[final letter, as sent to WHFT]

Slough
Feb 10/39

My dear Sir,

I left one or 2 Photographic Specimens (very poor ones) with M^r Roberton ^<1> not as a formal exhibition to the RS, but merely with a view to keep up attention on the subject by affording matter of conversation to those who might chance to see them in his hands or on the table in the Library in the Evening As Daguerre has obtained his price for his secret of course it will soon be published. ^<2> I am told his performances are so exquisite as to be almost miraculous. So far therefore from having now the smallest objection to your mentioning either publicly or privately my application of the Hyposulphite to washing out the superfluous Silver, I rather wish it to be known & have myself now mentioned it conversationally to more than one inquisitive person though I have no idea of writing on the subject unless something should turn up of a more striking character than anything I have yet hit upon. This may happen, for I find the imitation of Engravings (w^h as I see by your paper in the Athenæum, ^<3> makes one of your applications) is capable of great delicacy & beauty and admits of a Re-transfer which, by careful attention to all the manipulations & especially to hitting exactly the right moments for withdrawing the pictures from the light, may I have not the smallest hesitation in saying, be carried to a great pitch of delicacy. I propose trying some of Martin’s ^<4> fine Mezzotintos,– should a few previous trials on the effects of varnishing the backs of the Engravings &c, and some other improvements in processes, succeed as I have reason to believe.

Your transparencies ^<5> arrived safe, but they do not work well – the thickness – different distances &c preclude sharpness & I will therefore return them for you to M^r Roberton’s care.

That Davy ^<6> should have missed the “washing out” process is no wonder as he was not acquainted with the Hyposulphites – and although ammonia is a solvent of fresh Chloride of Silver It is but a poor one & would, I doubt not, have little effect on paper impregnated with it. The Nitrate would be precip^d by it as oxide.

On the subject of your paper I wish to say a word, having been at the Council ^<7> on Thursday when its disposal was considered in Committee. I then learnt for the first time that your processes were not therein described, especially that of “fixing.” In consequence of this and of either some part having been withdrawn or of its being understood that you considered it incomplete and intended its completion with an account of the processes – it was proposed to “postpone it” till it could appear in its complete form. Now this, I think would have been very objectionable on other grounds and I therefore suggested what I hope will meet with your approbation – the printing not as usual of an abstract, but of the whole paper as it now stands verbatim in the next Weekly Notice of the Society. Whereby the Speediest circulation of its contents in the scientific world will be secured and that without prejudice to the appearance in the Transactions of a further and more complete paper embodying the contents of the former as an important part. I hope to hear from you that you approve this – Of course I presume there can be no objection to your having any N^o of Copies of this notice for private use – Only if so pray lose no time in writing to the Secretary to that effect.

The weather from the time you were at Slough has been till today so gloomy that little could be done – Today being bright I have made some much better Reverses of Copperplate and also a tolerable Re-reverse. ^<8> – One of the former I inclose It is not the best by far but it is varnished for retransfer

& remⁿ Dear Sir Yours very truly
JFW Herschel

I have just met with a very strange and apparently unaccountable singularity which if it arise from no casual presence of moisture, hydrogen, or what-not will lead into a whole new train of new researches. I find that certain paper is more discoloured where covered with certain glass than when exposed to the full Sunshine! The glass was strongly tinged with green & Ergo must have intercepted some material portion of violet rays, that being the case with all green media.– also much of the red, wherefore, Immediately I began to throw concentrated red rays on a paper freely exposed – Expecting to find a comparatively light spot where they had fallen.– No effect but experiment hasty & to be repeated.

H.F. Talbot Esq^r
44 Queen Ann Street ^<9>
London

[draft]

Slough
Feb. 9/39.

My Dear Sir,

I left one or 2 Photographic Specimens (very poor ones) with M^r Roberton – not as a formal exhibⁿ to the RS at a meeting, but merely with a view to keep up attention on the subject by affording matter of conversation to those who might chance to see them in his hands or on the Library table in the Evening – As Daguerre has obtained his price for his secret of course it will soon be published – and I am told that his performances are so exquisite as to be almost miraculous. – It seems therefore hardly worth [illegible]. I have not So far therefore from having now the smallest objection to your mentioning either publicly or privately my application of the Hyposulphite to washing out the Silver, that class of I rather wish it to be Salts was unknown to Davy or of course he could not have missed the application in question which is too obvious to need being made a point of. – All Idea of secrecy being taken off by the cat being let out of the Frenchman’s bag, I have myself mentioned this to several persons.

On the subject of your paper I wish to say a word, having been at the Council on Thursday where it was discussed in Committee. I then learnt for the first time that your processes were not therein described, especially that of “fixing.” In consequence of this & of some part of the paper having been withdrawn or its being understood that you intended to considered it incomplete & intended its completion with an account of the processes – it was proposed to “postpone” it till it could appear in its complete form. – Now this, I think would have been very objectionable on other grounds & I therefore suggested what I hope will meet your approbation – the printing not as usual of an abstract – but, of the whole paper as it now stands verbatim in the next “Weekly Notice”, whereby the Speediest circulation of its contents in the Scientific world will be secured – and that without prejudice to the appearance in the Trans of a further & more complete paper, embodying the contents of the former as an integrant part. I hope to hear from you that you approve this – Of course I presume there can be no objection to your having any number of Copies of this “notice” for private use

The weather has been so gloomy I have done little however by giving time I have really got some very pretty reverses of copperplates. I have also operated a double inversion producing Dark on White ground but, for want of Sun, imperfectly – however in a few days I hope to send you some satisfactory specimens.

I remain my dear sir yours very truly
J.F.W. Herschel

PS – The Transparencies arrived safe but they do not work well & I find copper plates much more manageable. I have not a doubt that very good reprints from Elaborate Copper plates or better still mezzotints like Martins grand ones, may be made.

Rough Draft Feb. 10/39

much altered. –

H.F. Talbot Esq^r

---

Notes:

1. John David Roberton, assistant Secretary, Royal Society.

2. Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre (1787–1851), French artist, showman & inventor, received a government pension for his invention of the daguerreotype, but Herschel was wrong, it was not published until August, see ‘Le Daguerréotype’, Comptes Rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l’ de l’Académie des Sciences, v. 9 no. 8, 19 August 1839, pp. 250–267.

3. 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’, Athenaeum, no. 589, 9 February 1839, pp.114–117.

4. Probably John Martin (1789–1854), history painter and engraver.

5. These were transparent drawings, see Doc. No: 03785.

6. Sir Humphry Davy (1778–1829), chemist, in his photographic experiments with Thomas Wedgwood (1771–1805). See ‘An Account of the Method of copying Paintings upon Glass, and of making Profiles, by the agency of Light upon Nitrate of Silver. Invented by T. Wedgwood, Esq. With Observations by H. Davy’, Journals of the Royal Institution, v. 1 no. 9, 22 June 1802, pp. 170–174.

7. The paper given by WHFT, ‘Some Account of the Art of Photogenic Drawing’, read before the Royal Society 31 January 1839, was considered to be in breach of the statutes of the Society, for having been published in full in the The Athenaeum (London).

8. Herschel’s, and most everyone’s names for what would become known as ‘negatives’ and ‘positives’.

9. 44 Queen Ann Street: London home of the Mundy family and a frequent base for WHFT.