The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-03-12
WEIRD PHOTOGRAPHS.
Sensitive Plate Detects Things Imper-
ceptible to the Eye.
4 Il
London Mail.

That the camera has the peculiar property
OF seeing and recording things imperceptlbie
to human sight is now a well-knOWn fact,
and this knowledge has been made use of in
the examination of documents supposed TO
have been tempered with. The following
cases illustrate this marvellous power of the
camera.
A. lady once went into a studio to be pho
tographed. When the photographer came TO
develop the negative, he was astonished to
see that her face appeared TO be covered
with small black spots Thinking the lens
dirty, he cleaned il with a piece of
washleather and again tried. The same re-
suit occurred again.
smallpox. and the pustules forming under
her skin were registered by the camera sew
eral days before becoming visible to the eye.
satisfactorily explained. Mr.. j. Trail Tay-
lor, editor of the Photographic Record, once
took several photographs in the presence of
spiritualistic medium. On being developed
the negatives showed spectral figure in adj
dition to that of the medium. Some were
fairly good looking, while others were re-
pulsive: This points TO theory that the
world is inhabited by another order Of in
tangible beings invisible always to us, hut
under certain conditions recordable by the
camera.
The next example was the outcome OF a
practical joke. A young man walked into a
studio to be photographed. In appearance
he seemed like any other person. The as
sistant exposed q couple of plates and took
them to his dark room to develop. He was
rather longer than usual and could be heard
sharply reproving the shop boy for having
meddled with the apparatus. When he re-
appeared he apologized for having used
spoilt plates and exposed two more.
This time. when developing them, he ut
tered slight scream. He came out and in
formed the sitter-that there was something
in the negative which he could not explain,
and would he oblige him once more? The
third time, while he was in the dark room,
the bell rang violently for the master, who
came down and was shut up for some time
in conference with the assistant. Then the
master himself tried negative and took II
TO develop.
Some minutes after he came out, and while
apologiZing for not being able 10 get a good
likeness he explained that each time, In
developing. the words Jack the Ripper"
had appeared written on the young mans
forehead.
The sitter answered, Nonsense! Ny fore
head is all right. Can you see anything the
matter with it?" And he looked into a
mirror.
II can certainly see nothing" said the
photographer but l shall be obliged il you
will go away and not come here again The
whole thing is too uncanny for me-.
At this there was q dreadful row, but
eventually the young man left and never
returned. The young man was bit OF a
scientist and had been playing joke. BIZ
sulph re of quinine is a chemical which Is
white to the naked eye, but is seen black
by the camera
Anything painted on the skin with this.
while still remaining invisible ordinarily,
will come out in a photograph as clearly as
IL written in ink. The words were simply
inscribed previously on the joker's forehead
with the above results.