TALBOT3872

Lacock Abbey
April 27. 1839

Dear Sir

I am very much obliged to you for the pictures, which I return herewith. M. Biot ¹ expressed himself much pleased with those you sent him through me: he has been much occupied with experiments on guiacum resin, in which light produces certain remarkable changes and he says these have led him into quite a new field of discovery. I have discontinued lately the use of hyposulphite as a fixer, in consequence of having spoiled some pictures with it, without being able exactly to ascertain why ² – But I think it arises from something in the paper, since others made at the same time were properly fixed – Probably a few experiments directly made for the purpose, would show the cause of failure, and the way to avoid it in the future.

When you are in Paris you will no doubt have an opportunity of seeing Daguerre’s pictures. ³ I shall be glad to hear from you, what you think of them. Whatever their merit, which no doubt is very great, I think that in one respect our English method must have the advantage. To obtain a second copy of the same view, Daguerre must return to the same locality & set up his instrument a second time; for he cannot copy from his metallic plate, being opaque. But in our method, having first obtained one picture by means of the Camera, the rest are obtainable from this one, by the method of re-transferring which, by a fortunate & beautiful circumstance rectifies both of the errors in the first picture at once. viz. the inversion of right for left; & that of light for shade. N.B. I have found that the Camera pictures transfer very well, & the resulting effect is altogether Rembrandtish. ⁴

Your plan of making one picture adjust another is very curious, I should have thought à priori that the superposition would not have been sufficiently exact.

I have obtained a paper more sensible than the Bromine paper, & with the additional advantage of growing quite black, but at present I find it neither fixable, nor manageable, so that I am uncertain whether it will turn out of any advantage. I beg your acceptance of a Copy from old painted glass, re-transferred. I am much obliged by your offer of taking a packet to Paris. I will send a small one, and request you will have the goodness to send for it to 31 Sackville Street, Piccadilly; ⁵ as I cannot well enclose it to Capt. Beaufort, ⁶ not from its weight, but its quarto form which displeases the Post Office authorities.

Believe me Yours most truly
H. F. Talbot

N.B. If inconvenient to send to Sackville S^t never mind it, and I will send the packet by some future occasion.