ON THE CAMERA LTJCIDA. 373 



the drawings that were certainly made by Mr. Daniel by Drawings made 



means of this instrument, and the drawings which are said > lt ' 



to be made for different panoramas by the same means, 



aflbrd convincing proofs, that it may be of great practical 



utility in delineating objects with truth and facility, greatly 



superior to what can be practiced even by eminent artists 



without its assistance. 



The great advantage of the camera obscura is, that it^s advantages. 

 fixes the objects to be represented upon the surface, so that 

 when the artist has taken his station, and arranged his in- 

 strument, he has nothing to do but run his pencil over the 

 objects which he sees lie under his hand, and, in propor- 

 tion to his capacity for drawing with correctness aud faci- 

 lity the objects which lie before him, will his drawings be 

 masterly, beautiful, aud correct. What advantages has the 

 camera lucida to oppose to the disadvantages of the ca- 

 mera obscura, or to put in competition with the advan- 

 tages which the latter instrument is known to possess? 



The camera lucida is portable in a very small compass; it Advantages of 

 represents objects with more brilliancy and distinctness than Iuc ^ 

 the camera obscura; and it represents them either singly or 

 in combination, with perfect truth and correctness of per- 

 spective. What disadvantages has it then to counterbalance 

 these particulars in which it is evidently superior, in a ycry 

 great degree, to the camera obscura? 



This will, perhaps, be best illustrated by referring , to Its disadvan- 

 the annexed sketch from nature, which I have drawn with ages 

 the naked eye; which I attempted to draw with the camera 

 lucida, but could not, and which I have no doubt that I 

 could have draw n with more correctness, facility, ami ex- 

 pedition in the camera obscura, than in any other manner. 



several years under my eye; they consisted of figures drawn from 

 nature in the fashionable dress of the time, the sketches drawn 

 with much truth and spirit, the finished drawings tinted with so 

 much taste, that I have no doubt the hand that made them Was 

 equal to any thing that was afterward produced as Bruce's, aud as 

 they were publicly sold as his before he had acquired any public 

 reputation, or excited the tongue of envy to injure him, there is 

 every reason to believe, that they were actually drawn by Mr. Bruce. 

 These drawings were favourites with me so long as I had access to _ • 

 tbem ; but my lather's collection was sold after Jais death, and I 

 know not what became of them. 



