TALBOT7102

Lacock
26 Dec

D^r Grove

Thanks for your Xmas good wishes – I am suffering from a severe cough & cold & have not had such an attack for 10 years or more, it has almost laid me up –

I return to Town on the 2^d January, notwithstanding this illness, as it is absolutely necessary to come to a determination respecting the application to the Privy Council for a prolongation. ¹ The hearing [illegible deletion] is fixed for the 10^th January. If there is no prolongation there will be of course no object in further litigating the question. ² Can you make an appointment to see my me at your chambers on the 3^d January?

Yours Truly
H. F. Talbot

I am afraid from what you say the Ruhmkorff sparks ³ will not do for me. Is there no mode of obtaining an intense single spark?May I be permitted to exhibit the following experiment in Court, ⁴ with Pyrogallic acid, nothing can be more successful – It almost carries demonstration with it –
viz. Take a piece of iodised paper
brush it over with Nitrate of Silver (w^ch may be done in the daylight slightly screened off) – Expose this for ½ minute to daylight having put an object, ex. gr. ⁵ a square piece of card on it – An invisible image forms – Wash the paper with pyrogallic acid – The image appears – Throw it into a vessel of salt water & it is fixed –
Repeat y^e exp^t with gallic acid – The exp^t also answers admirably with Protosulph. Iron –
Shall I make some Camera Pictures developing y^e image with Pyrogallic?