44 Queen Ann St <1>
My Dear Sir
If the paper itself is printed in the proceedings, then I presume the abstract will be unnecessary, and will be cancelled – Some directions ought to be sent to Mr Taylor about it, for his guidance. He has already set it up in a quarto page, & will therefore have no difficulty in transferring it into an octavo.<2> I had a long letter from Sir D. Brewster this morning and what do you think he recommends me most particularly to do?<3>
Keep it a secret, for the present: until circumstances permit me to bring it to more perfection.
Yet such is the difference of opinion in this world, that what is thus strongly recommended by some persons, is as strongly objected to by others.
Believe me Dear Sir Yours very truly
H. Fox Talbot
Notes:
1. 44 Queen Ann Street: London home of the Mundy family and a frequent base for WHFT.
2. Taylor was the Society's regular printer and it was ordinary practice for the author to have the type set at his own expense for the publication - he would also have a chance to review proofs this way. This publication was WHFT, Some Account of the Art of Photogenic Drawing, or the Process by which Natural Objects may be made to Delineate Themselves without the Aid of the Artist’s pencil. Read before the Royal Society, January 31, 1839 (London: R & J E Taylor, 1839).
3. Sir David Brewster (1781–1868), Scottish scientist & journalist. Brewster's letter, dated 4 February from St Andrews, was postmarked in London 8 February and presumably received by WHFT the same day - see Doc. No: 03789.