The photographic news

• Bandzählung: 12.1868
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1868
• Sprache: Englisch
• Signatur: F 135
• Vorlage: Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig
• Digitalisat: Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig
• Digitalisat: SLUB Dresden
• Rechtehinweis: Public Domain Mark 1.0
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-db-id1780948042-186800009
• PURL: http://digital.slub-dresden.de/id1780948042-18680000
• OAI: oai:de:slub-dresden:db:id-1780948042-18680000
• Sammlungen: LDP: Historische Bestände der Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig
• Sammlungen: Fotografie
• Strukturtyp: Band

• Digitalisat: SLUB Dresden
• Strukturtyp: Ausgabe

208 THE PHOTOGRAPHIC NEWS. [May 1, 1868. portant to communicate, and, with an honourable and liberal mind, he was willing to communicate it to his brethren without fee or reward; nay, at a good deal of actual cost to himself, in waste of time and in travelling expenses, and at the risk, however valuable his communication, of meet ing, at best, only misappreciation and ingratitude, possibly gibe and misrepresentation. Looking at all these facts, I feel satisfied that Mr. McLachlan is an honest and liberal-minded man. But he has misconceived the facts of the case somewhat. I think that he has under-rated the knowledge and capacity of photographers generally, and that he has over-rated the novelty and value of his own mode of working. He has, I think, taken certain known facts of photography, and com bined them into a system of working which, as a clever, practical man, he has found exceedingly successful, and that this system has assumed exaggerated proportions in his eyes. I am assuming, of course, that ho has “ made a clean breast ” of his secret, and that no further novelty is yet to come in the promised paper. I must confess that I was a little be wildered by the viva voce statement of the case made by Mr. McLachlan at the Society’s meeting. He should never have permitted himself to be tempted into a verbal account of the matter. His natural discursiveness runs away with him. I was very thankful to read your report, giving the simple facts of his statement stripped of the redundancy and freed from the digressions of his speech. I was glad to find, how ever, from your report, and that in the Society’s journal, which contains substantially the same facts, that the impres sion I brought away was correct. I noticed, by the way, that these two are the only reports which have appeared; no attempt to render the speaker’s remarks having been made elsewhere. The gist of the whole matter seems to be, that Mr. McLachlan works with bath and collodion quite neutral, doubtless a wise thing to do where it is possible; which many skilful photographers have done and recommended from the early 1 days of the collodion process, but which only very skilful and neat manipulators have been able to do with success. But I do not see how this is to free the collo dion process from the thousand and one ills which it is heir to, or how it is to secure either certainty or permanency of general good conditions. The occult action of light, in giving a power to a neutral silver bath to hold oxide of silver in solution, and to reject iodide of silver, is curious, if true; but is it so ? If Mr. McLachlan has still some im portant information to communicate not yet revealed,* which will give us the promised results, I shall thankfully accept it, and will gladly withdraw any of my remarks which may do him the slightest injustice. I have repeated the experiment you describe with per manganate of potash as an intensifier, and I am disposed at present to believe that it will prove the most valuable inten sifying process we possess. As a rule, I prefer to obtain printing intensity with my iron solution before fixing; but as I am careful to avoid the slightest excess of density, it occasionally happens, with some samples of collodion which lose considerably in fixing, that the negative is then a little weak. The permanganate solution yields beautiful results, giving great brilliancy without any tendency to the coarseness so common when additional silver is piled on the image. Photography has long been recognized as an art having wonderfully ramified forms of application ; but I imagine that it will be long before it attains the kind of recognition in this country that it has secured amongst our transatlantic cousins. I see it stated that on one occasion during the great trial—the impeachment of the President—all con cerned were observed to be arranging themselves with a view to effect for a memorial photographic group, which was to be taken as a souvenir of the occasion! * Our contributor will see from Mr. McLachlan’s letter, in our present number, that he has further information to communicate. His present aim was to get solutions sunned, and then communicate further.—Ed. I have recently heard of a magnificent project which, if true—as I hope and believe it is—reflects great honour on the gentleman most concerned, Mr. Mayall. Everybody is familiar with the name of Mr. Mayall as one of the veterans of the art and a most accomplished photographer, and if the project to which I have referred be carried out, his name will be remembered by many generations of photographers. Mr. Mayall has, I am told, recently purchased an immense estate on the finest part of the Sussex coast, on which he in tends to build a town. The medical profession, who have for a long time desired to build a convalescent hospital on that coast for members of their own body, but have not been able to obtain land, have made application to Mr. Mayall, who has offered to give them the necessary ground on condition that one wing of such hospital should be devoted to the use of photographers. Thus suffering members of our profession would be brought at once into contact with a fine atmo sphere, the best advice, and cultivated companionship. Whether this will be carried out, or not, and how, remains to be determined ; but I feel that photographers owe Mr. Mayall a debt of gratitude for the conception of such a magnificent idea. I see from an American journal which has just reached me that a great convention of professional photographers has just been held in New York to resist the renewal of the bromide patent, to resist government taxation of photo graphers, and to adopt such united action as might be found beneficial to the interests of the profession. It is pleasant to see that in a country so extended as the United States anything like combined action could be secured in regard to such matters. The most amazing part of the business is, that such a patent as that for the use of bromides could ever have been enforced. A patent was obtained in this country for that purpose at the same time it was obtained in the United States, but no attempt has been made to enforce it here. The evidences of prior use, I presume, are too plentiful in this country. I have recently seen some excellent prints produced by aid of the “ Sei Clement,” using a GO-grain bath. Assuming the analyses you recently gave to indicate the actual propor tion of nitrate of silver present, this would be equivalent to a 30-grain silver bath. I think, however, that these prints are richer and more vigorous than a plain 30-grain bath would give, and point to the advantage of using nitrate magnesia or some similar substance in conjunction with the nitrate of silver employed. The demand for cabinet portraits seems to progress very slowly in this country, whilst on the Continent, in all parts, I believe, they have already acquired a recognized and standard position. I have recently seen examples from Germany, Italy, and France, all so fine that I cannot help regretting that the universal adoption of this size lags so in this country, The London Photographic Society’s meeting was, as has been customary with it for some time past, a great success. Mr. Griggs read a capital paper, gave some most interesting demonstrations of the simplicity and value of photo-litho graphy, and distributed some beautiful examples of his work. Mr. McLachlan made the statement to which I have already referred, and promised to read a paper more fully giving his method at the next meeting. The North London had a conversational meeting. The South had a meeting of an exceedingly interesting kind, at once pleasant and instruc tive. Members having been invited to bring examples of photography with them, a large number of very charming pictures were exhibited, and formed subjects of conversation. At the Liverpool Amateur Society Mr. Henderson read a very interesting paper on the use of Photography in Arch: ology. At the Oldham Society Mr. Heaton read a capitally practical paper on Photography in i he Field, in which ho paid a graceful tribute to the value of the art articles at present appearing in your pages, and for which I, in common with many of my friends, wish to express m!