Oct. 16. 1852.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



371 



Verse 5. — The second line in the above version 

 is probaV)ly the right one, as it expresses the fact 

 of his mistaking the hour. P. H. N. 



Stroud. 



PHOTOGRAPHY APPLIED TO ARCHaiOtOGT, AND 

 PRACTISED IN THE OPEN AIR. 



(^Continued from page 320.) 



My reply to your Querist A. H. R. would, I 

 fear, be unsatisfactory to him, did I not coiniimni- 

 <;ate with how much ease tlie pictures wliich he 

 has obtained may be multiplied upon paper, and 

 show him not only how, by mutual exchange with 

 his friends, he may add to their collections and 

 gratification, but how useful Photography, when 

 combined with painting, is for illustrating any 

 work, and, in fact, how it may be applied to every 

 purpose for which an engraving may be used. 

 And it possesses, beyond any engraving, an indis- 

 putable accuracy and truthfulness which can be 

 obtained in no other way, — a property which 

 greatly enhances its value to the antiquary, and to 

 all who desire correctness. Almost ail collodion 

 pictures will, xvith care, print as negatives ; of 

 course, those taken expressly as negatives are best 

 adapted for printing : but siiould a picture be very 

 faint, we now know, thanks to the researches of 

 Professor Hunt and Mr. Archer, the means by 

 which it may with much facility be converted into 

 a strong negative, namely, by the ap[)lication of 

 the bichloride of mercury and reapplication of 

 hyposulphite of soda. 



Take half an ounce of bichloride of mercury 

 (corrosive sublimate) and dissolve it in one ounce 

 of muriatic acid, and dilute it afterwards with one 

 ounce of water. A small portion, just sufficient 

 to flow over the picture, being poured over it, in 

 the same way as the collodion was originally ap- 

 plied, the picture will immediately blacken, then 

 gradually become white, and frequently a very 

 agreeable positive is produced, — rauc4i more so 

 indeed than the primary ])roduction. 



If, after this picture has been carefully washed, 

 a solution of hyposulphite of soda — (made of one 

 ounce of hyposulphite of soda to eight ounces of 

 water) — be again poured over its surface, it 

 blackens, and an effective negative is produced. 



Before the application of the bichloride of mer- 

 cury, the surface of the collodion should be well 

 washed with water, otherwise the mercurial solu- 

 tion is apt to stain the pictures in unequal patches. 



The whole of this whitening, and subsequent 

 blackening process, must be conducted with some 

 care, as the application of the bichloride, &c. will 

 sometimes disturb the film, and always render it 

 very tender. A picture which has lieen so treated 

 may be varnished with the amber varnish, for the 

 sake of preserving ; but a white positive is much 



damaged, and in some instances entirely destroyed, 

 by the application of the black lacquer. 



Nearly all who practise the art have their own 

 favourite way of printing, and naturally advocate 

 that mode which they have either most success- 

 fully practised, or which they have gone on using 

 from having originally adopted it ; and then, as 

 frequently happens, they become so accustomed 

 to one mode that they will employ no other ; 

 although in the first instance they had no better 

 reason for adopting it, than because Mr. A. had 

 been doing so, or Mr. B. had done so before them. 

 I believe we have all much to learn before we 

 arrive at such accurate results as will always 

 enable us to produce the desired tints. Following 

 closely many printed and written directions, I 

 have often been much disappointed at not meeting 

 with the expected products. 



From my own actual experience in printing, I 

 am inclined to think that a modification of the 

 process originally described by Mr. Fox Talbot 

 lor taking negatives is the one possessing the 

 greatest advantages, as being available not only 

 in dull weather when all other processes are use- 

 less, but also because it is easily applicable ia 

 the evening, by lamp or gas light, when many 

 who are otherwise occupied during the day would 

 have the opportunity of practising it. This^ is 

 indeed a strong recommendation, to say nothing 

 of the certainty of its action, which is indisputable. 



For this process use the paper known as Tur- 

 ner's Photographic Paper, "Chafford Mills;" and 

 holding half a sheet of it, supported on a piece of 

 board of the same size, in the left hand, apply 

 either with a brush * or a glass rod, equally, and 

 without any inequalities in the application, a solu- 

 tion of nitrate of silver, of twenty grains to the 



* The mode of application much varies : the object 

 being to obtain a perfectly even surface, it matters 

 little how this object be accomplished. A camel's hair 

 pencil, of the size known as " small swan," is very con- 

 venient. They may be purchased at about eight shil- 

 lings per gross, and at this reasonable rate the operator 

 should never risk the spoiling a picture for the sake of 

 a clean one. A piece of cotton drawn through a glass 

 tube by means of a silver or platina wire terminating 

 in a hook, the cotton being pulled so as to form a 

 brush-like appearance, has been used by Mr. Buckle 

 with much success, and some prefer a " Buckle's 

 brush " to any other mode. The glass rod is always 

 clean, and with those who have accustomed themselves 

 to its use, is much approved of; but, as in all other 

 departments, these minutiae must depend upon the taste 

 and peculiar manipulation of different individuals. I 

 would merely observe that the surface of the paper 

 should be as little disturbed as possible, and that there 

 should be no retouching required by any part being 

 carelessly omitted. I believe, forming what water- 

 colour artists term a " sky wash," and always keeping 

 a flowing edge, is the best explanation to be given. 



