TALBOT4628

S^t Leonards College
S^t Andrews
October 22^d 1842

Dear Sir,

I am now occupied with my Photographic Article ¹ which must be in the Printers’ hands by the 8^th of Nov^r. You would oblige me therefore by any hints or communications. I particularly wish your chemical theory of the Calotype & Daguerreotype processes, ² and I will thank you to tell me which or how many of your Papers I sh^d list among the works at the head of the Article.

M^r Adamson ³ has arrived at great perfection in the art, and his brother the Doctor ⁴ is preparing a little book containing his best works ⁵ which I shall send to you soon.

You will recollect of promising your countenance and support to any person whom I could induce to practise the Calotype as a profession in Scotland. ⁶ When the specimens reach you, you will be able to judge of M^r Adamson’s merits, and to do what you can to support him. I mean to give him a strong recommendation, and I trust you will do the same.

My Son ⁷ who has got a fine Camera f^m Davidson ⁸ is now practising the Calotype with great success at Cork with his Reg^t and I hope to send you soon some of his works. – I have been very busy in the secondary department of taking positives from his Negatives, and have made some essential improvements in the process. The Ammonia is certainly the best fixing material. A copious & continued dose is necessary and gives absolute fixation.

I have produced fine effects by using tinted papers. When the Bromide is used, they soften its harshness, change its colour, and prevent the accession of the blue which supervenes by exposure to light.

My Son has made many successful exp^ts in applying oil to the negatives ⁹. – We have all tried this here but not successfully. He however got into the way of doing it; and independent of the quickness w^h which it gives a positive in the darkest day, he finds that the grain of the tint is much finer, resembling the finest aquatints. There is great risk however of spoiling the negative, and he has lost several before he succeeded.

Have you seen Channing’s simplification of your Process in the last N^o of Silliman’s Journal. ¹⁰ I tried it carefully, but failed. The result was very imperfect.

I send you 5 specimens the Positives being taken by myself, and the negatives by D^r Adamson & my Son.

I am anxious to have a few more of your works, as I have distributed them very liberally, and my Wife ¹¹ is making up a book of Specimens. ¹²

I regret that I cannot send you two of myself¹³ which my Son and I took, he being the manipulator; because one of them has been thought by D^r Adamson & Major Playfair ¹⁴ the best Portrait done here, but, I will desire him to send you them.

My unfortunate Paper ¹⁵ has been requested for the Transactions of the R. Irish Academy where I must in future print my papers. The Edin. Transactions ¹⁶ come out too slowly.

I am Dear Sir Ever Most Truly yrs
D Brewster

P.S. I mean to write a private Letter to the Marquis of Northampton ¹⁷ on the subject of my Paper. I presume I may mention the fact you stated to me that Airy ¹⁸ claimed the previous invention of the Polarimeter. Tho’ he acknowledged he had never made it public. M^r Christie ¹⁹ mentions something like this but does not say that it was Airy.