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Document number: 6379
Date: Dec 1851
Dating: see publication note
Recipient: WOODS Thomas
Author: TALBOT William Henry Fox
Collection: British Library, London, Manuscripts - Fox Talbot Collection
Last updated: 14th June 2016

[draft]

Dr Woods (not sent)

I thk y for yr Courtesy in sendg me a copy of yr Lr to ye Athenm. I shll reqst ye Edr if he inserts yr Lr, to insert also my a reply fm me

I am happy to infm y that there is not ye least resblce betwn my Amph. process & that describd by you in /45, except that I employ ii (not ye syrup of it, wch does not answer) –

In my process The pos & neg images are not seen as you imagine at oppos. sides of the plate but both on the same side, in changing from 1 kind to the other altntly accg to ye directn of ye light – in ye manner of ye images on a Dtype plate

They have ^indeed a gt deal resblce to Dtype picts so that sometimes it especlly when a black cloth is held behind them, but they have not ye slightest resemblce to ye paper photogrhs to wch y allude, wch bear a posve image on 1 side & a negve on ye other

Woods

[expanded version]

Dr Woods (not sent)

I thank your for your Courtesy in sending me a copy of your letter to the Athenæum. <1> I shall request the Editor if he inserts your Letter, to insert also my a reply from me

I am happy to inform you that there is not the least resemblance between my Amphitype process and that described by you in 1845, except that I employ the iodide of iron (not the syrup of it, which does not answer) –

In my process the positive and negative images are not seen as you imagine at opposite sides of the plate but both on the same side, in changing from one kind to the other alternately according to the direction of the light – in the manner of the images on a Daguerreotype plate They have indeed a great deal resemblance to Daguerreotype pictures so that sometimes it especially when a black cloth is held behind them, but they have not the slightest resemblance to the paper photographs to which you allude, which bear a positive image on one side and a negative on the other


Notes:

1. Wood's letter and WHFT's reply were published under "Photography" in The Athenæum, no. 1262, 3 January 1852, pp. 22-23. For WHFT's letter, see Doc. No: 06547.

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