MAGIC  PHOTOGRAPHY. 
371 
affected  with  lead-poisoned  flour  which  came  from  the  Philips- 
burg  mill.  This  should  be  a  warning  to  millers,  and  a  caution 
to  the  buyers  and  consumers  of  flour,  and  physicians  and  Boards 
of  Health  should  examine  all  the  flour -mills  of  the  country,  and, 
by  so  doing,  prevent  the  recurrence  of  such  cases  as  we  have 
recorded  in  our  letters. — N".  Y.  Tribune,  June  2. 
MAGIC  PHOTOGRAPHY. 
Such  is  the  designation  of  the  latest  novelty  in  our  art-science 
— a  designation  which  we  borrow  from  a  sensational  advertise- 
ment in  one  of  the  daily  papers.  Its  nature  may  thus  be  stated  : 
Two  sheets  of  paper  are  supplied  to  the  purchaser,  together  with 
instructions.  One  of  these  sheets  is  albumenized,  the  other  is  a 
sheet  of  blotting-paper.  There  is  no  picture  visible  on  the  al- 
bumenized paper  ;  but  when,  in  accordance  with  the  instructions 
given,  the  sheet  of  blotting-paper  is  moistened  by  means  of  a  few 
drops  of  water  and  pressed  in  contact  with  the  face  of  the  album- 
enized paper,  a  picture  immediately  springs  into  existence.  The 
question  now  arises  :  How  is  this  accomplished  ?  Light  has 
evidently  nothing  to  do  with  it,  seeing  that  the  same  phenomenon 
occurs  both  in  sunshine  and  in  comparative  darkness. 
The  following  is  the  method  by  which  these  "  magic  photo- 
graphs "  are  produced  :  Print  a  picture  on  albumenized  paper 
in  the  usual  way,  taking  care  not  to  print  so  deeply  as  ordinarily. 
Fix  the  print  (without  toning)  in  plain  hyposulphite  of  soda,  wash 
thoroughly,  and  then  immerse  it  in  a  saturated  solution  of  bichlo- 
ride of  mercury  till  the  image  disappears.  Again  wash  thoroughly 
and  dry.  The  paper  now  appears  like  a  piece  of  plain  albumen- 
ized paper,  without  any  appearance  of  a  picture  on  it,  and  in  this 
condition  it  may  be  kept  for  an  indefinite  time. 
To  cause  the  image  to  appear  instantaneously  and  in  more  than 
its  pristine  vigor,  dip  the  paper  in  a  weak  solution  of  hyposul- 
phite of  soda;  or,  preferably,  dip  a  piece  of  white  blotting-paper 
in  a  solution  of  hyposulphite  of  soda  and  dry  it.  This  prepared 
paper  may  be  kept  in  contact  with  the  latent  picture  so  long  as 
moisture  is  excluded.  When  it  is  required  to  develop  the  image, 
moisten  the  blotting-paper  with  common  water  and  press  it 
