1890.] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIEXCES. 99 



Annual Meeting, as prepared by the Council in accordance with 

 the By-laws, was read by the Secretary. 



The paper of the evening (postponed from January 6tli) was 

 then read by Dr. Wallace Goold Levisox, on 



THE photography OF SELF-LUMINOUS SUBJECTS,' INCLUDING 



pyrotechnical photography," 



In that branch of photography which deals with self-luminous 

 subjects, the specialties of solar and celestial photography have 

 been chiefly developed, although others of later origin and 

 perhaps of wider interest are included. Pyrotechnical photo- 

 graphy, in so far as it embraces effects in fire, is one of these 

 next likely to acquire prominence. 



My acquaintance with the latter feature of it dates from the 

 evening of Pain's day at Manhattan Beach, September 13th, 

 1884, when I exposed a plate in a small hand -camera upon an 

 exhibition-piece near which 1 was standing on the lawn. The 

 resulting negative suggested that, with experience, very attrac- 

 tive pictures of such subjects might be obtained. The present 

 communication is a record of the results of a series of experi- 

 ments which originated in this incident, with additional illus- 

 trations from other sources ; but it also extends to the photo- 

 graphy of self-luminous subjects other than fire- works. In this 

 paper, the word "subject" is employed as a technical term 

 pertaining to the fine arts and not as an equivalent for the word 

 " object." 



On September 17th. 1887, I again attempted to photograph 

 one of Messrs, Pain & Son's designs in fire-works, which was 

 occasionally shown at Manhattan Beach during that year, en- 

 titled " The Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac." This 

 picture includes one or two set pieces and affords an interesting 

 study. The plate was exposed nearly all the time that the lances 

 of the set pieces continued to burn, yet although they are quite 

 actinic, they have not seriously iialated it. The torrent of 

 Eoman-candle balls which, in the view, the Merrimac is pouring 

 upon the Monitor, resembles a stream of water from a fire- 

 engine hose ; but in the original production these balls were 

 projected separately, and successively traced their trajectories 



• A paper read before the Brooklyn Academy of Photography, 

 November 26th, 1889. 



■ Paper read before the N, Y, Acad, of Sci., Feb. 10th, 1890, and the 

 Pliotographic Department of the Brooklyn Institute, Feb. 11th, 1890. 



