The San Francisco call., 1908-03-01
By Hanna Astrup Larsen


ing viii o the wisp which has
eluded the grasp of its pursuers
- for q century has been caught
at last. and when firmly. grasped has
proved itself not delusion, but a
gem that can be touched with the hand
and examined with the eyes. OF a
gemlfke radiance. and purity were. the
examples of the new process which
saw in the. studio of oscar MaureT, the
Berkeley artist, who is one of the first
western men to give Lumiere's inven-
tion a successful trial There is no
way vet Of transferring the image to
paper. but the plate itself, when hung
against the light. is unique and
beautiful picture rejecting the image
imprinted on it with all The deiicacy
OF the old .daguerrotype, but with
well Of pure rich color
one Of the pictures hung against the
window pane in Maurer's studio was
that Of the artists wife, dressed in
flowing ruby colored gown with deep
red flower in her hair and standing
a-ainst a background OF green grass
and foliage. The flesh tones were OF
EXQUISITE aolicacy and the darker
colors Of the draperies and back
ground had a depth and at the same
time 2 luminous qualify truly wonder
fuL The sunlight itself lived again in
the picture. one Of the most success
ful plates is that of Marion Norton the
miniature painter. Yhe colors in her
draperies are OF quite oriental bril-
lance. glowing with peacock blue, pur-
pic and yellow. hsrmoniously blended.
: pretty picture is that OF a, little
girl sitting on brick wall The
white dress showing blue in the shad-
ows. the little red cap surmounting
yellow curls and blue eyes and the dit-
ferent red OF the brick wall are ali
nerfectlv reproduced. The tiny features,
The sunny smile and the curls are all
outlined with marvellous fidelity.
The autochromatfc plate that records
color is vet made only by the inventor,
Antoine Lumiere Of Paris. and is i'm
ported by the few American pho
tographers who have employed it sue
oessfuIly. It's use is quite simple, as
an ordinary camera may be employed,
but the dificulty is in gauging the
exact length Of time required in the
exposure and in preventing the colors
from running in the process. Of de-
velopment.
One Problem Remains
.I.umiere is working now on the
problem of transferring the color image
10 paper.' said Mr.. Maurer and
should not be surprised to hear any
dsv that he had succeeded The sensi-
tized paper that win take the color
impression and retain it is not an inn
possible thing"
So long as the impression cannot be
conveyed TO paper it is. Of course. i'm
possible to multiply pictures from one
plste and the invention has therefore
not yet the commercial value that it
viii have when the last link is COM
pIete. In the meantime il is of tre-
nendous interest, as showing what
marvels can be done by the sunlight
and as an earnest that the day will
come when the most ordinary camera
fend can snap his subject in colors
5ust as easily as he now takes it in
black and white. The picture as il
now can be retained on the plate is
perhsps even more beautiful than il
could he If caught on paper, and for
those VINO can afford to pay the price
reou.red in sacrificing one expensive
plate 70 each picture I should think
the fact that it could not be duplicated
would give an added value. The glass
picture bears the same relation to the
paper image Of the future that the
o;d daguerreotype bore TO the present
nbotograph Don't we al remember
tbe little black cases With the gold
frills and crimson velvet padding
cradling -he delicate, elusive, exclusive
Languages 1t was only because W,
found them at the bottom Of the treas
=.e drawer in our mothers writing
desk that they charmed US. nor yet be-
eause they showed our grandmother
and aunts in the unsophisticated gowns
~ the day and with their hair in cur
tains," but also because the little por.
traits really had a distinct and dis