Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-05-18
9ai1Y eagle
THE CAMERAS MAGIC,
INGENIOUS USE OF PHOTOGRAPHY
IN KINDRED ARTS.


! Dials-The Sand BIast-A Costly Ex-
periment-Enlarged Pictures.
MIR. T. c. Roach, Familiarity known by pho
tographers all over the United States and
even in Europe as ''the old man, is recog-
nized by them as a sort of mahatma one
who, if he does not quite "know it all, !" is
very liable to find out anything more that is
TO be discovered. He has taken out greater
number of patents in photography than any,
body else in this country. Speaking recently
of the practical applications of photography
In late years, he said 10 q reporter:
"Do you know that watch dials are now
made by photography at mere fraction of
their former COST They all used to be painted
by hand Now hundred are made in the
time formerly required to produce one, and
each of the hundred is better than the one
would have been. The dial is Of copper COW
cred with enamel Upon that they laya SEN
sitized coating of albumcn and bichromate
Of potash. A large drawing, say twelve
inches in diameter, Of the design, figures, and
dots that it is desired to put upon the dial is
photographed down to the required size,
which makes it very fine that whatever
inaccuracies may have been in the drawing
are almost beyond discovery by the micro
scope The negative thus made is exposed to
the light in contact with the gelatine coated
watch dial for from three to five minutes
Electric light is just as good as sun light
Where the light has acted the gelatine is
made insoluble. The dial is now linked over
with common photographic transfer ink
Next, with clean sponge moistened with
little gum water, the ink and gelatine are
wiped off the dial from all parts except
where the light has acted, and to those it adj
heres, leaving the design in clear black upon
the enameled plate. But that design would
easily blur and rub off by wear. Another
process is necessary to make it permanent.
A metallic enamel powder of any color de-
sired-black, blue, red, green, or purple-is
busted upon the dial 1t sticks to the linked
portions, but nowhere else Then the dial is
put in the mufls and fired The enamel
powder melts into the white enamel base,
and the work is complete. The Waltham
Watch company paid 5000 for that process.
BY it they can turn out, for ten cents each,
dials that in the old way Of making would
have cost 81 apiece.
speaking of that necessity recalls to me
the effort now making for the production, for
purpose Of magazine and book illustration,
printed with type, of photographs from
nature or paintings, by means of what are
now called tint glasses. About that 1 am
going to tell you page of history that has
not before been published, and that will make
no small stir among a number of persons who
are claiming to be the inventors of processes
In that direction at the present time. The
real inventor of tint glasses or, as he called
them, ruled spectrumS was Baron Won Egloff-
stein, who patented his processes in the
United States and England as long ago as
1865. He was a brilliant highly educated
man, who did great deal Of fine engineering
work for our government, and who went
away to Europe several years ago. There
was rumor that he had died, but only re-
Gently I heard that he had retired to
monastery somewhere and was still living.
'Well, a big company, mainly of United
States officials, was formed for the develop
ment of Baron Won Egloffstein's discovery and
its utilization for the printing of greenbacks
and other paper money in such wise as 10 defy
counterfeiting. Secretary Chase was in that
company, as were also Baron Perault, Capt.
Eads, Governor Sprague, of Rhode Island;
Mr.. Knapp, the Pittsburg gun founder; Mr..
Schoonmaker, the A I. Stewart of Balti-
more; Representative Latin, Mr. Clark, Of
the bureau of printing; Massachusetts sem
ator, whose name / do not now recall, ana
several other prominent men. Jay Cooke g.
Co were the companys bankers. They had
any quantity of money. In one year they
spent over s120, 900 in working the process on
steel and they used to say that they had 500
100000 ready to put in it as soon as it was
proved success. Every Saturday they used
to have a meeting at the Fifth Avenue hotel,
square up all the bills, have big dinner, and
drink champagne by the basketful
''But their expectations were not realized
Baron Won Eglotfstein used fine plate glass,
covered with a very Opaque etching ground,
which was cross Matched by the finest posi-
BILE lines, 500 to the inch, which was inter
posed between the light and the object, or the
glass negative or positive, to Re photographed
You can see that the effect would be that in
stead Of producing picture in smooth half
tones, like an ordinary photograph, one would
be made that was all broken up into fine
cross Matched lines and dots. From this re-
sulting negative transfers could be made to
stone, steel, or copper, or could be printed
directly by contact upon a metal plate for
etching OF course, for intaglio work, as for
printing from steel positive picture would
be used and negative for type press print
ing The principle of the thing was all right,
beautiful; but in practice it was found that
the closeneSs together OF the fine lines pre-
vented getting sufficient depth. If the plates
were bitten down deep enough for printing,
there was no bodyto bear repeated and heavy
pressure and few impressions would break
them down. Tho few impressions obtained
were superb, but the plates would not last
More practical results are now attained by
coarser ruling, of about 100 lines TO the inch,
for the production of relief plates for type
press printing. The Old patents have now
run ont. and the process belongs to anybody
who chooses to employ it.
'One of the late end possibly rather sur
prising discoveries in photography, which 4
also is patent of mine, is the enlargement /
Of photographs to any required size without 1
the aid of a solar camera, merely by the light
Of an ordinary oil lamp, or even by a flash .
Of gun cotton. In the old way costly solar /
camera was necessary, a machine costing /
$3.50 or $500; much ur1e and clear sunlight, +
and very expensive prepared paper were
also all requisites to the process Now l, or
rather the firm 10 whom l have transferred
my rights. make a comparatively cheap paper.
In a roll of any desired length and as much
as forty-tvo inches wide, coated by the CELIA
OF silver process, aaCssNvith the
aid of q little apparatus ike magic lantern,
costing SO, and which can be operated day
or night, in a cellar or a bedroom, if neces-
sary, can produce an enlargement Of a pict-
tire 70 any required size, say from a tintype
as big as your thumb nail up TO life din,en-
sions The development Of the enlarged picJ-
ure is made in the usual manner, and then it
Is ready for finishing in crayon. pastel or in
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