Oct. 14. 1854.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



313 



„ lead some one better qualified than myself to 

 ; continue the inquiry. F. C. B. 



PHOTOGKAPHIC CORRESPONDENCE. 



Heliographic Engraving. — At the sitting of the Aca- 

 demy of Sciences of Paris, on Monday the 2nd instant, 

 M. Niepce de Sainct Victor presented another and most 

 important memoir upon this subject. It was accompanied 

 by two engravings, executed according to this process bj- 

 M. Kift'aut; one being a portrait of the present Emperor 

 of the French, which had been retouched ; the other a 

 view of La liiblioth^que du Louvre. The latter, which is 

 printed in La Lumiere of Saturday last, shows, by its 

 minuteness of detail and the harmony of its tones, the 

 state of perfection to which this admirable discovery of 

 the uncle and nephew (M. Nie'pce and M. Is'i(5pce de Sainct 

 Victor) has already attained. As the memoir is of a 

 length to prevent our giving a translation of it (at least 

 this week), we must content ourselves with stating that 

 the varnish for the coating of the steel plate now em- 

 ployed by M. Niepce de Sainct Victor is composed of — 



Benzine ------ 90 grammes 



Essential oil of lemon (pure) - - 10 grammes 

 Bitumen of Judsea (pure) - - - 2 grammes 



This varnish is far more fluid than that originally pro- 

 posed, and consequently gives a more delicate coating to 

 the plate ; and in proportion to the delicacy of the coat- 

 ing is not only the rapidity with which it is acted upon 

 by the light, but also the minuteness of its details, and 

 the harmony of its half-tones. The only objection to 

 this varnish, namely, that it does not offer suflicient re- 

 sistance to the aqua fortis, M. Niepce de Sainct Victor has 

 got over by means of certain fumigations to which he 

 subjects the plate, as in the daguerreotype process. Full 

 details are given by him on all these points, and we 

 cannot conclude this notice, which has for its object to 

 direct the attention of our photographic friends to this 

 most important branch of the art, without paying our 

 tribute of acknowledgment to j\I. Nie'pce de Sainct Victor 

 for the liberality -with which he lays before the world the 

 results of his laborious researches. 



Buchle's Brush. — In a recent Number of " N. & Q.," 

 Dk. Diamond has taken upon himself to designate Buc- 

 kle's brush as a " clumsy invention " (or words to that 

 effect). 



This assertion I consider both unjust and without the 

 slightest foundation ; and if left uncontradicted may be 

 the means of deterring persons from adopting its use, 

 under the impression that the accusation was true. The 

 best proof, 1 consider, that can be brought as testimony 

 in Its favour, is the fact of its being used so universally 

 after the test of years, and that in the hands of calotypists 

 ■whose productions are eminently successful. Never, in a 

 single instance, have I known it discarded when once 

 adopted, and its useful and cleanly qualities ascertained 

 and appreciated; whereas in many cases the continued 

 failures arising from the use of rods and plates of glass 

 have probably driven many a young beginner to abandon 

 the process in despair. 



It is really a great pity that those who have been suc- 

 cessful in any particular method of manipulation, are so 

 frequently apt to imagine their modus operandi superior to 

 all others. 



When the Buckle's brush has been used, its advantages 

 over the other methods of preparing the Talbotype papers 

 will be readily perceived by any unprejudiced person ; 

 and surely the thanks of all lovers of this beautiful art 



are due to Mr. Buckle for his useful and most admirable 

 invention ; which, as regards cleanliness and simplicity^ 



is everything that can be desired. 



One peculiar advantage that it possesses is of the ut- 

 most importance in the paper process. Thus, in develop- 

 ing, two or more brushes may be used ; firstly, one with 

 the gallo-nitrate, and afterwards one with the gallic acid 

 alone. Should any part of the picture, however, not 

 develope sufficiently with the gallic acid solution, the 

 gallo-nitrate brush may again be applied to those places 

 which have not been impressed enough in the camera. 

 Again, should any part of the picture (a church tower or 

 other object in the distance, for instance) develope too 

 rapidly, the same may be much retarded by using a third 

 brush with plain water alone, thus weakening the solu- 

 tions on that particular part. This I have done several 

 times with much advantage, when the picture would 

 most likely have been lost, or the beauty much impaired, 

 had any other method of developing been used. 



Gallo-Nitrate. 



Hull. 



Sugar of 3Iilk and Grape Sugar : Bichloride of 3Ier- 

 cury. — 



1. Will sugar of milk answer the same purpose as 

 grape sugar or old honey, recommended by Mu. Max- 

 well Lyte for his instantaneous process. No. xxii. p. 30. 

 of Photographic Journal ? 



2. Of what strength is the solution of bichloride of 

 mercury to be, which is recommended in the same Num- 

 ber of the same work by Mr. Dickson, for removing the 

 dirty yellow appearance caused by the lengthened im- 

 mersion in hypo, of our printed positives? and how long 

 should the print be allowed to float on the solution? 



As the Photographic Journal appears but once a month, 

 B. J. would be greatly obliged by an answer in that very 

 interesting periodical " N. & Q." 



[1. No. The action of grape sugar is very different 

 from that of sugar of milk. 



2. We do not know what is the strength employed by 

 Mr. Dickson, but we have made some experiments our- 

 selves ; but though we have removed the yellow colour, 

 we have produced a colour still more disagreeable. So 

 that the remedy seems like that of the old proverb, which 

 speaks of eating garlic to hide the smell of onions.] 



aarpTte^ to Minav ^tierfcS. 



Biographies of Living Authors (Vol. x., p. 220.). 

 — I agree with M. that the list which he proposes 

 would'' be useful, but I fear it will be brief. 

 Strange that he did not observe in the advertise- 

 ment prefixed to the two-volume edition, a re- 

 ference to a preceding work, — 



" Catalogue of five hundred celebrated authors of Great 

 Britain, now living. Lond. : Faulder, 1788." 



Some of vour correspondent's questions are, I 

 think, too" puerile for " N. & Q." However, to 

 one or two I will reply. 



Tlie chaplain to the Lock Hospital who advo- 

 cated polygamy was Martin Madan, brother to 

 the Bishop of Peterborough, great-nephew to 

 Lord Chancellor Cowper, and a relation and friend 

 of the poet Cowper, in whose letters he and his 

 Thelyplhora are repeatedly mentioned. 



How the Princess Olive " began her career " I 



