6 Henman Terrace – Camden Town
London
7 July 1853.
Sir
I beg to thank you for yours of yesty which I shall immediately communicate to the gentlemen mentioned – as well as for the specimens, which have also come to hand, & which I shall take the earliest opportunity of transmitting. One set, which Mr Henneman was kind enough to give me, I sent over to Mr Niépce about a fortnight ago, trusting to have it replaced by some other means; & shall therefore with your permission retain one of these –
There are however two of these – one of some grasses, but especially one of two ovate sharp-pointed leaves – which seem to have been done since, & show a very marked progress; the leaves being no longer one even & dead surface, but conveying the fullest & clearest details of the anatomy – Of this last there is only one proof, which of course I shall be obliged, with regret, to forward to Mr Niépce – Should you however, on a future occasion, which is not likely indeed to be long in arriving, make still further progress, I would be very much obliged if you would kindly condescend to forward me a proof or two, simply by post, so that I might be enabled, by a few lines in the Lumière or elsewhere, to give a note of the progressing steps of the process, to which so much interest is attached
Yours very respectfully
J. O. Murray
Of any modifications in the process itself, leading to this progress in the result, I wd not dare request to be informed individually – but I hope it may be your purpose soon to publish that information, which will be anxiously looked for –
The photolithographs are retouched, as you suspect, tho’ not distinguishably –