Ashmolean Museum. <1>
Decr 6. 1854.
My dear Sir
I enclose you a picture which I made from your positive process <2> to day – I believe it is set. I left it at least, for a half hour in a 1/8th satd cold solution of Hyposulphite & washed it. I did not take the trouble to get all the Iodide out – It is not worth it, & is good enough to shew the ease with which the process can be done. I only did two pictures & this is rather the better of the two. My Assistant <3> made his picture this morning but he left it in about ten times too long, arguing from his experience in the dull fog of yesterday <4> – So he has had to make more Iodized paper, as he foolishly only made 4 sheets before. I hope he will have done a picture to send by post-time. He seems to me to be as successful as I should be myself. His Iodized paper looks capital, & in fact in every respect except calculation of time in the Camera which he must learn by experience he seems to do the Calotype perfectly & that from a verbatim pursuit of your instructions. <5>
It strikes me that you might multiply original fine negatives of the ordinary kind most advantageously by your positive process. I observe it requires greater cleanliness even than normal with such processes, though by the way I have not been operating to day with much of this virtue.
Could you lay your hand on my original tree-negatives? <6> You have some four or five of them I think at Lacock. I should much like a few more copies of them. I have not one left.
Believe me, always Yrs very truly
Nevil Story Maskelyne
Notes:
1. Story-Maskelyne lectured on mineralogy and chemistry at the University of Oxford, and had a laboratory in the lower part of the museum building.
2. WHFT's amphitype.
3. Carl [Karl] Ewald, Ph.D. See Doc. No: 07072 and Doc. No: 07089.
4. See Doc. No: 07081.
5. See Doc. No: 07072.
6. See Doc. No: 07072.