Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-09-02
PAINTED WITH A HAIR.
The Marvellous Art Work that Dalton,
an English Microscopic. was Able to

All GuStlbu mAOEobcoplbts was Ado TO
Do.
From The NsW York Sun.
A microscopic fancier of this city who
does not ride his hobby out Of his home,
and would not for the world allow him
self to be interviewed upon ris pet subject
for a newspaper, entertained the other
evening at his house a company of per
sons, among whom was a reporter. he
walked to a table standing In the center
OF the room, upon which was his favorite
microscope.
81 have several little things to tell you
that are not known except by microscOp-
lists. Here is a slip of glass. for instance"
he continued, as he picked up a narrow
glass slide, (which contained the repre-
sentation of a beautiful banquet offowers.
The representation, when looked at with
the naked eye, can scarcely be seen at all.
1t simply looked like a small shot. The
bouquet, when you look at it through the
instrument, contains, as you can discover
eighty-twO distinct flowers of various
shades and %colors, and each is as perfect
as il would be pos ible for an artist to re-
present il on canvas The entire bouquet
including all the flowers, leaves, ETC., was
made from the scales and hair Of Brazil
liam butterflies. The dust from the wings
Of t 81 butterflies was picked up and
placed in position by Henry Dalton OF
London, who Is now dead. Dalton, with
the aid of q microscope, picked up one
particle OF the dust at a tim on the END
Of a hair, and adjusted it TO the slide IN
such q manner that when his task was
finished the bouquet ssumed its present
beautiful and perfect form.
Although Dalton was dissipated, ne
excelied most OF his imitatOrs In his
peculiar line Of art. Among microscOp-
lists his works are priced as highly as the
works OF the great masters in painting
are valued by artists who work on canvas.
A painter who can paint a complete
scene on a surface as small as a sleeve
button rs considered skiltlll, yet Dalton
used a single hair for a brush and dealt
with particles of matter scarcely visible
10 the naked eye. which he placed In their
respective positions with the aid OF us
microscope with such accuracy that ne
finally produced his representations,
which are 80 correct in every detail that
artists who have examined them criti-
cally have been almost overcome Win
establishment. This is what / call one OF
the wonderful achievements OF the CEN
fury.
.sHe was a fast worker, and, by labor
ing almost necessarily, he could finish II,
| think, in the courseof a week or ~ days
The Dalton sides are very valuable IN
America. Th0re are not more than fity
Dalton slides in this country, and they
a scarcely be purchased for love or
money. In fact, as | said before, they are
as highly priced By microscopes
throughout the world as a rare painting
by a celebrated master is priced. ] have
also one or two other slides executed by
artists not so noted as Dalton. Gray's
Elegy, containing, thirty-two verses, mas
been ph Geographical by the aid OF a micro
scope on a slide within a space OF one
tenth Of an inch square, and is perfectly
legible when read through q powerful IN
~strumeut."
The company looked through the instru-
ment and saw, among other objects, tne
tongus OF a fly, the toe nail OF a gnat. inc
digestive apparatus ola fiea, the eyebrow
OF an Insect too small to be detected win
the naked eye. the circulation OF the blood
in a mosquitoes jngular vein. an aoscess
on the back OF ahv's neck, a fracture IN
an ants collar bone, and a thousand other
extraordinary sights.