The Indianapolis journal., 1885-09-13
PAINTED WITH A HAIR.
The Marvellous Art Work that Dalton, an
English Microscopist, Was Able to Do.


New York Sun
A microscopic fancer of this city who does not
ride his hobby out of his home, and would not
for the world allow himself TO be interviewed
upon his pet subject for newspaper, entertained
the other evening at his house a company of
persons, among whom was a reporter of the
Sun. lie walked TO table standing in the cen.
ter of the room, upon which was his favorite
microscope.
II have several little things to tell vou that
are not known except by microscopists Here is
slip of glass, for instance" he continued as he
picked up narrow glass slide, which contains
the representation of beautiful bouquet
of flowers The representation when looked
at with the naked eye, can scarcely be
seen at all. 1t simply looks like small shot.
The bouquet when you look at 1t through the
instrument, contains, as you can discover,
eighty two distinct flowers of various shades and
colors, and each is as perfect as it would bd
possible for an artist to represent it on canvas.
The entire bouquet including all the flowers,
leaves, etc, was made from the scales and hair
of Brazilian butterflies. The dust from the
wings of the butterflies picked up and
placed in position by Henry Dalton, of London,
who is now dead. Dalton, with the aid of
microscope, picked up particle of the dust at
time on the end of a hair, and adjusted it to
the slide in such a manner that when this task
was finished the bouquet assumed its present
beautiful and perfect form.
"Althought Dalton was dissipated he exceled
most of his imitators in his peculiar line of art.
Among mlcroscoplStS his works are priced as
highly as the works of the great masters in
painting are valued by artists who work on can
vas. painter who paint complete scene
on surface as small as a sleeve-but is con-
sidered skillful, yet Dalton used single hair for
a brush and dealt with particles of matter
scarcely visible to the naked eye, which he
placed in their respective positions with the aid
Of his microscope with such accuracy that he
finally produced his representations which are
so correct in every detail that artists who have
examined them critically have been almost over
come with astonishment This is what l call
one of the wonderful achievements of the GEN.
tury.
necessarily, he could finish it, think in the
are very valuable in America. There are not
more than ifty Dalton slides in this country,
and they scarcely be purchased for love or
money. In fact, as l said before, they are as
highly priced by microscopists throughout the
world rare painting by celebrated master
is priced. have also or two other slides
executed by artists not noted as Dalton.
Grays Elegy, containing thirty two verses, has
been photographed by the aid of microscope on
a slide within space of one-tenth of an inch
square, and is perfectly legible when read
through powerful instrument"
The company looked through the instrument,
and saw, among other objects, the tongue of
fly the toe nail of gnat. the digestive appa-
ratuS Of a flea, the eyebrow of insect too
small to be detected with the naked eye the
circulation of the blood in mosquitoes jugular
vein, an abscess on the back of a iy's neck
fracture in an ants collar bone, and thousand
other extraordinary sights.