TALBOT5201

Dear Sir,

When I was in London M^r Collen ¹ took a very excellent likeness of me in Calotype ² which I wished to multiply by taking a negative from it. D^r Methven ³ and I made the exp^t in two ways. We took it on Iodised Paper in the same manner as a Positive is taken, & also on Salted Paper. We failed in the former, but succeeded in the latter; but the defect of the negative we thus obtained ⁴ was that the dark parts were not black enough like the dark parts of the common negative. Now my Question to you was to know how you would have obtained a negative from M^r Collens Calotype. I did not allude at all to your Positive process ⁵ (which by the way should have another name) as described in your specification, but which has not been tried by any of the amateurs I know.

Sir John Herschel ⁶ has set the vicious example of giving names to every variation of your Process, whereas no person has yet produced any variation which surpasses, or equals yours, in so far as I have observed.

I have this moment received a letter to my Son, ⁷ from M^r Pakenham Edgeworth ⁸ who has been looking at the Moon &c thro’ Lord Rosses ⁹ Telescope, & seeing “what no human Eye has seen before”, in which he states that he “saw at Parson’s Town D^r Woods Katalysotype! ¹⁰ a variety of Photograph giving excellent pictures in a second or two, and much less troublesome than M^r Talbots process”, so This is the process which I received the acc^t of at York ¹¹ from Lord Rosse & which I shewed you. It certainly had no pretensions to such merits at that time.

I intend to write an article soon for the North British Review ¹² on the subject of the Calotype alone; but if you w^d undertake it it would be better done. – After your Scottish volume ¹³ appears w^d be the time to take it up, & try to make it more generally known.

I have no desire to write the Article; but as there must be one, I would rather do it than leave it undone. – Perhaps you could suggest some qualified person. A M^r Fisher ¹⁴ offered to D^r Welsh, ¹⁵ the Editor, to do it but tho’ he might have given the history & details well enough, I considered him quite unqualified to write a striking article that w^d arrest public attention.

Many thanks for your congratulations on my Son’s Marriage, which has been a source of great pleasure to all his Friends.

I hope you have seen D^r Methven’s Calotypes which I think will please you much.

Believe me to be Ever Most Truly yrs
D Brewster

S^t Leonards College
S^t Andrews
March 4^th 1845

H. Fox Talbot Esq^r
&c &c &c