Lacock

19 Jan^y 48

D^r Sir

As I have received 2 or 3 letters from you lately, you perhaps think me remiss in not answering sooner, but the fact is that independently from great pressure of private business, and ill health, my absence from London during the last four weeks has prevented me from doing anything concerning the matters of which you <illegible> refer. During my last hurried visit to Town I looked over your last sent negatives w^h selected from the11 large and 27 small ones. I am sorry that I could not take more, but the reason is that the entire expense of the purchases now falls upon me, Nicole ^<1> no longer makes anything of them. The public demand for them is nil. I had not time to examine the letters marked on them and thence compare their value Else I should have sent a cheque for the amount – but I sealed them up in a separate parcel, to prevent mistake.

I had not time to examine the negatives you sent in May last because Henneman was unable to present them to me all together; some of them were at Kensington ^<2> – But on my next visit to Town I <illegible> <illegible> him to collect them. You might have <Copies?> of <illegible> negatives which you made in Italy – These would have been sent long ago, if it could have been done with facility or if any copies of them had been ready – But Henneman’s Establishment ^<3> is kept in no kind of order – He is willing Enough to oblige you I have no doubt, but without method and order good intentions are apt to be fruitless – To add to the series of ill luck which has attended his efforts, his wife has now been for a couple of months in a state hovering between life and death given over by the physicians –

I observe that you say that you are able to copy the negatives yourself, and distribute copies of them to your friends – Now I beg leave to remark that this is Henneman’s business and occupation, the thing on which he will chiefly depend, if he sets up for himself or if I part with the Regent S^t establishment to some capitalist – one of which events I expect will take place in the Spring, so that if amateurs take to making copies for themselves that will be taking the bread out of his mouth, and I must therefore request that it may not be done. I have no news of M^r Bridges ^<4> for some months have you? Is he gone to Jerusalem? One of the officers of the Mæander going to Borneo with M^r Brooke the rajah of Saranak ^<5> takes a camera which I am glad of. With comp^ts & kind regards to M^rs C. Jones,

believe me Yours very truly

H. F. Talbot

Rev^d C. Jones

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Notes:

1. Nicolaas Henneman (1813–1898), Dutch, active in England; WHFT’s valet, then assistant; photographer.

2. See Doc. No: 06154.

3. 122 Regent Street, London: base of Nicolaas Hennemans’ Talbotype or Sun Picture Rooms, later the firm of Henneman & Malone, photographers to the Queen.

4. Rev George Wilson Bridges (1788–1863), photographer & traveller.

5. James Brooke (1803–1868), rajah of Saranak in Malaysia from 1841 until his death; Brooke was knighted in 1848.