Alton-Towers
le 13 Avril 1845.
Monsieur,
Veuillez bien me pardonner la liberté que je prends de vous écrire encore une fois, pour vous demander quelques instructions. Vous verrez par les copies si-jointes que j’ai fait déjà quelque progrès depuis que j’eus l’honneur de vous écrire pour la première fois. Depuis quelque temps, j’ai fait des originaux, (des dessins de la chambre obscure) d’une grande finesse, mais toute ma difficulté d’à présent consiste dans la manière d’en faire des copies. Quelques fois je n’obtiens qu’une mauvaise copie d’un bon original. Jusqu’ici je me suis servi du papier préparé par Mr Redmann de Beckham [sic]<1>, et je le crois fort bon, excepté le Photogenique, que je trouve souvent inégalement préparé; peut-être aussi que ce défaut vient de ce que j’applique mal le papier. Je voudrais donc vous prier de vouloir bien me dire comment il faut faire le Photogenic paper. Dans l’imprimé que vous avez eu la bonté de m’envoyer, il est question d’un memoir read to the Royal Society in February 1839,<2>, dans lequel vous avez expliqué ce procédé. Veuillez bien me dire quelle solution de nitrate of silver, et quelle autre of salt est nécessaire, et pour quelle quantité d’eau. Veuillez aussi bien me donner quelques autres renseignements, si vous les jugez nécessaires.
Milord<3>, me charge de vous présenter ses affectueux compliments; il m’a dit que depuis long-temps vous lui avez promis de venir à Alton-Towers, et qu’il désire ardemment vous voir accomplir votre promesse.
J’ai l’honneur d’être avec une estime et une considération parfaite[s?] Monsieur Votre très-humble Serviteur
Dr Poncelet
chez Lord Shrewsbury.
P.S. J’ai lu dans un livre que si le dessin du calotype, ou l’original, n’était pas assez transparent, il y fallait mettre un peu d’huile sur le dessein [sic]. Je l’ai fait et j’ai fait des copies extrémement mauvaises, en un mot, j’ai gâté plusieurs bon dessins de cette manière. Le portrait de la Princesse Borghesi et un autre dessin ont été huilés.
Veuillez donc bien me dire comment il faut faire pour avoir de belles copies.
Translation:
Alton-Towers
13 April 1845.
Dear Sir,
Kindly pardon me for the liberty that I am taking in writing to you once again, to ask you for some instructions. You will see by the attached copies that I have already made some progress since I had the honour of writing to you for the first time. For some time now, I have made originals, (camera obscura drawings) of great sharpness, but all my present difficulty lies in the way in which copies are made from them. Sometimes I obtain only a bad copy from a good original. Until now I have used paper prepared by Mr Redmann of Beckham [sic], and I believe it to be very good, excepting his Photogenic paper, which I often find to be changeable in the quality of preparation; perhaps too, this flaw comes from the fact that I apply the paper badly. I would therefore like to ask you to kindly tell me how one makes Photogenic paper. In the printed material that you were good enough to send me, there is reference made to a memoir read to the Royal Society in February 1839, in which you explained this process. Please tell me what solution of nitrate of silver, and what other of salt is necessary, and what quantity of water is to be used with them. Please also give me some other details, if you judge them necessary.
Milord asks me to pass on to you his kind regards; he told me that for a long time you have been promising him that you will come to Alton-Towers, and that he strongly desires to see you fulfilling your promise.
I have the honour of being with great esteem and consideration Sir Your very humble Servant
Dr Poncelet
at the home of Lord Shrewsbury.
P.S. I read in a book that if the drawing of the calotype, or of the original, was not transparent enough, one had to put a little oil on the drawing. I did so and I made some extremely bad copies, in a word I have ruined several good drawings in this way. The portrait of Princess Borghesi and another drawing have been oiled.
Kindly tell me therefore what one must do in order to have good copies.
Notes:
1. Theodore Smith Redman (b 1811) was a chemist in Peckham, London, when John Werge (possibly a customer) taught him photogenic drawing. By 1846, Redman had moved to Fleet Street and was making daguerreotype portraits, giving lessons in the calotype, and selling photographic supplies. See also Doc. No: 04071.
2. WHFT, "An Account of the Processes employed in Photogenic Drawing", read before The Royal Society on 21 February 1839 and published in the Literary Gazette, no. 1153, 23 February 1839, pp. 123-124. A synopsis was also published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, v. 4 no. 37, 21 February 1839, pp. 124-126. Doc. No: 03814.
3. John Talbot, 16th Earl Shrewsbury (1791-1852).