, 1885-03-20
PHOTOGRAPHY.
THE LATEST STEPS, SCIENTIFIC AND
ARTISTIC.
How to Make n 'Pisfolagraph"-The pho
tographic Hat"-rhe T~wenty-Four
Thousandfh Part OF n Second
AT Home Pictures


whether IL were possible to turn the modern
policeman into a peripatetic photographer
ready at any instant 10 take anything on his
beat from n burglar to a glass Of lager.
@Why, certainly" said he. There is no
reason in the world why the finest
shouldn't carry q camera as readily as "A
club, n operate It with more certainly
OF execution, to say nothing Of its greater
safety when applied to a law-abid-
ing citizen. IL would not be neces-
sary that they should pass in ex-
animation by Professor Chandler In chemis-
try, but with what we might call a 'pistola-
graph they could do better execution than
with a revolver. hit the subject, and take
the plates 10 the proper person to be devel-
oped and printed. A large picture Is not
necessary for the purposes Of Identification.
In fact, in all Photographic work sharpness
Is more or less sacrificed to size. For in
stance, the Photographic portraits known to
us as 'cartes-de-visite are sharper and more
distinct than the larger ones. So. the ike
ness Of a criminal, taken on n plato an inch
square, would be unmistakable. Here Is a
full Length figure Of only half an inch long
and you soc that you could at once rocog-
nize the mar II you had ever seen him be-
FORE
So sharply defined was the little picture
that this was readily admitted.
Now continued the photographer, am
tell you how to make a 'pistolagraph': Take
tho stock of an ordinary pistol In place Of
a barrel put On a little half inch objective or
portrait combination lens with n focus OF,
say, an inch. In place of the hammer, trig-
ger, and spring we fit ON a little dark cham
Dor, in which could be arranged an adjusta-
BILE or fixed focus, the little sensitive plate.
A spring worked with a trigger could in
simultaneously open or shut the lens, while
----II ~I.t. -1Ir-- n,~aI1 -. al. .-f.I 4. fIn
pocket, to be Inserted as those in the dark
hamb were used up. The whole contri-
vance would occupy less space and be lighter
TO carry than an ordinary bulldog pistol.
Its uses are apparent Armed with it a po-
Uceman could photograph any number OF
suspicious characters ON his beat whom he
did not feel justified in arresting. In fact,
he could take them without running them
in
"Have you heard of the Photographic
hath It was invented by a Mr.. Mendoya OF
London for the benefit Of those who want to
take photographs on the sly in public places
A lens is fitted in the top Of the hat, which
by a casual observer might be taken for a
ventilaror. Inside Is the camera with ar
engagements for focusing and changing the
plates.7
"How about the story of the young man
who was photographed at midnight while
kissing his sweetheartr
~ saw that in some of the papers, but
should not like to believe more than the kiss
ing part Of it never photographed a kiss
myself. Its, however, barely possible to pre-
pare q plate so sensitive that the small amount
OF light to DO found on a starlit night would
fix an image on it 1t would have to be pre-
pared in total darkness, however, and it is
next door to impossible to carry on the deli
cate chemical operations necessary without
any light at all on the subject 50 sensitive,
however, it is now possible to make a plate
that by daylight we can make a picture by
exposing tho plate just a two-hundreth part
Of a second. A photographer has made a
picture, and it was reported in The Tribune.
in the twenty our-thousandth part of a
second. Don't smile. I cannot tell a lie. l
did 1t myself with my little camera. The
object was an electric flash from a Leyden
jar"
II don't want to seem even to doubt your
word, but-how do you know you didf'
"Do you see that black disk with the
white spot ON tho edgel Well, that IS our
telLtale. We revolve it at a definite speed
say one revolution in a second, and then
photograph it by our instantaneous shutter.
1t Is easy then to sec how many degrees Of
the circle the white spot had travelled dur
ing the exposure, and by that we can calcu-
late what fraction of n second was occupied
in taking the picture. Suppose, for Instance,
the spot moved one degree; that would
clearly show that the time was i-5G0th part
OF a second
"That ought to do for scientific novelties.
Are there any new artistic ideas to DO
notedf'
Eyes, there is what we call the At-Home'
pictures. People nowadays feel that their
rooms are really part of themselves, or that
they are part Of their rooms, whichever you
prefer. SO now, instead Of coming to the
photographer the photographer goes to them.
He takes with hin a supply Of instantane-
Gus plates, poses his subject in his or her
own particular armchair, and, with good
taste and Judgment in tho arrangement of
the light and pose, he is likely to secure a re-
suit far removed from the con ventionality
of the gallery picture. The cost is not great,
and / find there is a growing demand for
this form Of portrait. l am educating my
artists to the work, and occasionally go my
self
Does the growing taste for photography
among amateurs hurt the regular business
muchfn
Il hardly think SO. On the contrary, l
think we owe much to the amateurs The
number Of them is rapidly increasing, and
the work Of some Of the more experienced
compares favorahly with that of the best
professionals. In fact, some of the most
charming novelties come from the patient,
intelligent, l~eisurely work Of the amateurs.
They have an advantage over the profess
sional artist both in the choice Of fine sub
jects and tho pursuit Of scientific expert
ments, for their time Is their own. Their
society here has a large membership, and is
much respected in England, where their
work goes in exchange for that OF the
European societies. Both here and in Eng
land the most aggressive experimentalists
ara scientific amateursn