152 PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE COLORS OF NATURE. 



substitute for j^lass painting. It represents a eui)id with yellowisli- 

 brown hair and wings, and a small blue scarf around the waist, Avhose 

 ends wave in the wind. He carries an avrow piercing two hearts of 

 ruby color; between the knees beholds a quiver with yellow orna 

 niented opening, and yellow mountings, the lower jiart of which rests, 

 with the ligure, upon an idealistic thistle blossom of red leaves. The 

 stem is of the same color, and the plant shows fresh green leaves. The 

 picture has a pale ])lue background, and red, green, and yellow orna- 

 mentation around the border in very pronounced colors. This border 

 ornamentation alfords an excellent means of comparison with the print. 

 The latter, in opi)osition to the bright original, shows a greenish-grey, 

 partly dark, ground. At first look, one recognizes readily that of all 

 the colors only the red of the original has been distinctly le-produced. 

 But it is not true to nature; it has a. copper-re<l color, and differs 

 decidedly from the vermilion and carmiue red of the original. Besides 

 this copper red, only the blue of the scarf and the mountings of 

 the cross-l)ow and (piiver come out a very pale light blue, with no 

 natural resemblance. The black lines of the border decoration apjtear 

 alongside of this as a violet-black. These are the tones which, to some 

 extent, have a similarity of color, but with the other colors it is not so 

 favorable. The yellow squares and green trapezoids of the border 

 decoration appear neither yellow nor green, but have a greyish-red 

 tone. The blue fields are not blue, but greenish grey, like the ground. 

 It is most singular that several parts are re-i)roduced in red which 

 actually are not red, but brown-yellow, as, for instance, the hair, the 

 wings, the cross-bow, the thistle, etc. The green leaves in the priut 

 show no fresh color, and the red leaves of the blossom and the body of 

 cupid show only a pale ilesh color. - - - The resemblance of the new 

 X>hotographici)ictures to natural colors is, therefore, not very favorable. 

 Only two colors can be recognized distinctly in the copy, of which the 

 red is the best; iu a less degree the blue, which is weaker as fiir as the 

 picture is concerned. The blue iu the ornamentation around the border, 

 and all other colors, either have not been re-produced at all, or are 

 entirely unlike the original. - - - If I compare the sanq^le before 

 me with the jyictures I have seen in 18<)7 of Niepce de St. Victor, 

 Becquerel, and Dr. Zenker, I must confess that those much older pro- 

 ductions were richer in color, although the tones deviated likewise con- 

 siderably from the natural ones." 



According to Capt. Abney, the red end of the spectrum produces red 

 by promoting oxidation; the blue end, blue, by its reducing action.* 

 Prof Mendolat says: "It may at first sight appear improbable that 

 the coincidence between the colors of the spectrum and the colors 

 of the impressed film is a mere accident; but although this is difficult 

 to believe, I venture to think that it is an accidental coincidence and 

 nothing more. - - - Iu the bcvst specimens of these photo-chro- 

 matic spectra that 1 have seen, the colors were certainly nothing 

 more than api)roximations to the pure siH'ctrum colors; and even in 

 these spectra some of the colored ettect was due to the unaltered 

 groundcolor of the film in regions where sonu' particular color had 

 produced no action at all." 



*A)ithon!/'s IliiHelhi, 1S90. ].. :W7. iClietiiish-i/ of rhoiof/raphfi, ]>. .S24. 



