[The original has not been located. The letter was presented to the Académie by Biot and published in the Compte rendu, v. 12 no.11, 15 March 1841, page 492, under the title: 'CORRESPONDANCE. PHYSIQUE. - Lettre de M. Talbot à M. Biot, relative a des dessins opérés par les radiations, sur des papiers impressionnables'.]
J'ai l'honneur de vous envoyer un portrait de jeune homme <1> exécuté par ma nouvelle méthode, dans l'espace d'une minute exactement. Le fond du tableau représente de la vieille architecture couverte de lierre, qui se trouve à ma maison de campagne.
Je vous enverrai, par le moyen de la Société royale, <2> des échantillons plus nombreux; mais en attendant, j'ai cru que celui-ci pourrait intéresser quelques-uns de vos collègues. <3>
Translation:
It is my privilege to send you a portrait of a young man that was executed using my new method in exactly one minute. The background of the picture presents old architecture covered in ivy, which can be found at my house in the country.
I will send you more samples through the Royal Society; but in the meantime I thought this one might be of interest to some of your colleagues.
Notes:
1. This portrait of Nicolaas Henneman (1813-1898), Dutch, active in England; WHFT's valet, then assistant; photographer, Schaaf 2559, taken in the cloisters of Lacock Abbey, 23 February 1841, was shown to the members of the Academie des Sciences 15 March 1841. See Larry J. Schaaf, The Photographic Art of William Henry Fox Talbot (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000), p. 112.
2. Royal Society of London.
3. The letter is followed by a note from Jean-Baptiste Biot (1774-1862), French scientist describing the portrait sent.