[draft]

M^r Digby Wyatt

Sept. 13 / 51

When I was last in Town I was informed that the Ex^ve Com^tee had entered into an arrange^mt with M^r Hennⁿ to take y^e phot^c views in question, and that M^r H. had in conseq^ce engaged the assist^ce of Mon^r Martens & another artist of Paris, and was prepared to engage any further amount of assist^ce that might be necess^ry. Under these circumstances I shd be sorry that the Ex^ve Committee sh^d do anything to disturb that arrangement, by _^^partially placing the execⁿ of y^e work in other hands, which I think they Ex^ve Com^tee _^^themselves see upon a little consideratⁿ w^d not be fair towards _^^Mr Hennⁿ and his assistants – and therefore upon those grounds _^^{as I have already said} I must decline to accede to the request contained in your _^^last letter of the 10^th inst.

But I shall be in Town [illegible deletion] ^very sht^ly & will have great pleasure in calling upon M^r Cole at any time if he wishes any further reconsideratⁿ of y^e matter on y^e subject if thought desirable.

If it sh^d be the case, that certain persons have obtained views of objects in y^e Exhi^tn w^ch the Comm^ee wish to utilize make use of, & w^h their appointed M^r Henneman w^d not be able to take again, in conseq^ce of y^e objects having been removed, or of other circumst^ces I will endeavour to suggest some arrangem^t, better with a view to meet this particular case –

[expanded version:]

When I was last in Town I was informed that the Executive Committee had entered into an arrangement with M^r Henneman ^<1> to take the photographic views in question, and that M^r Henneman had in consequence engaged the assistance of Monsieur Martens ^<2> & another artist of Paris, and was prepared to engage any further amount of assistance that might be necessary. Under these circumstances I should be sorry that the Executive Committee should do anything to disturb that arrangement, by partially placing the execution of the work in other hands, which I think they Executive Committee themselves see upon a little consideration would not be fair towards Mr Henneman and his assistants – and therefore upon those grounds as I have already said I must decline to accede to the request contained in your last letter of the 10^th instant.

But I shall be in Town [illegible deletion] very shortly & will have great pleasure in calling upon M^r Cole ^<3> at any time if he wishes any further reconsideration of the matter on the subject if thought desirable.

If it should be the case, that certain persons have obtained views of objects in the Exhibition ^<4> which the Committee wish to utilize make use of, & which their appointed M^r Henneman w^d not be able to take again, in consequence of the objects having been removed, or of other circumstances I will endeavour to suggest some arrangement, better with a view to meet this particular case –

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Notes:

1. The Executive Committee of The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations, to be held in the Crystal Palace, Hyde Park, London. Nicolaas Henneman (1813–1898), Dutch, active in England; WHFT’s valet, then assistant; photographer.

2. Friedrich von Martens (1809–1875), German inventor & photographer, active in Paris.

3. Sir Henry Cole (1808–1882), civil servant, artist & Director of the South Kensington Museum.

4. These were eventually published in Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, 1851: Reports by the Juries. Four volumes, illustrated by original photographic prints from negatives by Hugh Owen and Claude Marie Ferrier. In the copies given to WHFT, a dedicatory sheet was inserted (most likely printed up by him): 'This Work, on the Results of the Great Exhibition of 1851, Illustrated with Photographic Plates, being One of Fifteen Copies Given by the Royal Commissioners to H.F. Talbot, Esq. of Lacock Abbey, as The Inventor of this Branch of the Photographic Art, was by him presented to _____'. This publication caused WHFT considerable consternation at the time, for he felt that the Commissioners had stealthily and unfairly taken the job of printing the plates away from Nicolaas Henneman. For a summary of this complex situation, see Nancy B Keeler, 'Illustrating the "Reports by the Juries" of the Great Exhibition of 1851; Talbot, Henneman, and Their Failed Commission,' History of Photography, v. 6 no. 3, July 1982, pp. 257-272.