Part 3

A pleasant vision is opened up of snap-shot views, taken from a railway carriage, and developed during the journey. Of course, plates need not be exposed while the train is “hurtling” along at seventy miles an hour; but in a, say, ten hours’ journey there are many stoppages and slackenings of speed which a member of the “wideawakes” could profitably utilize.--_The Amateur Photographer._

MILITARY PHOTOGRAPHY.

Captain Curties, of the Royal Engineers, has written a series of articles on the above subject, which were published in the _Broad Arrow_. In the last of the series he gives a description of his photographic outfit. His arrangements for exposing and developing the plates in the field afford interesting reading. However, judging from our own experiences on the scout, the picket line, or field, we should say that the whole scheme, as portrayed by Captain Curties, is more or less chimerical, and no matter how plausible the plan may seem or read to the members of a theoretical camera club in their well-furnished quarters, there are certain difficulties in the way which would make the scheme impracticable, and even if these were overcome, the results would be of but little if any use in actual service, a fact which will be apparent to anyone who has seen active military service.

The captain in his articles says:

“The one object I have kept in view all through has been to simplify the art as much as possible, and to make each photographic section complete in itself, and able to take, develop, and print a picture without any outside help in the shortest time possible. Having this end in view, my equipment supplies in the first place two light knapsacks, to be carried in a reconnaissance by two mounted officers or men. One contains a very light fold-up camera, capable of taking pictures 10 in. by 12 in., round which is wrapped the focussing cloth. It has not appeared to me desirable to place before a general a view of a country smaller than this. The extra weight would be more than compensated for by the comprehensive picture obtained; moreover, in a small plate, I take it, distance would not be fairly and distinctly portrayed. The other knapsack carries three dark slides, very light but strong, each containing two plates. This knapsack also contains the lens, instantaneous shutter, etc. Both knapsacks are made to fit close to the back, and, in addition to the straps passing over the shoulders, are secured to the sword-belt, thus preventing any injurious motion when riding. By the simple act of unbuckling one strap, each can be at once unslung ready to be unpacked. The tripod, which is made as light as can be consistently with strength and stability, is carried folded up in a bucket attached to the saddle, and fixes immediately on to the camera. We next proceed to the all-important subject of “developing” in the field. For this purpose I use a tent composed of a large, folding, umbrella-shaped top, made of a material which admits a deep ruby light. When this is opened and fixed in the ground, it stands just clear of a tall man’s head. Over it is dropped a sort of sack, open at bottom ends, the top end being much smaller than the bottom end, and capable of being drawn together by means of two cords. This sack is lightproof and waterproof. The lower end is held down by means of a light iron hoop or ring, which also folds up to facilitate packing. The hoop is attached to the bottom of the sack in such a way that a border of the material extends beyond it, and rests upon the ground. This, in the ordinary way, is sufficient to keep out light, but should any find its way in, a few handfuls of earth or stones heaped up round the border will effectually keep it out. The stick of the umbrella is a hollow bamboo, open at the top. It is pierced with holes to about half its length; this ventilates the tent. A cap placed over the top of the stick excludes light, but not air. We now have a complete tent in which a man can move about freely, and use his hands without constraint, and, above all, he is not half stifled, as one generally is in the usual run of developing tents. It can be taken down at a moment’s notice, and packed in a very small compass, the whole being exceedingly light and compact. A few stays may be necessary in windy weather to keep it steady. The person about to develop a plate slings over his shoulders, knapsack fashion, a small metal tank, containing sufficient water to wash several plates; attached to it is a gutta-percha tube and tap. Round the waist is buckled a broad leather belt, in which are fixed bottles containing the developing solutions, etc. A light fold-up trough, with a gutta-percha drain-pipe, carried outside the tent, and two light shelves, hook on to the stick of the umbrella. All that now has to be done is to lift up the walls of the tent, step inside, and develop and print the picture, which by using bromide-paper (undoubtedly _the_ process for military use), would take something like a quarter of an hour, the printing, of course, to be done from the wet plate. I may mention that I use scarcely any glass beyond the plates (which I believe in); those articles which are made of glass are protected to prevent breakage. I believe myself that the whole of the articles now made of glass can be manufactured from a preparation of celluloid, which is strong, light, and durable. I hope shortly to have a complete set of bottles, measures etc., made of celluloid.”

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M. STRAVOS ZELLIS, of Alexandria in Egypt, recommends the following process for marking or lettering on the sensitized paper such names as we wish to give the prints. He takes a piece of thin white paper and traces upon it the words which he wishes to have at the bottom of his negative, and oils it on both sides; having removed the excess of oil by rubbing it between two sheets of bibulous paper, he coats it with varnish on both sides and allows it to dry. On the other hand, he removes from the bottom of the negative a portion of the gelatine, equal to the size of the paper, and substitutes for it the paper, which he sticks by means of a solution of gum arabic and water. He removes then the air bubbles, which would prevent complete adherence, and this being done, waits for his work to dry. If, when printing on the sensitized paper, it is found that the letters do not show very white, the defective portions should be retouched on the back of the oiled paper. To write his name Mr. Zellis makes use of a mixture of gum arabic, lampblack, and water. This process is simple, cheap, and gives excellent results.--_Annals Photographique._

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At the meeting of the Photographic Society of Berlin, President Stolze exhibited the sketch of the Daguerre monument to be erected in Washington city, at the cost of six thousand dollars.

Dr. Julius Stinde declared never to have seen anything more disgusting (schauerlicheres) than this unhappy head of Daguerre, crushed under the weight of a large ball, and attributes the depravity of our taste to the high duty on articles of fine arts. He says that such monstrosities show that we Americans are yet in point of art barbarians of the purest water. Mr. E. Himly, as well as Dr. Stolze, takes our part, and shows that the American photographic journals have unanimously condemned and ridiculed Mr. H. McMichel’s scheme, and exonerate us as a body. Bravo!--_Photographische Nachrichten._

DAGUERRE.

On the twelfth of August, in front of the Smithsonian Institute, in Washington, dedicated to manifold arts and sciences, will be erected a lasting memorial to Daguerre, the author that we all know fixed the visible image on a given surface, which is photography, with all its varieties and names, and they are numerous.

Why should we Americans put up such a memorial? The inscription on the granite below the bronze portrait tells the story:

“To commemorate the first half century in photography, 1839–1889. Photography, the electric telegraph, and the steam engine are the three great discoveries of the age. No five centuries in human progress can show such strides as these. Erected by THE PHOTOGRAPHERS’ ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, August, 1890.”

The monument, now almost complete, its bronze features being of a high order of art, will stand sixteen feet high, and will be the only international monument in the city of Washington, where Smithson himself dedicated his fortune for the advancement of science in the western world.

In connection with this celebration we present to our readers a portrait of Daguerre. Strange to say, there are but few authentic portraits of Daguerre in existence. In our search for such a portrait we discovered the one here reproduced; it was engraved by Orr from a photograph by Dr. Meade, of New York, for the International Magazine, of that city, and used to illustrate the obituary of the eminent Frenchman, September 1, 1851. As everything relating to Daguerre cannot but prove of interest at the present time, we republish the interesting article in full as it appeared at the time:

Lewis Jacques Mande Daguerre, whose name is forever associated with the photographic process, of which he was the discoverer, died on the tenth of July, in Paris, in the sixty-second year of his age. He was a man of extreme modesty and great personal worth, and was devoted to art.

He was favorably known to the world before the announcement of his discovery of the Daguerreotype. His attempts to improve panoramic painting, and the production of dioramic effects, were crowned with the most eminent success. Among his pictures, which attracted much attention at the time of their exhibition, were, “The Midnight Mass,” “Land-slip in the Valley of Goldan,” “The Temple of Solomon,” and “The Cathedral of Sainte Marie de Montreal.”

In these the alternate effects of night and day, and storm and sunshine, were beautifully produced. To these effects of light were added others, from the decomposition of form, by means of which, for example in “The Midnight Mass,” figures appeared where the spectators had just beheld seats, altars, etc.; and again, as in “The Valley of Goldan,” in which rocks tumbling from the mountains replaced the prospect of a smiling valley.

The methods adopted in these pictures were published at the same time with the process of Daguerreotype, by order of the French Government, who awarded an annual pension of ten thousand francs to Daguerre and M. Niepce, Jr., whose father had contributed towards the discovery of the Daguerreotype. Daguerre was led to experiments on chemical changes by solar radiations, with the hope of being able to apply the phenomena to the production of effects in his dioramic paintings. As the question of the part taken by him in the process to which he has given his name has been discussed sometimes to his advantage, it appears important that his position should be correctly determined. In 1802, Wedgwood, of Eturia, the celebrated potter, made the first recorded experiments in photography; and these, with some additional ones by Sir Humphrey Davy, were published in the journals of the royal institution. In 1814, Mr. Joseph Nicephore Niepce was engaged in experiments to determine the possibility of fixing the images obtained in the camera obscura; but there does not appear any evidence of publication of any kind previously in 1827, when Niepce was in England. He there wrote several letters to Mr. Bauer, the microscopic observer, which are preserved and printed in Hunt’s “Researches on Light.”

He also sent specimens of results obtained to the Royal Society, and furnished some to the cabinets of the curious, a few of which are yet in existence. These were pictures on metallic plates covered with film of resin.

In 1824 Daguerre commenced his researches, starting at that point at which Wedgwood left the process. He soon abandoned the employment of the nitrate and chloride of silver, and proceeded with his inquiry, using plates of metal and glass to receive his sensitive coating. In 1829 Mr. Vincent Chevalier brought Niepce and Daguerre together, when they entered into partnership to prosecute the subject in common. For a long time they appear to have used the resinous surface only, when the contrast between the resin and the metal plates not being sufficiently great to give a good picture, endeavors were made to blacken that part of the plate from which the resin was removed in the process of heliography (sun drawing), as it was most happily called. Amongst other materials, iodine was employed; and Daguerre certainly was the first to notice the property possessed by the iodine coating of changing under the influence of the sun’s rays. The following letter from Niepce to Daguerre is on this subject:

“81, LOUP DE VARVENNES, June 23, 1831.

“Sir and Dear Partner:--I had long expected to hear from you with too much impatience not to receive and read with the greatest pleasure your letters of the tenth and twenty-first of last May.

“I shall confine myself in this reply to yours of the twenty-first, because, having been engaged ever since it reached me in your experiments on iodine, I hasten to communicate to you the results which I have obtained. I had given my attention to similar researches previous to our connection, but without hope of success, from the impossibility, or nearly so, in my opinion, of fixing in any durable manner the image received on iodine, even supposing the difficulty surmounted of replacing the lights and shadows in their natural order. My results in this respect have been entirely similar to those which the oxide of silver gave me; and promptitude of operation was the sole advantage which these substances appeared to offer. Nevertheless, last year, after you left this, I subjected iodine to new trials, but by a different mode of application. I informed you of the results, and your answer, not at all encouraging, decided me to carry these experiments no farther. It appears that you have since viewed the question under a less desperate aspect, and I do not hesitate to reply to the appeal which you have made.

“J. N. NIEPCE.”

From this and other letters it is evident that Niepce had used iodine, and abandoned it on account of the difficulty of reversing the lights and shadows. Daguerre employed it also, as it appears, with far more promise of success than any obtained by M. Niepce. On the fifth of July, 1833, Niepce died; in 1837 Daguerre and Isodore Niepce, the son and heir of Nicephore Neipce, entered into a definite agreement, and in a letter written on the first of November, 1837, to Daguerre, Isodore Niepce says, “What a difference, also, between the method which you employ and the one by which I toil on! While I require almost a whole day to make one design, you ask only four minutes! What an enormous advantage! It is so great, indeed, that no person knowing both methods would employ the old one.” From this time it is established that although both Niepce and Daguerre used iodine, the latter alone employed it with any degree of success, and the discovery of the use of mercurial vapor to produce the positive image clearly belongs to Daguerre. In January, 1839, Daguerreotype pictures were first shown to the scientific and artistic public of Paris.

The sensation they created was great, and the highest hopes of its utility were entertained. On the 15th of June M. Duchatel, Minister of the Interior, presented a bill to the Chamber of Deputies relative to the purchase of the process of M. Daguerre for fixing the images of the camera. A commission appointed by the Chamber, consisting of Arago, Etienne, Carl, Vatout, de Beaumont, Toursover, Delessert (Francois), Combarel de Leyral, and Vitet, made their report in July, and a special commission was appointed by the Chamber of Peers, composed of the following peers: Barons Athalin Besson, Gay Lussac, the Marquis de Laplace, Vicomte Simeon, Baron Thenard, and the Comte de Noe, who reported favorably on the 30th of July, 1839, and recommended unanimously that the “bill be adopted simply, and without alteration.” On the 19th of August the secret was for the first time publicly announced in the institution by M. Arago, the English patent having been completed a few days before, in open defiance and contradiction of the statement of M. Duchatel to the Chamber of Deputies, who used these words:

“Unfortunately for the authors of this beautiful discovery, it is impossible for them to bring their labor into the market, and thus indemnify themselves for the sacrifices incurred by so many attempts so long fruitless. This invention does not admit of being secured by patent.”

In conclusion, the Minister of the Interior said: “You will concur in a sentiment which has already awakened universal sympathy. You will never suffer us to leave to foreign nations the glory of endowing the world of science and of art with one of the most wonderful discoveries that honor our native land.” Daguerre never did much towards the improvement of his process. The high degree of sensibility which has been attained has been due to the experiments of others.

Daguerre is said to have been always averse to sitting for his own picture, and there are but few photographs of him in existence. The one from which our engraving is copied was taken by Mr. Meade of this city, and first appeared in the _Daguerrean Journal_, a monthly periodical conducted by S. D. Humphrey and L. L. Hill, who were distinguished for their improvements upon Daguerre’s process.

GELATINOGRAPHY.

A very rapid process to make newspaper illustrations, called gelatinography, is described in the following:

A black glass plate or a tin plate coated with black varnish, as used by sign-painters, is covered with plaster of Paris (gypsum) to a thickness of four-ply cardboard. The plaster of Paris must be of the best quality and reduced to a very fine powder. Add thereto some alum and some sulphate of barium, and in order to prevent the coating from being too brittle, add also a trifle of glycerine or of a gelatine solution.

This mixture must have the consistency of a thin pulp when applied to the glass or tin with a soft camel’s-hair brush.

When dry, the artist may engrave into this coat of plaster of Paris, by means of a lithographic engraving needle, any design or picture with the greatest ease; the plate or glass is thereby laid bare, and design or picture appears black through the plaster of Paris coating. Mistakes or errors are easily remedied by filling in the plaster of Paris preparation.

With the regular printers’ roller composition a stereotype is now made of the picture or design on the glass or plate, in the usual way; some bichromate of ammonia solution should be added to the roller composition, to make the stereotype hard enough for the type press, and it will be as durable as any electrotype, and answer the same purpose.--_Am. Lith. and Printer._

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STEREOSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHY.--Of late, there is quite a revival in this branch of our art-science, several English and many foreign amateurs having been working with twin lenses during the last and present seasons. The Belgian _Bulletin_ has an article on the subject, and the last technical meeting of the Photographic Society was devoted to it. Although Wheatstone announced the instrument in 1838, it was not until photography had come to his aid by furnishing satisfactory diagrams, and Brewster had popularized the matter by the invention of the lenticular stereoscope, that much progress was made; then Wheatstone gave his Bakerian lecture on January 15th, 1852, to put the finishing touch to this important branch of scientific work. The earlier attempts failed by reason of employing too wide an angle.

ECLIPSE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Probably in no department of science, certainly in no branch of astronomical science, has photography been of such use as in the study of solar eclipses. It is only when the sun is obscured by the moon that we are able to see and properly photograph the corona or luminous atmosphere around the sun. This solar corona, as has been said by Young, “is visible only about eight days in the century in the aggregate, and then only over narrow strips of the earth’s surface, and but from one to five minutes at a time by any one observer.” Very little of the eight days, however, can be utilized; indeed, as has been pointed out by Miss Clerke in her admirable _History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century_, the corona has only been observed by scientific men during forty-five minutes in as many years. Opportunities of observing an eclipse occur therefore at such comparatively long intervals, the phenomena to be observed are so varied and extensive, and the time during which the observations must be made is so very limited, that any permanent records of the phenomena, such as photography enables us to obtain, cannot fail to be of the greatest value. The most careful drawings of the same eclipse by different observers at the same station are so very dissimilar that it is generally unsafe to base any conclusion on them; whereas in photographs we have truthful records of the actual phenomena without personal equation of any kind, and with the additional advantage that there is more detail in the photograph than it is possible to insert in any drawing made during an eclipse, or even at leisure after the three or four minutes’ observation of such an indefinite and irregular object as the corona. The history of the increase of our knowledge of the corona is practically the history of the improvement of our photographic methods of attacking the phenomena of an eclipse.

The first occasion on which photography was used at an eclipse of the sun was on July 8, 1842, when Professor Majocchi, at Milan, attempted to obtain Daguerreotype pictures of the corona. His account of the attempt informs us that “a few minutes before and after totality an iodised plate was exposed in a camera to the light of the thin crescent, and a distinct image was obtained; but another plate exposed to the light of the corona for two minutes during totality did not show the slightest trace of photographic action. No photographic alteration was caused by the light of the corona condensed by a lens for two minutes, during totality, on a sheet of paper prepared with bromide of silver.” No details are given of the apertures of the lenses employed, or of their focal lengths. At the outset, therefore, astronomers were met with failure, but the failure at Milan did not deter Dr. A. H. Busch and Herr Berkowski from a similar attempt at Konigsberg on July 28, 1851. The telescope used on this occasion had an aperture of 2.4 inches, and a focal length of 30 inches. Commencing immediately after the beginning of totality, a plate was exposed for 84 seconds in the focus of the telescope, and on development an image of the corona was obtained. A second plate exposed for from 40 to 45 seconds was fogged by the sudden breaking out of the sunlight. The picture thus obtained--the first photograph of the corona and prominences--is known as the Konigsberg Daguerreotype, and is still preserved at the Strasburg Observatory. It was lent by Professor Winnecke for the exhibition of scientific instruments at South Kensington in 1876. On it the prominences, and the lower portion of the corona extending about one-fourth of a solar diameter from the moon’s limb, are distinctly shown, the encroaching of the prominences on the dark disc of the moon, owing to irradiation, being particularly evident.

Daguerreotype was again used for the annual eclipse of May 26, 1854, by Mr. Campbell and Professor Loomis at New York; by Dr. Bartlett and Victor Prevost, who obtained nineteen photographs, at West Point; and by Professor Stephen Alexander and Mr. E. H. Old at Ogdensburg.