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THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[Ot'TOrSER, 



THE DAGUERIIOTYPE. 



The love of the marvellous is so very apt to induce persons to ex- 

 aggi-nite — to stretch a kctk, in their account of new discoveries, while 

 tlie helief of those who listen to them is in its turn so very stretching 

 and elastic that very seldom indeed does any invention turn out to be 

 the magnificent prodigy it was at first described. Yet although they 

 have been deceived times innumerable after tliis fashion, the public 

 are ever ready to give credit to the cry of Wolf I Wolf I or, to borrow 

 another allusion, believe that the mountain is aliout to be delivered of 

 some portentous gigantic monster, though it afterwards proves to be 

 a mere mouse. Hence I myself am rather sceptical and slow of belief, 

 being of opinion that it is all in good time to exult when we are quite 

 certain that we have got something worth exulting at. It is surely 

 better to find one's-self in error on the safe side and that the object of 

 our anticipations greatly exceeds rather than at all falls short of them. 

 Who is there who has not some time or other in the course of his life 

 been grievously disappointed in a person officiously described to him as 

 prodigiously handsome, or clever, or engaging, and whom but I'or such 

 description, he might have discovered to be so, but whom, when his ex- 

 pectations are thus excited, he finds does not at all answer to the idea 

 lie had preconceived, and in consecpience sometimes falls into the con- 

 trary mistake, and sets down the ram mis — the phoenix iu human 

 shape, as no more than a very so-so-ish creature after all ? 



But what has this to do with the Daguerrotvpe ? nothing — that is, 

 something; — perhaps much: for what is relate'd of it, certainly does 

 stagger belief. To come to the most material point at once, is it 

 merely that sort of hyperbole which is to be taken cum grano salts, 

 or rather with a peck of salt ?— or is it a fact that in the pictures so 

 produced the minutest details are expressed, although not visible to 

 the naked eye, yet capable of being rendered so by the assistance of a 

 powerful lens or microscope. Supposing, for instance, a view to be 

 taken of Henry Vli's chapel by the Daguerrotvpe, besides the utmost 

 fidelity as to all that would be discernible in the building itself, seen 

 at the same distance, would it be possible by means of a magnifving 

 ^glass of sufficient power, to make out everv moulding, every carving, 

 'every lineament in short, no matter how miiiute, existing in the edifice 

 itself? If such really be the case the discovery is of incomparably 

 greater importance than it has been described. A drawing or series 

 of drawings of the kind, would place any building, or anv other work 

 of art under our immediate inspection, at any time, and all its details 

 might be examined far more closely than in' the building itself, and 

 the carvings of a cornice or ceiling might be seen quite as distinct'y 

 as the parts just on a level w ith the eve— the figure on the top of the 

 York column as distinctly as the pedestal, .'^uch buildings as the 

 Alhambra — wdiich it has cost years of patient industry on tlie jjart of 

 artists to give us any adequate idea of, even with regard to only its 

 more important parts, may now, it would seem, be revealed to us in the 

 most vivid reality, w ith the sole exception of colour. 



I am afraid that al this is by far too good to be true :— that a very 

 serious deduction indeed must be made from it to bring it to the truth. 

 Leaving to others to endeavour to explain or comprehend /auv it can be 

 accoinplished,I should be very well satisfied with having evidence that 

 it is accomplished, and that whether the causes can be explained or not, 

 such is the/cic/. If it be— and Sir J. Robison's account (in the Edin- 

 burgh New Philosophical Journal) of drawings made by the Daguerro- 

 type, which he had himself examined, goes to assert quite as much, — 

 so far from being at all overated, the discovery is rather underrated, 

 and the very extraordinary results thus to be "obtained from it, have 

 been noticed far more briefly and cursorily than they deserve. We 

 are told that "a crack in plaster, a withered leaf lying on a projecting 

 cornice, or an accumulation of dust in a hollow moutding of a distant 

 building, though not perceivable to the naked eye in the original ob- 

 jects," may be detected in the drawing wlien examined through a 

 magnifier! Yet beyond the mere mention of it, that by far the most 

 wonderful and important circumstance of all, is hardly dwelt upon. Is 

 it not probable after all that such minutiiB ha\e been beheld only 

 through the magnifying lens of imagination ?— in short, have not 

 people fancied they have seen a good deal more than they really did? 



Allowing, however, such to be the fact, we are not 'distinctly in- 

 formed, whether it is limited to the original drawing or not;— and vet, 

 we must suppose that it is, since hardly could, what is not visible to'the 

 naked eye, but requires to be examined through a microscope or lens, 

 be expressed by any graver. This therefore materially restricts the 

 application of such mode of drawing, owing to the inconvenience of 

 keeping any considerable number of such plates, more especially, 

 should it be requisite that each should have a glass before it to pro- 

 tect it from injury — as seems to lie the case, for I understand that a 

 mere touch of the finger wiU obliterate any part it comes in contact 

 with. Another circumstance that, I must own, is rather puzzling to 



myself, is that the extraordinary powers ascribed to the Daguerrotype 

 should not have been exemplified ere now by some more worthy sub- 

 ject of interior architecture than one where the "threads of a car|iet" 

 seem chiefly to excite admiration. Why not at once have taken a 

 view of some gallery or museum filled with works of art, eiich of 

 which — the most remote, it seems, as well as the nearest — would be 

 transcribed with all its details, no matter how intricate, or however 

 minute. No less strange is it that opportunity should not have been 

 afforded to the public of this country, of gratifying their curiosity and 

 removing their doubts by the evidence of their own eyes, as might 

 have been, had a few successful and well selected specimens been 

 procured for the Polytechnic Institute and .Adelaide Gallery of Science. 

 Why has not such a subject as the Barriere de I'Etoile been taken, if 

 it really be true that all its sculptures, all the details of its workman- 

 ship, can be so rei)resented with a fidelity which the hand of the ablest 

 draftsman cannot even aim at? Still it must be admitted that the cir- 

 cumstance of its not having been done is no direct proof of the impos- 

 sibility of its being accomplished ; but merely proves the very great 

 considerateness of those who wish to apprize us by degrees of what 

 the Daguerrotype is capable of performing, instead of startling us too 

 suddenly by all at once manifesting it. 



However, stiiggering and incredible as may be wdiat has been as- 

 serted with respect to this discovery, I must presume it is a most 

 extraordinary one in itself, because unless it in some degree answers 

 to what has been reported of it, aU that has been said with the view 

 of prepossessing us in its favour, would be not only useless but perfectly 

 ridiculous. Therefore, although I must be allowed to hold back my 

 own belief, until ocular demonstration be afforded me, I am willing 

 here to suppose that the Daguerrotype can achieve the miracles at- 

 tributed to it. This granted, fet us now look at the consequences, and 

 as far as one department at least of architectural drawing is con- 

 cerned — namely, that w hich consists in the portraiture of actual build- 

 ings — a total revolution must take place, the labour and skill of the 

 draftsman being entirely superseded Ijy a natural operation, whereby 

 the view itself — the image produced by the camera is fixed and per- 

 petuated. In comparison with such pictures, the most correct and 

 most elaborate hand-drawings, would be unsatisfactory ; how much 

 more so, those of which the authors are content to give us a mere 

 general resemblance of a building, or what is frequently no re- 

 semblance at all, lor affords any information as to details. How fre- 

 quently architecture is now slurred over in wdiat some profess to be 

 architectural views, — how grossly incorrect they often are as to very 

 important ])articulars, and tiow grateful we have hitherto been for 

 tolerable accuracy where inaccuracy seems to have been the general 

 rule, need not be told. But from this time, those evils will be alto- 

 gether corrected ; not only every detail, but every degree of shadow, 

 every tone of light will be shown us as in the real object; truth will be 

 substituted for specious falsification, mathematical precision for 

 blundering of the eye and hand. Instead of a greater or less degree 

 of perfection — a greater or less approximation to truth, we shall 

 have perfection — truth itself. No longer shall we be at the mercy of 

 the draftsmen. They may now cry out " Othello's occupation's 

 gone." Hardly will people be content with loose though even 

 spirited indications of what they may behold in exact images of the 

 objects themselves. The further consequence of which will be, that 

 when their eyes are accustomed to such accuracy of delineation, per- 

 sons will not overlook as they now do defects of perspective, ami 

 drawing in pictures, and such works of art where the Daguerrotype 

 will be of no avail. But — and in truth it is a most tremendous bat, 

 it yet remains to be seen whether this vaunted discovery can fairly 

 and honestly accomplish all that it is said to do. At present vi-e have 

 only hearsay — except indeed that some like myself may have a very 

 great deal of doubt besides. For my own part, I have very strong 

 doubts indeed, not because I wish the invention may not be found 

 to answer, but because I am greatly afraid expectations have been 

 raised that can never be gratified. 



Candidus. 



SruRN Tr.LF.GRAPn. — Tlic apparatus is now fixed, and the telegraph will 

 be in operation in a short time. The benefits dei'iv.ible from this institution 

 will, we doubt not, be d>ily appreciated. The Hull Shipping Company, and 

 others, have already ordered signals. — Hull paper. 



BANacET IX THE THAMES TirxNEL. — On Saturday afternoon, the Di- 

 rectors of the Thames Tunnel Company gave an elega!it dinner in the l\in- 

 nel to the persons employed in that undertaking, to celcltrate their having 

 reached low water mark. -Mr. Hawes, MP. was in the chair, and 280 per- 

 sons sat down to table. On a raised platform, a'oout 500 visitors, tiic ma- 

 jority of wlioai were ladies — were provided with places to view the gr^.tifviag 

 scene. 



