TALBOT4635

Dear Sir,

I am delighted to hear that you are to have the Rumford Medals. ¹ I had prepared a Philippic ² against the R Society ³ for their treatment of the Calotype; ⁴ but I am now at peace with them on that score. I will mention it of course; & there will be plenty time before my Paper ⁵ goes to press to receive whatever information you may wish to send me.

You never mentioned to me at Lacock Abbey any thing about wax. I should like to know what kind of wax you use, & how you use it. ⁶ I cannot understand M^r Collin’s ⁷ Process. His faces are beautiful, & his drapery the worst possible. Why are his drawings like China Ink ones? He must take his positives with diff^t materials not from those we use.

I have finished my acc^t of the Daguerreotype, ⁸ and had mentioned Claudet’s ⁹ improvements. I presume it is understood that Daguerre ¹⁰ never made any Photographs on Paper. Arago ¹¹ seems to state that he did in the Comptes Rendus 1839 Tom VIII p. 208, ¹² and that they rejected your processes for better ones. I cannot see in the future No^s any contradiction of this; but I presume I may safely do it.– You may write me till the 20^th or 25^th of Nov^r. Did I send you a large Portrait of Lord Campbell & Sir George Campbell? ¹³ Some of the positives are perfect Rembrandts. Major Playfair ¹⁴ has taken some groups with many figures which are singularly fine.

I think the Salt in the Positive paper does more harm than good. I am working without it.

I am Dear Sir Ever Most Truly y^rs
D Brewster

S^t Leonards College
Oct^r 29^th 1842

H.F. Talbot Esq^r.