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Document number: 08371
Date: 15 Apr 1861
Recipient: CARPMAEL William
Author: TALBOT William Henry Fox
Collection: National Science and Media Museum, Bradford
Collection number: 1937-5410
Last updated: 11th December 2009

[draft:]

Carpmael Apr. 15/61

Some parties might take a Lic. from me t use my 1st pat for engravg dated ¡­ upon the condns hereafter mentd. I will ¡à beg of thk you to have a draft form of Licse drawn out & sent to me.

Please to mentn whr it is customary Please say whether it is the customary for the Licensee to pay for the Licse or that the expense shd be shared?

The follg are the some of principal conditns but other usual please to insert all other usual covenants.

I give licse to use the 2d patt to Mr J. Hogarth, printseller of 5 Haymarket and Mr Paul Pretsch gentn of 3 Guilford Place Russell Sq. who have the intentnof forming a compy for making & selling engraved plates & blocks & engravings printed therefrom. I likewise give licenses to the or members of sd compy to be formed, provid¡¯d

On the formn of the sd compy, I will undertake to grant the same a similar license to the other members of the Company, they undertaking on their parts to observe & fulfil all the covenants of the licse granted in the 1st instance to Mr Hogarth & Mr Pretsch.

In as much as Mr P. has introduced a modifn of my process mode of engraving, by using the Electrotype pss in conjunction with it and that it is the wish of all both parties that the results of this modifn shd be kept distinct as far as may be, from the results of my origl pss.

Therefore it is agreed, that he Mr H. & Mr P. shall & will use the electype procss in all their engravings to be made under this Licse.

And whereas the new mode of engraving patd by me in this the 2d patt of 18 mainly reposes And whereas in my mode of engraving, I first form a matrix of film or stratum of gelatine glue albumen gum or other simr substces mixed with bichrom pot. to render them when dry vy sensve to light the actn of light, & whereas I have found, & it is the point upon wch my invn principally reposes, that the actn of light upon this compound speedily renders it insoluble in water so that on being immersed in water aftwds immersed, the water removes only the parts on wch the light has not acted, leaving the remaining parts, and thus forming an image in slight relief resembling of the object wch it is intended to engrave. Therefore it is agreed by the parties to the present, that any every engraving made by Mssrs. P & H the licensees, in making wch they shall use a mixture of gelat. glue alb. gum or or simr subces mixed with bichr. pot. or or chemical liquids so as to form a matrix sensitive to light film or stratum capable of bg inducted hardened or made insoluble by the actn of light & thus capable of being yielding by proper

(K) The considn for this licse to be a royalty of three pce per sq. inch, payable on each & every engraved plate or block made by Mssrs. P & H under this licse & also on repetitns of the same plate

In order to estimate ?? In order for a just apportnmt of the Royalty the size of the plates shall be thus estimated

In case the engravg does not cover the whole of any plate or block the royalty due upon the sd plate shall be thus estimated. A sq. or oblong rectangular perimeter shall be drawn round the engraved part, so as to enclose it; the parts on the outside of this perimeter shall be accounted as margin & not be subt to any royalty. The parts within the perimeter shall be subt to the sd royalty whch shall be completely covered wh engraving in all parts or only partially so. Any fraction of a square inch in the measurement, shall be accounted a sq. inch.

Caprmael Ap. 15/61

by proper managet an image in relief of the object wch it is intended to engrave, shall be held & considd to be an engraving, made under this licse & subjt to the royalty therein mentd.

Engraved copper plates * Engraved copper plates derived repeated or copied from the first plates by the Elecrotype process shall be considered as made under the License and shall be separately liable separately subject to the payment of the same royalty as the first ones from which they were copied

(N) The licsees shall keep a book or register of all engd plates or blocks engraved by them under this licse, specifying their size, and numbering them in order.

They shall keep a printed copy of each engraving numbered correspondly to the plates or blocks they were printed from. These copies shall be kept in a portfolio for my reference, or if more for greater convenience pasted into a book

These shall be accessible at any time to the Patenter or his agent, to verify their size & number Engraved plates derived or copied from the first engraved copper plates derived repeated or copied from the first plates by the Electrotype process shall be considerd as made under this Licse & shall be sepy subt separately liable to be subject of the same royalty as the 1st ones from wch they were copied (N)

And whereas Mr Pretsch has taken out a licse for the alterns wch he has made improvements in the art of Engraving, it is agreed that in all publicatns wch the Licensees may henceforth issue, & in all other agreed that if the Licencees shall insert upon their plates that they these were made according to Mr Pretsch¡¯s patt they shall add the words ¡°founded upon Mr. Talbot¡¯s patent of 185.. or words to that effect ¨C And in all other publicatns or advertts issued by them mentioning Mr P¡¯s name as an inventor they shall make similarly mentn of my patent Mr T¡¯s prevs inventn on wch it is foundd (N)

{Add all the usl covnts}

Please ackge the rect of this

[expanded version:]

Carpmael
15 April 1861

Some parties might take a License from me to use my first patent for engraving dated ¡­ upon the conditions hereafter mentioned. I will therefore beg of thank you to have a draft form of License drawn out and sent to me.

Please to mention whether it is customary Please say whether it is the customary for the Licensee to pay for the License or that the expense should be shared?

The following are the some of principal conditions but other usual please to insert all other usual covenants.

I give license to use the second patent to Mr J. Hogarth, <1> printseller of 5 Haymarket and Mr Paul Pretsch <2> gentleman of 3 Guilford Place Russell Square who have the intention of forming a company for making and selling engraved plates and blocks and engravings printed therefrom. I likewise give licenses to the other members of said company to be formed, provided On the formation of the said company, I will undertake to grant the same a similar license to the other members of the Company, they undertaking on their parts to observe and fulfil all the covenants of the license granted in the first instance to Mr Hogarth and Mr Pretsch. The consideration for this license to be a royalty of three pence per square inch, payable on each and every engraved plate or block made by Mssrs Pretsch and Hogarth under this license and also on repetitions of the same plate

In order to estimate ?? In order for a just apportionment of the Royalty the size of the plates shall be thus estimated In case the engraving does not cover the whole of any plate or block the royalty due upon the said plate shall be thus estimated. A square or oblong rectangular perimeter shall be drawn round the engraved part, so as to enclose it; the parts on the outside of this perimeter shall be accounted as margin and not be subject to any royalty. The parts within the perimeter shall be subject to the said royalty which shall be completely covered with engraving in all parts or only partially so. Any fraction of a square inch in the measurement, shall be accounted a square inch.

In as much as Mr Pretsch has introduced a modification of my process mode of engraving, by using the Electrotype process in conjunction with it and that it is the wish of all both parties that the results of this modification should be kept distinct as far as may be, from the results of my original process. Therefore it is agreed, that he Mr Hogarth and Mr Pretsch shall and will use the electrotype process in all their engravings to be made under this License.

And whereas the new mode of engraving patented by me in this the second patent of 18 mainly reposes

And whereas in my mode of engraving, I first form a matrix of film or stratum of gelatine glue albumen gum or other similar substances mixed with bichromate of potash to render them when dry very sensitive to light the action of light, and whereas I have found, and it is the point upon which my invention principally reposes, that the action of light upon this compound speedily renders it insoluble in water so that on being immersed in water afterwards immersed, the water removes only the parts on which the light has not acted, leaving the remaining parts, and thus forming an image in slight relief resembling of the object which it is intended to engrave. Therefore it is agreed by the parties to the present, that any every engraving made by Mssrs Pretsch and Hogarth the licensees, in making which they shall use a mixture of gelatine glue albumen gum or other similar substances mixed with bichromate potash or other chemical liquids so as to form a matrix sensitive to light film or stratum capable of being inducted hardened or made insoluble by the action of light and thus capable of being yielding by proper management an image in relief of the object which it is intended to engrave, shall be held and considered to be an engraving, made under this license and subject to the royalty therein mentioned. Engraved copper plates Engraved copper plates derived repeated or copied from the first plates by the Elecrotype process shall be considered as made under the License and shall be separately liable separately subject to the payment of the same royalty as the first ones from which they were copied

And whereas Mr Pretsch has taken out a license for the alterations which he has made improvements in the art of Engraving, it is agreed that in all publications which the Licensees may henceforth issue, and in all other agreed that if the Licencees shall insert upon their plates that they these were made according to Mr Pretsch¡¯s patent they shall add the words ¡°founded upon Mr. Talbot¡¯s patent of 185.. or words to that effect ¨C And in all other publications or advertisements issued by them mentioning Mr Pretsch¡¯s name as an inventor they shall make similarly mention of my patent Mr Talbot¡¯s previous invention on which it is founded

The licensees shall keep a book or register of all engraved plates or blocks engraved by them under this license, specifying their size, and numbering them in order. They shall keep a printed copy of each engraving numbered correspondingly to the plates or blocks they were printed from. These copies shall be kept in a portfolio for my reference, or if more for greater convenience pasted into a book These shall be accessible at any time to the Patenter or his agent, to verify their size and number

{Add all the usual covenants}

Please acknowledge the receipt of this


Notes:

1. Joseph Hogarth (b. 1802), London printseller.

2. The Patent Photo-Galvanographic Company (commonly, The Photogalvanographic Company) was based on the work of Paul Pretsch (1808-1873), Austrian photographer & inventor and former Manager of the Imperial Printing Establishment in Vienna. Located in Holloway Road, Islington, London, from 1856-1857, Pretsch took over as manager and Roger Fenton (1819-1869), photographer & lawyer, was a partner and their chief photographer. Starting in late 1856, they published a serial portfolio, Photographic Art Treasures, or Nature and Art Illustrated by Art and Nature, illustratated with photogalvanographs derived from several photographer's works. Photogalvanography was uncomfortably closely based on elements of WHFT's patented 1852 Photographic Engraving but, unlike Talbot, the plates were heavily retouched by hand. Compounding the legal objections of Talbot, their former manager, Duncan Campbell Dallas, set up a competing company to produce the Dallastype. The company collapsed and near the end of 1860 Pretsch, out of money, allowed his patent to lapse. A public appeal was launched in 1861 to assist him but he returned to Vienna in 1863 in ill health, going back to the Imperial Printing Establishment, but finally succumbing to cholera.