Art of Phologe7iic Draimig. 20 1 



to the full summer sun, and from which exposure the imatre 

 has suffered nothing, but retains its perfect whiteness. '^ 



§ 4. On the Art ofjixing a Shadoia. 



The phajnomenon which I have now briefly mentioned ap- 

 pears to me to partake of the character of the marvelious, 

 almost as much as any fact which physical investigation has 

 yet brought to our knowledge. The most transitory of thino-g 

 a shadow, the proverbial emblem of all that is fleetino- and 

 momentary, may be fettered by the spells of our " iwtural 

 magic," and may be fixed for ever in the position which it 

 seemed only destined for a single instant to occupy. 



This remarkable phaenomenon, of whatever value it may 

 turn out in its application to the arts, will at least be accepted 

 as a new proof of the value of the inductive methods of modern 

 science, which by noticing the occurrence of unusual circum- 

 stances (which accident perhaps first manifests in some small 

 degree), and by following them up with experiments, and 

 varying the conditions of these until the true law of nature 

 which they express is apprehended, conducts us at length to 

 consequences altogether unexpected, remote from usual ex- 

 perience, and contrary to almost universal belief. Such is the 

 fact, that we may receive on paper the fleeting shadow, arrest 

 It there, and in the space of a single minute fix it there so 

 firmly as to be no more capable of change, even if thrown 

 back into the sunbeam from which it derived its origin. 



§5. 

 Before going further, I may however add, that it is not 

 always necessary to use a preserving process. This I did not 

 discover until after I had acquired considerable practice in 

 this art, having supposed at first that all these pictures would 

 ultimately become indistinct if not preserved in some way 

 from the change. But experience has shown to me that there 

 are at least two or three different ways in which the process 

 may be conducted, so that the images' shall possess a charac- 

 ter of durability, provided they are kept from the action of di- 

 rect sunshine. These ways have presented themselves to no- 

 tice rather accidentally than otherwise; in some instances 

 without any particular memoranda having been made at the 

 time, so that I am not yet prepared to state accurately on what 

 particular thmg this sort of semi-durability depends, or what 

 course is best to be followed in order to obtain it. But as I have 

 found that certain of the images which have been subjected to 

 no preserving process remain quite white and perfect after the 

 lapse of a year or two, and indeed show no symptom whatever 



