June 25 - 1864
Dear Sir
I return the Article with some corrections which I think necessary.<1>
You speak of an accompanying Engraving - do you mean a wood engraving? Such are very seldom successful for portraiture. If instead of this you would like to give a steel engraving by a good artist I should be happy to bear part of the expense- Mr Moffat obligingly made several carte de visite portraits, one of which was preferred to the others by my family-. I hope that this is the one which your propose to engrave from. I enclose a copy, though I think you have it already. I propose to distribute it among friends at Edinburgh but at present I believe the Photographic Society there is no longer in Session. I did not expect that you would begin this series of biographies of Photographers so soon although you mentioned your intention to me at Edinbro' else I would have sent you some memoranda - I will endeavour to do so however in a few days.
Your are wrong in directing your letter to me as the Honble for the grandson of an Earl has not that title of Courtesy.
I have altered what you say about my possessing robust health, for although by the blessing of providence I am pretty well in health for the most part, yet it is not well to be too confident of its continuance. Your printed slips have too narrow a margin, making corrections difficult. Will you oblige me by sending a corrected proof as soon as you can?
Yours truly
H.F. Talbot
Mr Taylor
Notes:
1.This was the first of the series, "Sketches of Eminent Photographers",published with a woodcut in The British Journal of Photography, v. 11 no. 217, 1 July 1864, pp. 320-321; v. 11 no. 219, 15 July 1864, pp. 242-243; v. 11 no. 222, 5 August 1864, pp. 278-279; v. 11 no. 224, 19 August 1864, p. 303; v. 11 no. 227, 9 September 1864, pp. 340-341; v. 11 no. 233, 21 October 1864, pp. 412-413.