Kansas City daily journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1892-1897, 1895-08-10
PHOTOGRAPHY IN COLORS.
AN IRisuMAN SEEMS TO HAVE SOLVED
THIs PROBLEM.
An Interesting Display of the Work ~ Dr
Jolly of DubiIn-Grcat Naturainess of
Tints Produced with the Camera
Fidelity and Realism Attained.

taken in natural colors. IT will be of
interest to the great army Of amateurs
VINO love the camera to read the follow
ing extract from an English report Of
Dr Joly's appearance before the Royal
Society In London:
"A large share of interest was dis
played at the recent soiree Of the Royal
Society in the exhibition by pr Jolly. Of
Dublin of some Photographic trans
rarenCies upon glass plates. represent
ing various objects in their natural col
ors. That every range of color and
texture could be dealt with according to
the new method by which these We're OBJ
! tained was evident upon examination
Of the subject portrayed. The portrait
of q gentleman seated upon a garden
seat Showed the flesh tnts Of the hands
| and face reproduced with great
naturalness. The straw hat upon his
knee. the huff lining partly revealed
within, as we'll as the faint green reflex
on the rim where this caught the green
ish light reflected from the foliage
amongst which he sat appeared re-
produced with the same fidelity and
realism which charactcrizes the image
in the camera, Pansies Of brilliant yell
low and brown, deep purple black, pale
blue, snow white and velvet brown,
grouped in a painted china vase APP
peared with equal fidelity in another
picture. Other pictures showed an ex-
terror OF red brick building in Trinity
~
hawthornes and above the greenish
states a pale blue sky; a reproduction of
water color drawing of an Irish peas
ant girl wearing a red handkerchief over
blue dress, the warm. somewhat sun
burned flesh tints matching the original
drawing with almost fautless fidelity
the original being placed above for COM
parison; dchCately colored Indian china
and blue china a lacquered brass mi
croscope with highly hetiectinE German
silver and copper lacquered finishing; a
thin uranium green glass tumbler, with
a subtle play of green and yellow light;
and. finally. the visible spectrum. such
variety of subjects seems TO exhaust,
almost, the problems which we can sub
init to the photographer as tests of the
range and power Of a method which
claims to accomplish color photography.
'''The general interest to know how
such results can be obtained is not
readily satisfied. for, while the procedure
actually involved in securing these pho
| tographs in colors is of extreme sim
plicity--in fact. hardly differing from
that with which every photographer is al
ready acquainted-the principles which
| underie it need some patient thought
TO master fully. Those who have fol-
! lowed the recent development of COM
posite color photography will readily
grasp the principles involved. In the
practice Of composite color photography
the theoretical principles are applied
to be available in fact, the problem of
obtaining the naturally colored image
by these methods was solved only by the
intervention of an apparatus which will
unite by optical projection three sepa-
rate images. In the new method no
such projection is needed. We can hold
the plate in the hand, and. looking at it
against the light, see the objects in their
original colors. and this by taking a
single Photographic image in the camera
in, 1t may he said, the usual manner.
The operations involved in the new
method are as follows: A Transparent
glass plate, which on first inspection APP
pears to bear a uniform tint and to pos
sess a somewhat silky texture. ia placed
in front of the sensitive film and in con-
tact with il. when the latter is exposed
in the camera. Examination of this
plate with a strong lens or microscope
shows that it is not homogeneous, but
is closely lined over with fine trans
parent lines of three different colors sue
ceeding each other regularly over and
over again and in close juXtaposition
The plates shown at the Royal Society
were divided to a tinencsS of 200 lines to
the inch. This is not sufficiently fine to
obviate in some cases linear texture
visible on near inspection of the picture
ultimately obtained. a fineness of 800
lines to the inch practically accomplishes
this, as was demonstrated on photo
graph of group of wall flowers.
"The plate, which has been exposed
under the screen, is developed in the
usual manner The result obtained we
may regard as embodying in the single
minutely-divided linear image all three
separate pictures required In the prac-
tice of the methods of composite photo
graphy already alluded to, each pro-
duced by a special cOlOr-selective action.
Although possessing this triple character
the negative differs little in appearance
from the ordinary negative. or Il posi-
tive subsequently obtained from the
ordinary positive or transparency. The
exposure in the camera is, Of course,
somewhat longer, for it is evident that
what ever principles are employed only
visible light can he utilized in obtaining
n photograph in natural colors and of
this a part is stopped by the ruled
screen. Hence. a well lit Landscape may
he taken i'm from three to five seconds,
with fairly open stop and rapid lens.
"Of course. neither the negative nor
positive so far obtained show any color.
But If now a plate, ruled in three tints,
which again are chosen, according to
color vision theory is correctly applied
to the positive, and IL you hold the COM
bned glasses to the light there Is oh
tained the appearance Of the original
image as brilliant transparency In
natural colors.
"The procedure, in fact, is one in
which the three fundamental colors are
impartlally supplied by the covering
screen; but the previous experience of
the sensitive plate during exposure is
such as insures the positive plate Sc
lected among these colors, according to
the original colOrs of the image.
"It is i'm this matter that the inability
of physicists to find n sensitive sub
stance, which itself will faithfully adopt
and keep the colOrs of the image, is sur
mounted.
''Were such Il substance indeed forth
coming it could not more faithfully re-
produce the true colors of nature.
"And this leads us to the remark that
the particular nature of the procedure,
resulting i'm a complete independence of
the almost inevitable ultimate fading of
pigments is Of no small moment, more
especially in the scientific registration
of color. For IT is seen that the color
register is really carried in the silver
deposite on the negative or positive
which may, with ordinary care in the
Photographic manipulation, be rendered
quite permanent. And a fading of the
tints on the covering screen may at any
time be made good by applying a fresh
screen. Copies too, of picture may be
multiplied TO any extent.
80 far as this new departure concerns
the amateur, it Is to be presumed that
the labor of preparing the screens will
not fall 10 him. His part in obtaining
photograph in natural color will consist
in exposing an isochromatlc dry plate
beneath the ruled screen; and subse-
quently, temporarily or permanently, ap-