From James Scott Bowerbank   6 June 1849

My dear Sir

I go to the Isle of Wight early on Friday morn & on my return will do any thing that is in my power to further your scheme of the Museum & will not fail to look out some fruits for you. If I were to bring forward my Portrait scheme now I should certainly damage the spirited undertaking of an excellent Friend Ransome & therefore I have put it on the shelf, at least for a while. I took good Daguerreotypes of Buckland & Murchison last Monday in one of our Friends series and they are now at Maguires.

There are two causes of the fine dust that appears on Daguerreotypes. The first one is, that the picture is always composed of minute mealy particles predominating in the lighter parts & nearly absent in the darker parts & thus it is the picture is produced. The second cause is rather too long an exposure to the Mercury, & then it is an additional crop of larger particles equally dispersed over the surface, but at considerable distance from each other comparatively. This second effect is not a desirable one but often occurs in the best Daguerreotypes.

The portraits of yourself an[d] the Bishop are much admired as having so very characteristic expression

I remain | My Dear Sir | yours most truly | J S Bowerbank