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THEhPHOTOGRAPHIC NEWS. May 25, 1883. other surface, forming the picture. The image is necessarily a reversed one, but if on glass is of course corrected by viewing the picture through the glass, and as such is a transparency by the single transfer process. I will now give a practical demon stration of the method of working by transferring to glass and developing a few transparencies, and at our next meeting pro pose to give full details of both the single and double transfer processes. Notes. At the last meeting of the Astronomical Society, Dr. Schuster gave an account of his observations of the total solar eclipse of May, 1882. The plates employed were prepared by Captain Abney, and were sensitive in the ultra-red as well as in the ultra-violet region. Then photographs of the corona were obtained, proving that the rays of the corona are partially transparent, and could be traced through one another. “ If I were to photograph a set of coloured ribbons by the two methods, wet and dry, what difference should I observe ?" asked a student. “No difference at all,” was the reply, “ except in the time of exposure ; but why do you ask ? ” “ It is an examination question,” said the first speaker. “That alters the case,” we said; “you must say that the gelatino-bromide plate will be more sensitive to the orange, yellow, and the green rays, than the collodion plate.” Examination photography is something like examination chemistry. “ Can you demonstrate that an increase of weight always attends combustion?" was asked at Ken sington recently. The student responded : “ Certainly not, as the products of combustion always weigh precisely the same as the bodies entering into combination.” The examiner frowned slightly for an instant; the frown relaxed into a smile, and he noted down full marks. The highly complex chemical equations with which some photographic writers delight to garnish their papers do not possess very much interest for the general reader, even assuming the equations to be correct; but ordinarily the so-called equations are such as might occasion a smile to appear on the face of a chemist. Mr, Philipps, of Shooter’s Hill, an ardent amateur, has shown us a characteristic picture of “ The Bull,” the old hostelry now no more, that used to occupy a position on the very top of the hill over which travellers passed for generations, along the old Dover Road, on their way to the Continent. Lawrence Sterne posted by here on his “ Sentimental Journey,” and Charles Dickens began his “Tale of Two Cities” at the foot of the historical mound. This connection with Dickens reminds us that other relics of the great novelist are fast fading away, and unless com pelled to leave their shadows behind them—on a sensitive plate—we shall soon be without many of the interesting illustrations that have enhanced the writings of the English humourist. Why should not a band of amateurs take upon them selves the task of making photographic sketches of the spots made dear to us by Charles Dickens ? If the under taking is not within the scope of any existing club or society, it would be easy to form an association of gentle men round and about the Home Counties, ready and willing to perform the duty. A score of active men, each con tributing five pictures apiece, would make up between them a goodly volume illustrative of Dickens’ works. All that is necessary is to form a small executive committee to decide upon the size of the plates, and, if need be, issue instruc tions as to the objects to be photographed, to make a selection of the pictures, and to effect exchanges. If care and good taste were exercised in securing the pictures, the result indeed might be a valuable one from a commercial point of view. Some of the photographs would be easily determined. ■“The Angel at Bury,” where Sam Weller interviewed Job in his mulberry suit; “ The White Horse at Ipswich,” where Mr. Pickwick had his adventure with the lady in yellow curl papers ; “ The Bull at Rochester,” where Mr. Winkle and Alfred Jingle attended the ball; “ The Leather Bottle at Cobham,” where Mr. Tupman retired after his love adventure,—here are a few illustrations from Pick wick that would be well worth some trouble to secure. “ The Saracen’s Head” has disappeared, it is true, and Snow Hill, too, upon which it stood; while the “ George and Vulture,” in Lombard Street, is no longer the “ tavern ” of Mr. Pickwick’s knowledge; but Perker's office in Gray's Inn, and Lant Street, Borough, where Bob Sawyer dwelt, are still to be found by any painstaking explorer, and would furnish, with many other spots, interesting subjects to the amateur photographer. Mr. R. Offord, of Maidenhead, sends us a charming specimen of the Mignon card. The portrait is printed within an elegant diamond-shaped space, with a slightly tinted ground; this ground has been made rugged by passing the mounted picture through the rolling-press in contact with a piece of sand-paper, having a diamond opening, after the manner recently described in these columns. The effect of the little picture is not only pleasing, but decidedly novel. The very latest novelty in photography is a new method of exhibiting large pictures; twelve by ten is the size of those which have come under our notice. The photo graphs are framed in plush borders of the usual aesthetic decayed moss tint, and manufactured in such a way as to allow two small silk curtains to be stretched each side from the top to the bottom of the picture. The curtains, which slide backwards and forwards, can be opened either to allow only the face to be seen, or, if the spectator so wishes it, the whole of the picture. We do not know that, artisti cally, anything is gained by this method ; in fact, it does not amount to much more than a conceit, but, if it takes he public fancy, no harm will be done. Some of the West End dealers are at anyrate trying to make the curtained pictures fashionable.