[the letter is in the Bodleian Library and its envelope in the British Library]

Ordnance Map Office,
Southampton 28^th April 1856

Sir,

I beg to return my best thanks for the specimens of your photographic Steel engravings – the beauty of which I cannot sufficiently admire – We have been making several experiments of late in the hope of being able to reduce the cost of making reduced drawings on the scale of one-inch to a mile from the large M. S. plans on the scale of 6 miles to a mile –

I send you one of the reduced maps, and we have certainly succeeded thus far, that we now have an accurate reduction of the Hill sketching, which with a very few touches from a draftsman is ready for the Hill engraver – Before we adopted this method the preparation of the reduced drawing for the engraver was a work of time and expence, We are now making some experiments as to the method of drawing the hills on the original M. S. plans, so that the reduced drawing will be most effective – I observe that all your engravings are of objects having a certain amount of substance, do you think it possible to produce a similar result from an engraving or pen & ink drawings such as our plans are. – Again thanking You for your kindness in sending me your extremely interesting specimen.

Believe me Your faithful Servant
Henry James.

[envelope:]
[imprinted:] On Her Majesty's Service
H. F. Talbot Esq^re
Greta Bank
Keswick
Cumberland

H. F. Talbot Esq^re