Her legs are drawn up

convulsively. Her little hands are clenched in agony. In one she holds

her veil, or part of her dress with which she had covered her head,

burying her face in her arms to shield herself from the falling ashes

and from the foul, sulphurous smoke. The form of her head is perfectly

preserved. The texture of her coarse linen garments may be traced, and

even the fashion of her dress, with its long sleeves reaching to her

wrists. Here and there it is torn, and the smooth young skin appears in

the plaster like polished marble. On her tiny feet may still be seen her

embroidered sandals. At some distance from this group lay a third woman,

apparently about the age of twenty-five, and belonging to a better

class. Silver rings were on her fingers. She lay on her side, and had

died in great agony. Her garments had been gathered up on one side,

leaving exposed a limb of the most beautiful form. She had fled with her

little treasure, two silver cups, a few jewels, and some silver coins,

and her keys, like a careful matron. The fourth cast is that of a man of

the people, perhaps a common soldier. He is almost of colossal size. He

lies on his back, his arms extended by his side, and his feet stretched

out, as if, finding escape impossible, he had laid himself down to meet

death like a brave man. His dress consists of a short coat or jerkin,

and tight-fitting breeches of some coarse stuff, perhaps leather; heavy

sandals, with soles studded with nails, are laced tightly round his

ankles. On one finger is seen his iron ring. His features are strongly

marked, his mouth open, as in death. Some of his teeth still remain, and

even part of the moustache adheres to the plaster."



Such is the description of the plaster casts; and the photographs which

I possess of those casts convey to the mind at one glance all that is

there written. Wonderful photography! How eloquent in their silence are

thy pictures! To what more dignified and sublime uses could any art be

put? Only a few can look upon those casts of the dead Pompeiians in the

Museum of Naples, but the whole world may view the photographs taken

from them, and look upon the Pompeiians in their forms and habits as

they died, and read a page from the unwritten histories of those

terrible death-struggles, when the strong man, the tender, placid

mother, and the young and delicate maiden were all entombed in that

fearful sea of mud, amidst darkness and horrors that can never be

adequately described.



Such an awful catastrophe will never cease to interest the student of

ancient history, and photography will now be the means of deepening his

interest, and revealing to his mind with greater force and lucidity many

scenes that actually occurred at the very moment of the appalling

destruction of Pompeii, on the 24th of August, A.D. 79.





A SIMPLE MODE OF INTENSIFYING NEGATIVES.



Undoubtedly the best possible practice of photography is that which

requires no after intensification in the production of a first-class

negative. This, however, though a "consummation devoutly to be wished,"

is not always attained, even by the most experienced photographer. Every

operator knows that there is sometimes a condition of things that

renders a simple and efficient process of intensifying afterwards

indispensable.



Of all the modes of intensifying--and their name is legion--I think the

readiest and most generally useful has been much neglected. The

persulphate of uranium and ferridcyanide of potassium process gave

wonderfully charming results. But what of that? It was completely

impracticable, and a failure, in consequence of its tendency to go on

increasing in intensity in the hands of the printer.



The bichloride of mercury and iodine processes, unlimited in number,

also went on increasing in an unlimited degree, and no amount of

"roasting" could reduce the negatives so treated to the desirable degree

of transparency that would enable any printer to obtain good

impressions. There is, however, one of the bichloride of mercury

processes, published some years ago, which I modified so as to give the

most satisfactory results. It rendered the negative sufficiently

intense, and preserved the most exquisite modelling, without changing

afterwards; but the process was very troublesome, and not very

agreeable.



The simplest, cheapest, and most reliable process of intensifying

negatives that I know of is with sulphuret of potassium (liver of

sulphur) used in the following manner:--



Make a very dilute solution of sulphuret of potassium, put it into any

old gutta-percha or porcelain bath; and, after the negative is developed

as far as is desirable with the ordinary iron developer, fixed, and

washed in the usual way, immerse the plate in that state at once into

the solution of sulphuret of potassium, in the same manner as in

sensitising the plate in the nitrate bath, by using a dipper, and leave

it there until sufficiently intense, which is generally in about the

time required for coating and sensitising another plate, so that, if the

operator be working single-handed, very little, if any, time is lost in

the process of intensifying.



The solution may also be flooded over the plate in the same manner as

the developer, after fixing and washing as before.



When sufficiently intense, rinse the plate with water, dry, and varnish

in the ordinary way. But it is best to use the intensifier in the manner

first described, which is by far the most cleanly and economical plan,

both in the saving of time and solution. By using it with the "bath and

dipper," it is not offensive, on account of its extreme dilution, and

not being disturbed so much, or immediately under the olfactory nerves

of the operator, it may be worked in the ordinary dark room with the

greatest safety and convenience.





A STRING OF OLD BEADS.



He is a rash man who announces "something new" in these days. I believe

there is nothing new under the sun, and in photography especially. If

any man be rash enough to rush into print with what he considers a new

idea, some other man rushes into print also and says the idea is old,

exploded, useless, worthless, or worse.



I lay no claim to originality. I have lived so long in the atmosphere of

photography, I don't know where or how I picked up my knowledge--such as

it is. Some of it I may have stumbled on, some of it I may have found,

and some of it I may have stolen. If the latter, I forget from whom,

when, or where, and in all such cases a bad memory is a good and

convenient thing. But I will endeavour to atone for such sins by

publicly restoring all I may have filched from other men's brains for

the benefit of all whom it may concern. I shall not count the beads;

that would be like running over a rosary, and I object to sub rosa

revelations; neither shall I attend to the order of stringing the beads,

but will put them on record just as they come to hand; and the first

is--



_How to Make Vignette Papers._--Take a piece of sensitised paper, lay it

under a piece of glass and let it blacken. Then take a camels'-hair

pencil dipped in a weak solution of cyanide of potassium, and paint the

extreme size and shape of the desired aperture. Let it dry, and with a

little stronger solution of cyanide paint _within_ the size and shape,

and then with a stronger solution paint the centre, which will be

perfectly white and semi-transparent. The object of using the three

strengths of solution and painting three separate times is to obtain

gradation, and the edges will be yellow and softened like a vignette

glass. These vignette papers can be attached to the back of the negative

or to the outside of the printing-press, and can be used either in shade

or sunshine without materially prolonging the time of printing. The

cost of production is trifling, as any waste piece of paper and spare

time can be employed in making them, and they do not occupy much time in

making; in fact, one can be made in less time than will be spent in

reading this description. I need not expatiate on the advantages of

being able to make a special vignette quickly. Every photographer must

have experienced the difficulty of purchasing a special size and shape

to suit a particular subject.



_How to Point a Pencil._--Rub the pencil to a point in the groove of a

corundum file. This is a better and cheaper pointer than a Yankee

pencil-sharpener, and it puts a finer point to a blacklead pencil than

anything else I know. Retouchers, try it.



_How to Ease a Tight Stopper._--There is nothing more annoying in the

practice of photography than to take up a bottle and find the stopper

_fixed_. In many instances the bottle is broken and time wasted in

trying to remove the fixed stopper. When such an obstinate stopper gets

into your hands, run a little glycerine round the top of the bottle. Set

the bottle down, and in a few minutes the stopper will be free.

Prevention is better than cure. Keep a little glycerine on all your

stoppers. Glycerine agrees with every chemical in photographic use, and

prevents stoppers and bottles coming to grief. In a thousand and one

ways a little glycerine is beyond all price.



_How to Prepare Albumenized Prints for Colouring._--Pour over them a

little matt varnish. This removes the greasiness, and gives a fine tooth

and ivory-like surface for the artist to work upon.



_How to Remove Silver Stains from the White Ground of a

Vignette._--Touch it with a solution of cyanide of potassium, and wash

off immediately. The other parts of the picture will not be injured.



_How to Stipple a Window White or Yellow._--For white, mix a little

dextrine and kaolin in water. Dab the mixture on the glass with a piece

of cotton. For the purpose of obscuration that is quite enough; but if

sightliness be essential, finish by stippling with the ends of a

hog's-hair brush. For yellow, mix a little dextrine and deep orange

chrome in powder together in water, and apply it to the window in the

same manner. Dabbing once or twice with a piece of cotton will exclude

white light and make a luminous dark room. The same mixture makes an

excellent backing for dry plates to prevent halation.





LIGHTS AND LIGHTING.



A great deal has been written and said about lights and lighting--a

great deal too much; yet more must be said and written.



Light is to the photographer what the sickle is to the shearer--a good

reaper can cut well with an indifferent sickle, but an indifferent

reaper never gets a good sickle in his hand. A good photographer, who

also understands light and shade, can produce good pictures in an

ordinary studio. It is the indifferent photographer who runs after

"fancy lights," and is, like a benighted traveller in pursuit of a

will-o'-the-wisp, eventually left floundering in a bog. It is folly to

construct powerful concentrators if powerful reflectors have to be

employed to counteract their defects. If a limited amount of diffused

light be absolutely necessary it is best to retain it and use it in its

simplest and least expensive form.



When I commenced photography glass houses were scarcer in England than

comets in the heavens, and the few that were in existence were all

constructed on false principles. It was not until I visited America that

I saw a _properly_-constructed studio. The Americans were, and are,

prone to give stupid names to sensible things; and the names they gave

to their studios were no exceptions. This, that, and the other

photographer advertised his "mammoth skylight." I went to sit, see, and

be satisfied that their mode of lighting was very superior to ours. I

was convinced _instanter_ that the perpendicular sides and sloping

roofs of our miserable little hothouses were mistakes and things to be

abhorred, while their spacious rooms and "mammoth skylights" were things

to be admired and adopted.



In one of these rooms, and almost without blinds or reflectors, the

sitter could be "worked" on a semi-circle or half oval, and "lighted"

either in front or on either side at pleasure, and with the greatest

facility. I determined, there and then, to build my next studio on

similar principles; but until recently I have had no opportunity of

carrying out my intentions. To get what I required and to make the best

of my situation I had to "fence and fiddle" the district surveyor: but I

gained my point, and the victory was worth the foils and the

fiddlestick.



My studio can be lighted from either side; but the "light of lights" is

the north one, and that is a large fixed window 11 by 9 feet with a

single slope of two and a half feet in the height; that is, two and

a half feet out of the perpendicular at the top, with no other top light

and no perpendicular side light. With this light I do all ordinary work.

I can work round the light from one side of the room to the other, as

under a mammoth skylight, without using either blind or reflector. If I

want Rembrandt effects I have only to open a shutter on the south side,

and let in subdued sunlight. That at once becomes the dominant light,

and the north light illumines the shadows. The bottom of the north light

is three feet from the floor.



The advantages of this form of studio are these. It is cool, because no

more light is admitted than is absolutely necessary. It is neat, because

no rag-like curtains are hanging about. It is clean, because there is

nothing to collect dirt. It is dry, because the pitch of the roof

renders leakage impossible. It is pleasant to the sitter, because of

these desirabilities, and that the light is not distressing. It is

agreeable to the operator, because the work is easy and everything is

comfortable.





Printed by Piper & Carter, 5, Furnival Street, Holborn, London, E.C.









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   [Illustration: Kodak Film Camera]



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   [Illustration: Bellows Cameras]



                       4-1/4 x 3-1/2    6-1/2 x 4-3/4    8-1/2 x 6-1/2

                          L  s. d.         L  s. d.         L  s. d.



  Camera and Three        6  0  0          7 10  0          9  8  0

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  Rectilinear Lens        3  0  0          3 10  0          5  0  0

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                         10 x 8    12 x 10   15 x 12   18 x 16   24 x 18

                         L  s. d.  L  s. d.  L  s. d.  L  s. d.  L  s. d.



  Camera and three      11 15  0  14 14  0  18 18  0  24  0  0  26  0  0

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      9-1/2 x 9-1/2    18         12/-          8/6

     11     x 11       18         14/-          9/-

     13     x 13       20         15/-         11/-

     17     x 17       22         20/-         15/-

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       *       *       *       *       *



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MARION & CO., 22 and 23, Soho Square,

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GOODS AND PROMPT ATTENTION



GO TO



J. WERGE,



PHOTOGRAPHIC STORES,



11a, Berners Street, Oxford Street, London. W.





     WERGE'S "Sans Ammonia Developer" is used by numerous expert

       amateurs. A 1/- bottle will develop 128 quarter-plates,

       any make.



     WERGE'S Dry Plate Varnish dries without heat, and protects the

       negatives from silver and platinum stains, 1/- per bottle

       and upwards.



     WERGE'S Retouching Medium, 1/- per bottle.



     WERGE'S Sensitised Paper is the best. 12/6 per quire; sample

       sheet 10d. post free.



     WERGE'S Borax Toning Solution gives the best tones, and is

       simplest and most economical. 1/- per pint.



     WERGE'S Ferro-Prussiate Paper gives the best results with least

       trouble. 1/- per sheet.



     WERGE'S Shilling Lantern is the best ever introduced.



     WERGE'S Dry Plate Instructions are the best ever published.

       1/1-1/2 post free, including Jabez Hughes's "Principles and

       Practice of Photography." Wet Plate Process, Printing, &c., &c.









J. H. DALLMEYER, OPTICIAN,



25, NEWMAN STREET, LONDON, W.



Has obtained the highest awards for his Lenses wherever exhibited, and

at all the great International Exhibitions.



       *       *       *       *       *



CASH PRICES OF THE PRINCIPAL PORTRAIT AND VIEW LENSES:



  EXTRA RAPID (C).

                    in.            in.

  2C, For Children, 2-3/4 dia. 4-1/2 f.  L15 15  0

  3C       "        3-1/2  "   6     f.   26  5  0



  QUICK ACTING (B).

                        in.        distance.

  1B,        for C.D.V. 2     dia. 12 ft.  L6  5  0

  1B Long,       "      2-1/8  "   14 ft.   6 15  0

  2B,            "      2-3/4  "   18 ft.  12 16  0

  2B Patent,     "      2-3/4  "   18 ft.  13  5  0

  3B   "     Cabts. and 3-1/2  "   18 ft.  20  0  0

  4B   "       larger   4-1/2  "   25 ft.  40  0  0





NEW RAPID RECTILINEAR PORTRAIT LENSES.



See descriptive Catalogue.





ORDINARY INTENSITY (A)--Patent.



  1A, for Cabinets, in short rooms.

      dia. 2-3/4 in., distance 14 ft.          L13  0  0

  2A, for Cabinets up to 8-1/2 x 6-1/2,

      dia. 3-1/2 in., distance 20 feet          18  0  0

  3A, for Cabinets up to 9 x 7,

      dia. 4 in., distance 24 feet              27  5  0

  4A, for Imperial Portraits and 10 x 8

      dia. 4-1/2 in., focus 14 in.              38 10  0

  5A, for plates 15 x 12 and under,

      dia. 5 in., focus 18 in.                  50  0  0

  6A, for plates 20 x 16 and under,

      dia. 6 in., focus 22 in.                  60  0  0





PORTRAIT AND GROUP (D)--Patent.



  3D, Portraits 8-1/2 x 6-1/2, Views 10 x 8,

      dia. 2-1/8 in., focus 10-1/2 in.           9 10  0

  4D, Portraits 10 x 8, Views 12 x 10,

      dia. 2-7/8 in., focus 13 in.              13 10  0

  5D, Portraits 12 x 10, Views 15 x 12,

      dia. 3-1/4 in., focus 16 in.              17 10  0

  6D, Portraits 15 x 12, View. 18 x 16,

      dia. 4 in., focus 19-1/2 in.              26 10  0

  7D, Portraits 18 x 16, Views 22 x 20,

      dia. 5 in., focus 24 in.                  48  0  0

  8D, Portraits 22 x 20, Views 25 x 21,

      dia. 6 in., focus 30 in.                  58  0  0





STEREOSCOPIC LENSES.



  Patent Stereographic Lens, 3-3/4-in. f.          4  5  0

  Ditto, with rack-and-pinion                      4 15  0

  No. 1, Quick-acting Single Combination

    Landscape Lens, 4-1/2 in. focus                2  0  0

  No. 2, Ditto ditto 6 in. focus                   2  5  0

  Rect. Stereo. Lenses, 2 in. & 2-1/2 in. focus    4  0  0





NEW RECTILINEAR LANDSCAPE LENS (Patent).



       Largest

       Dimensions            Diameter     Equiv.

  No.  of Plate.             of Lenses.   Focus.      Price.

  --   --------------------  -----------  ----------  --------

  1     6-1/2 by  4-3/4 in.  1-1/2   in.   8-1/2 in.  L4 15  0

  2     8-1/2 "   6-1/2 "    1-3/4    "   11-1/2  "    6  0  0

  3    10     "   8     "    2        "   13-1/2  "    8  0  0

  4    12     "  10     "    2-1/4    "   16-1/2  "   10  5  0

  5    15     "  12     "    2-2/3    "   20      "   12 10  0

  6    18     "  16     "    3        "   25      "   16  0  0

  7    22     "  20     "    3-1/2    "   32      "   21  0  0





OPTICAL LANTERN LENSES ONLY (Patent).



  No. 1 Lens, 1-1/2 in. and 1-3/4 in. dia. with Rack Motion  L 4  0

  No. 2  do.  1-3/4 in. and 2 in.      do.       do.           5  0

  _Condensers_--3-1/2 in. dia. mounted, ea.                  L 5  0

     _Do._      4     in. do.    do.    do.                    6  0





RAPID RECTILINEAR (PATENT).



The best Lens for general use out-of-doors, and for Copying.



                                                          Price,

  Size of View          Size of Group        Equiv.       Rigid

  or Landscape.         or Portrait.         Focus.       Setting.

  --------------------  -------------------  -----------  --------

   4-1/4 by  3-1/4 in.   3-1/4 by 3-1/4 in.    4     in.  L3 15 0

   5     "   4     "     4-1/4 "  3-1/4 "      6     "     4 10 0

   6     "   5     "     5     "  4     "      8-1/4 "     5 10 0

   8-1/2 "   6-1/2 "     8     "  5     "     11     "     7  0 0

  10     "   8     "     8-1/2 "  6-1/2 "     13     "     9  0 0

  12     "  10     "    10     "  8     "     16     "    11  0 0

  13     "  11     "     French size          17-1/2 "    12  0 0

  15     "  12     "    12    by 10    in.    19-1/2 "    15  0 0

  18     "  16     "    15    "  12    "      24     "    20  0 0

  22     "  20     "    18    "  16    "      30     "    27  0 0

  25     "  21     "    22    "  20    "      33     "    32  0 0







WIDE ANGLE RECTILINEAR (Patent).



For Views in Confined Situations.



           Largest

           Dimensions         Back         Equiv.

    No.    of Plate.          Focus.       Focus.       Price

    ---    ----------------   ----------   -----------  --------

  [A]AA     7-1/4 by  4-1/2    1-1/2 in.    4      in.  L4 10 0

     1A     8-1/2 "   6-1/2    4-5/8 "      5-1/4  "     5 10 0

     1     12     "  10        6-1/4 "      7      "     7 10 0

     2     15     "  12        7-1/2 "      8-1/2  "    10 10 0

     3     18     "  16       11     "     13      "    14  0 0

     4     22     "  20       14     "     15-1/2  "    20  0 0

     5     25     "  21       17     "     19      "    30  0 0



  [A] To be had in pairs for Stereoscopic Views.





WIDE ANGLE LANDSCAPE LENS (Patent), for Landscapes, pure and simple.



       Size of           Equivalent

  No.  Plate.            Focus.       Price.

  ---  ----------------  ----------   --------

  1A    5     by  4        5-1/4 in.  L3  5  0

  1     7-1/4 "   4-1/2    7     "     3 15  0

  2     8-1/2 "   6-1/2    8-1/2 "     4 10  0

  3    10     "   8       10     "     5 10  0

  4    12     "  10       12     "     7  0  0

  5    15     "  12       15     "     8 10  0

  5A   15     "  12       18     "     9 10  0

  6    18     "  16       18     "    10 10  0

  7    22     "  20       22     "    14  0  0

  8    25     "  21       25     "    19  0  0





NEW RAPID LANDSCAPE LENS.



For Distant Objects and Views.



       Largest

       Dimensions            Diameter    Equiv.  Price.

  No.  of Plate.             of Lenses.  Focus.

  ---  --------------------  ----------  ------  --------

  1     6-1/2 by  4-3/4 in.  1.3   in.    9 in.  L4 10  0

  2     8-1/2 "   6-1/2 "    1.6   "     12 "     5 15  0

  3    10     "   8     "    2.125 "     15 "     7 10  0

  4    12     "  10     "    2.6   "     18 "     9 10  0

  5    15     "  12     "    3     "     22 "    11 10  0

  6    18     "  16     "    3.5   "     25 "    14  0  0

  7    22     "  20     "    4.25  "     30 "    17 10  0





_DALLMEYER "On the Choice and Use of Photographic Lenses."_



Eighth Thousand (Greatly Enlarged), 1s.



Descriptive Catalogue on application.



25, NEWMAN STREET, OXFORD STREET, LONDON, W.









       *       *       *       *       *









Transcriber's note:



Obvious typographical errors were corrected. The spelling of French

words has been made consistent. Also made consistent were those words

which appear as hyphenated, joined or as two individual words (for

example, first class to first-class and some one to someone). Other

corrections were made where inconsistent or incorrect spellings were

used in the publication. Where the inconsistencies occur in publication

titles or quoted text passages, they were left as published.



All "oe" ligatures in the printed text were converted to the letters

"oe".



Some of the entries in the INDEX appear to be missorted alphabetically.

They were left as printed.



On page 114, one line ends with "modifica-" and it is assumed "tion"

was left off the next line.



Typographical Corrections



  Page   Correction

  ====   =======================

   114   modifica- => modification

   131   Willat's => Willats's

   134   intotroduced => introduced

   163   Frith => Firth

   177   Coxackie => Coxsackie

   186   Pearce => Pierce

   248   Nicolas Maas => Nicolaes Maes







***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE EVOLUTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY ***





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