n06 Teaxsactwxs of the American Ixstitvte. 



February ad, 1869. 



Mr. Henry T. Anthony in tlie chair. Oscak G. ^Iapon, Secretary. 



Minutes of tlie last meeting- were read and approved. 



Mr. Hull exhibited a set comprising about thirty of the so-called 

 "prize pictures," proposed for the '' Philadelphia photographer.'' 

 He also exhibited a print from a negative made with the camera box, 

 invented by Mr. Fleming, and shown at the last meeting of the sec- 

 tion, and he remarked that he could not have produced the negative 

 with any other camera box with which he was acquainted. He also 

 exhibited a well constructed camera and changing box for plates five 

 by eight inches, and so arranged as to work plates of various other 

 sizes ; also several negatives made by one of Dallmyre's new rapid 

 rectelinier lenses, with an exposure of five seconds, also instantaneous. 

 The lens with which the negatives were made was also shown. 



The chairman introduced Captain Russel, the ofiicial photographer 

 of the Pacific Railroad Co., who exhibited a series of very interesting 

 photographs made during a recent tour over the route. The prints 

 were from plates 10x13 inches. The strange scenery of the far west 

 .and the careful manipulation under adverse circumstances, which 

 they illustrated, were highly creditable to the artist, and elicited much 

 .praise. 



Captain Russel related several anecdotes of mormon life as he 

 saw while photographing in Utah. 



Mr. Newton read the following paper, and exhibited several inter- 

 esting stereographic plates, illustrative of the various processes with 

 which he had experimented, as detailed in his paper. 



PnoTOGKAPHic Experiments by H. J. jSTewtox. 

 In dry plate processes, A^ery little is known positively, as to th« 

 exact ingredient, in a solution that acts upon the sensitive film to 

 preserve it, consequently experiments have a wide field from which 

 to gather their material for experimenting. For example, there is 

 not enough known upon the subject to enable us to foretell what 

 effect tea or coffee would have upon the plate without trying it, or 

 what would be the effect of a multitude of other vegetable substances. 

 It seenij; ]^roper, therefore, in giving some results of experiments, to 

 state in full the failures as well as those results which are deemed suc- 

 cessful. The tannin plate has usually been recognized as the stan- 

 dard by experimenters, as it was the first really good and successful 



