M. Le Gray, who had lent this negative, said that he had warned M. Bayard that it was in very bad condition for transferring, as the film wanted consistency ; but that if the experiment sue ceeded it would be the more conclusive. Notwithstanding these unfavourable conditions M. Bayard effected the transfer with complete success.
Collodion positives may be transferred to paper by the following process, communicated about a year ago to the " Photogyaphic Notes" by Mr. 1VIanson, of Edinburgh.
" To make the transfer varnish :—take of borax 1 dram, shellac 4 drams ; digest them in about.5 ounces of water, nearly boiling, in a covered vessel, till the whole is dissolved. When cold it is ready for use.
" To transfer the film :—Apply a coat of the varnish to the sur face of the pictiire vvith a large and soft camel's hair brush, and dry it quickly by holding it over a flame, or at a fire. When cold, applying a second coating of varnish, as before.
" Then take a piece of black paper a little larger than the glass. Coat it, and also the picture, with varnish, and lay the two wet surfaces together, beginning at one end, and carefully excluding every bubble of air. When nearly dry lift one end, and ship the whole from the glass. It is now ready for mounting." Daguerreotypes may be transferred to paper by the following process described by Mr. Belfield Lefevre, of Exeter, in the Pho tographic Notes, Vol. 2, page 343.
" To obtain a negative by transferring to the surfae,e of some more or less transparent substance the loose particles which form the lights and half-tints of Daguerre's image, is an idea which must have suggested itself to the minds of many, whilst the means by which this transfer may be effected are as simple as the idea itself is obvious ; and yet, although from the day on which M. Arago communicated M. Daguerre's process to the Academy of Sciences, I have been a votary of the Photogyaphic art, and am not unfamiliar with Photographic literature, I have seen no allusion, however remote, to any such process. Is it that the results so obtained have not been found available for the purposes of photog,raphic printing ? However this may be, as it is not in my power to pursue these researches any further, I submit the process to your judgment in its present imperfect state, and my sincere desire to contribute to the progress of photography must be my excuse. The following then
is a short, but I believe sufficient description, of the modus operandi. I purposely omit mentioning those precautions which are familiar to all careful operators.
" lst.—Dissolve one part of pure gelatine, and one part of clarified uncrystallizable sugar (golden syrup of the grocers), in ten parts of boiling water, and pour out the hot solution in a shallow pan.
" 2nd.—Float for a few minutes on the hot solution a sheet of Hollingworth's thin negative paper, previously well dried, " 3rd.—Draw off the paper, holding it vertically, at a short dis tance from the fire, until the superabundant liquid has ceased to drain off, " 4th.—Lay it out horizontally on a cold slab, until the gelatine has firmly set.
" 5th.—Meanwhile take the image to be transferred fresh from the mercury box, and having washed it first in the solution of hypo sulphite, and then in water, put it on end to drain, until the forma tion of the horizontal water line marks that the liquid on the surface is reduced to a mere film.
" 6th.—Lay the gelatine paper on the image, pressing it down firmly and evenly with a soft cloth, until it is brought at every point in perfect contact with the surface of the metal.
" 7th.—After a few minutes peel off the paper. Some caution will be required, as it will be found to adhere rather firmly.
" If the proof has been well selected, and the manipulation success ful, every particle of reduced silver will be found transferred to the surface of the gelatine, and a faint vestige of the original image will alone be traced on the black and polished surface of the silver.
" I say, if the proof has been well selected, for this is a point of much importance. Of course the choice would fall on a full-bodied proof, with thick and creamy lights, and rich opaque middle tints, but this alone will not be found a sufficient guide, and it will be advisable to pass a camel's hair brush gently over some portion of the washed image ; if the passing brush leaves a tract of black and burnished metal behind, the transfer may be attempted, if not the operation will not be successful.