IMPROVEMENTS IN PHOTO-SCULPTURE
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Antoine Francois Jean Claudet, of Gloucester Road,
Regent's Park, in the County of Middlesex, Photographer, for the
CASES
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Antoine Francois Jean
Claudet at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 14th December 1864.
I, ANTOINE FRANCOIS JEAN CLAUDET, of Gloucester Road. Regent's Park,
in the County of Middlesex, Photographer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PHOTO-SCULPTURE," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in photo-sculpture..
In the processes of sculpture-photographic pictures taken from different
points of view have, before been and are now employed. In some cases the
series of photographic pictures are simply used by the artist as aids to the eye
when modelling by hand.. In other cases photographic pictures (or enlarged
copies thereof made by hand when projected on to paper by means of the solar
camera) have been and are now used in combination with and as a means of
governing the action of pantagraphs. When using such pictures in combina-
tion with pantagraphs, two such pictures taken at right angles to each other

page_text: are employed with two pantagraphs acting at right angles to each other, the
photographic pictures being on planes at right angles to each other, and
capable of being held at a proper distance from the block of clay or other
material placed on a revolving table. The clay or material is modelled
mechanically by instruments at the other ends of the pantagraphs to those
where the tracers or pointers which act on the pictures are situated. The
number of photographic pictures used in each case may be varied, the two
profiles and the front and back views being the most important, whilst the
additional pictures tend to the production of greater and greater accuracy.
This is common to both of the two modes of employing photographic pictures
above mentioned, as well as to the method hereafter described.
Now, according to my Invention, the original photographic pictures similar
to those heretofore used to aid the artist's eye when modelling by hand are
themselves enlarged to the exact size intended to be given to the model, and
are projected on to the block of clay or other material by a camera or cameras,
whilst two pictures at right angles of like size, previously drawn by hand, as
will be hereafter explained, are generally employed at the same time to further
aid the artist's eye in judging of the progress of his work, and to determine the
various planes at which every part of the block is to be brought during the
modelling. The block of clay is placed on a revolving table or surface, the
axis of which is capable of being slid or moved to and fro, and such table is
divided into a number of sections, which construction of table or revolving
surface is not new; or the camera or cameras used to project photographic
pictures on to the block may be caused to slide to and from the plane of the
part of the block which for the time is being modelled, so that the image of
this part may be in focus. The photographic pictures are enlarged by a
camera to the same scale or size to that of the intended model or piece of
sculpture, both when being projected on to the block, and also when being
projected on to sheets of cardboard or other suitable material, in order that
pictures on the same scale as the intended model may be thereby obtained on
paper or material by hand, by a pencil or marker, or photographically by the
use of chemically prepared paper and light. The sheets of cardboard or
surfaces employed for receiving these pictures are ruled with light-colored
vertical and horizontal lines, so as to divide the surface into numerous parts,
which are numbered at the top and bottom and at the sides. The central
vertical and horizontal line on each sheet is of a darker tint or color than the
other lines, in order that the centre of the sheet may be made clear and dis-
tinct to the eye of the artist. In producing the enlarged picture on divided
sheets care must be taken to have the plumb line or axis of the original

page_text: photograph coinciding with the centre line of the copy drawn by hand or
photographically produced. By thus obtaining a series of pictures of the size
of the intended model by the aid of a camera, the correct position or focus of
each part for the block is ascertained and recorded. so that when about to
model any part of the block its proper position in regard to the camera will
be ascertained from the enlarged picture at right angles to the one in the
camera about to be projected on to the block, and this part of the block will
readily be adjusted to receive the picture correctly in focus. The cameras
used are solar cameras or microscopes, but artificial light may be employed in
such microscopes or cameras in place of the light of the sun, as is well under-
stood.
When modelling a block of clay or other material it is placed on the
revolving table, and a photographic picture is projected on to the block by a
camera. the axis of the block having been slid or brought into the correct
position (in respect to the camera) for the particular picture,, whilst the two
enlarged pictures (taken at right angles to each other, and representing the
particular view of the sitter or subject from which the set of photographic
pictures were taken) are conveniently placed in sight of the operator. The
artist will then proceed to model by hand and tool such part of the block, his
eye being aided by the figure projected by the camera on to the block, and
also by observing the two pictures of the same size as the intended model.
The artist may be further aided by placing a white screen from time to time
before the block, and between it and the camera, so as to receive the picture
from the camera, and it may be found convenient that such screen should be
of ground glass, so that the artist may see the picture on the screen and on
the block, and at the same time ascertain the progress of his work, there
being a sufficient amount of transmitted rays of light. But when using an
opaque white screen to receive the image from the camera, the block may be
moved a little aside, so that the artist will have near the block the correct
inage which he has to imitate. Here it should be observed that the image
of the camera being correct only on a plane, it becomes distorted when pro-
jected on a solid block. To obviate this it is advantageous to introduce into
the block, exactly on the plane of the part which is being modelled, a thin
blade, by which the receding parts of the block being hidden, and the image
being projected on a surface sufficiently plane, the artist can cut or model the
block with accuracy. This being done, the blade is withdrawn with care, and
introduced into the part of the block which is to be next modelled. By the
picture at right angles, the exact plane of every part of the figure being indi-
cated, the blade will be introduced in the place to be modelled, and gradually

page_text: the block will assume the shape of the figure. In some cases two cameras
are used at the same time, at right angles to each other, to project their
pictures on in the block, and in other cases four or even more, they being in
pairs and placed at right angles to each other, and the artist may from time
to time, when it is desirable, screen off the picture of any of the cameras,
whilst allowing the projected picture of the other or others to come on in the
block. When iwo or four cameras at right angles are used to projeci righi-
angle pictures on to the block simultaneously, the artist can see at once the
planes at which any outlines of one picture must be modelled, and in this case
it will be unnecessary that he should be guided by pictures drawn separately
on cardboard as before described. This will considerably simplify the whole
operation. When the modelling has been sufficiently advanced the model
may be brought into an atelier to be finished in the light of the day, and
there the artist may refine and correct the model by having before him a
magnifying apparatus. in which he may in succession, and when wanted.
place the original photographic pictures corresponding with any position of the
model before him, which for this purpose he can turn on its base according to
the view he wants to compare with the original.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Antoine Francois Jean (landet in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 13th June 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1. ANTOINE
FRANCOIS JEAN CLAUDET, of Gloucester Road, Regent's Park, in the County
of Middlesex, Photographer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Palent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself. Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Antoine Francois Jean Clandet, Her special
licence that I, the said Antoine Francois Jean Claudet, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I. the said Antoine Francois
Jean Claudet, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-

page_text: MENTS IN PHOTO-SCULPTURE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I. the
said Antoine Francois Jean Claudet, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven
tion. and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I. the said Antoine Francois Jean Claudet, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed. to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
The Invention consists in new means of producing sculpture by the help of
photography. The union of the two processes of photography and sculpture
to obtain the plastic representation of living and inert objects constitutes an
art which is already known, but instead of transferring on to a block of clay
the outlines of various photographic pictures by the artist having such pictures
before him when modelling by hand, and in place of doing so mechanically by
means of one or several pantographs or equivalent apparatus acting at a
distance by a tracer, and on the block by a tool, the image of the original
photographs enlarged to the exact dimensions which is to be given to the
model is by my process projected or thrown on to the block. so that the picture
becomes an aid to the eye and hand of the artist, who, when modelling a
block holds and uses the cutting tool as hereafter described. By means of
two enlarging cameras, placed at right angles to each other, two images are
projected at once on the block which is to be modelled. these images being
taken at right angles to each other, one shews the plane and the other the
profile outline of a certain division or part of the figure or object. Blades of
thin metal or other material are pressed vertically into the block in such
manner as to allow parts of the blades to: project. and such blades must be
introduced during the modelling, where (when the block is brought forward
or backward) the blades will be in focus and receive the picture. Two
cameras, at right angles, may alone be used, but as they will give only two
views of the same part of the image, it may in some cases be advantageous to.
employ four cameras at right angles, as by such means the artist, without
changing the pictures or turning the block, may model the front, back, and
right and left outline parts of the figure, and by moving all round the block,
(instead of turning it on its base) the artist will be able to transfer on to the
block respectively the parts comprehended by the four pictures. Or by using
eight cameras and pictures taken at an angle of 45° the advantage of constantly.

page_text: being able to judge of the effect produced, and how the various outlines agree
will be increased. The artist is to have the means of readily opening and
shutting the various cameras according to the views he may at any moment
want for his work. Or in place of the artist walking round the block the
block may be placed on a table capable of being turned; in which case the
block is, to be turned on its base every time a new division is to be modelled,
until all the views (taken at right angles) have consecutively been projected on
to the corresponding sides or parts of the block. During these various
operations, the artist should have the means of judging of the progress of the
modelling by comparing the work done on the block with the pure and bright
images of the cameras. For this purpose he has only to push back the block
and to bring into its place and in focus a piece of ground glass.. so that the
image being projected on the ground glass the artist will be able to see how
the model agrees with the image on the glass, there being a sufficient amount
of light transmitted through the glass to light the block and to enable the
artist to make all the corrections required, and in this he may be assisted by
measuring all the proportions with compasses. A screen of white cardboard
may usefully be employed instead of or alternately with one of ground glass,
as giving a stronger and clearer image. When using a white screen. the
block may be lighted by a small lamp placed behind the screen and thus
hidden to the eye of the artist. When using such a screen it is better that it
should be on the tool employed by the artist in modelling, and so dispense
with the employing the thin metallic blades before mentioned.
A few preliminary considerations may elucidate the use of such a screen.
From any angular point of view the image existing at the optical focus of the
camera is invisible: the rays may be reflected to the eye by any opaque body
placed in the plane of the image produced at the optical focus, or the image
may be seen reflected even by a stratum of smoke or any opaque vapour
forming a vertical screen, and the image will be apparent as long as the
vapour or smoke exists, moreover the image will be stationary although the
smoke or vapour may be constantly undulating. If an artist could keep his
tool whilst moving it against a block of clay perfectly perpendicular to the
plane of the image so reflected by a vapour or smoke whilst causing the
tool to follow, the outline of the reflected image he would correctly. perform a
part of the modelling of the block. It will be evident that the tool in being
thus moved by the artist's hand must intercept consecutively all the points of
the image, upon which it has been directed, and that wherever it has passed
it has received on the end of its very stem every point of the outline seen on
the vapour, but if in place of a screen of vapour or smoke a tool, (Figure 5

page_text: and fixed perpendicularly through a small white disc be used, that disc
would intercept a part of the projected image equal to the area of the disc,
and would exhibit or render such part of the image visible on its surface;
hence, although I have mentioned the effect consequent on projecting an
image on to a vapourous screen, in order that the matter should be understood,
it is not necessary or desirable to obtain or use a vapourous screen, as the
employment of a simple disc on the tool is all that is required. On the disc
a small black or bright point (c. Figure 6) is marked corresponding with the
end of the stem of the tool, and such spot is surrounded by a small circle to
make it more conspicuous. If in moving the disc between the camera and
the block. and in the plane of the correct focus that point is made to follow
any outlines of the image projected on the disc. the sharp point of the tool
(in following the same course) would cut a corresponding outline on the
block this will be rendered more evident if it be supposed that motion is
given to the axis of the camera lens so that the projected image is made to
move; it will be evident that any particular point of that image can be made to
follow a circle, a square, or any outline previously traced on a stationary screen;
on the other hand, if the camera remains perfectly stationary the image will be
also stationary, but if the screen be moved in such a way that the small black spot
(marked on its surface) be caused to follow exactly any outline of the fixed image,
the effect of the movement of the screen and the tool will be as above described.
Now, the sculptor's tool being attached perpendicularly on the back of the
screen or disc, and the axis of the stem of the tool being coincident with
the black spot in front of the screen or disc, it is evident that whilst the spot
can be made to follow the various outlines of the fixed image projected from a
camera, the point of the tool must describe the same outlines on the block of
clay. This principle being understood, it will become evident that it is not
necessary that the screen should be large enough to receive the whole image
at once; on the contrary it may with advantage be reduced to the size of
about two inches in diameter, which size will show enough of the projected
picture to guide the movement of the artist's hand and of the tool. In fact it
is preferable that the lighted surface or screen on the tool should be as small
as possible, in order that the perception of vision should not be impeded or
weakened by a large surrounding surface unnecessarily lighted. From the
above description of the use by an artist of a tool having on it a small disc or
screen, and by his receiving upon such screen a portion of an image projected
by a camera, he will be aided in moving or using such tool to cut the clay
according to the part of the image for the time received on to the screen.

page_text: As it is necessary that the disc on the tool should be kept constantly
correctly in the plane of the image of the camera, and as it would be very
difficult for the artist to retain the disc correctly in position when moving the
tool so as to follow the outline of the projected picture, it is desirable that the
artist's band should be mechanically aided in such manner that whilst he may
be able freely to move the tool the disc thereon may be retained in the proper
plane, whilst the tool is held securely at right angles to such plane with the
objects. The following arrangements are made, see Figures 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 5, 6. The disc is fixed in the middle of a flat bar H, H, which slides in
open slots made through the two upright sides of a frame placed in the plane
of the image. By means of a weight, cord, and pulleys, the bar is suspended
horizontally between the sides of the slots in the uprights, and remains
supported in any position in which it is left during the various stages of the
operation; and it can be made to move in all directions required by the least
impulse of the hand of the artist. By these simple means an artist can by a
hand tool communicate to a block of clay all round its circumference the
outlines of a series of photographs (projected by cameras on to the tool and
the block itself) representing the object under all its phases.
I call this apparatus the plastimonograph, in order correctly to characterize
its form and mode of use. By the employment of this tool and apparatus and
the hand of the artist the model is produced by means of a single tool which
cuts the block whilst the tool itself is by hand caused to follow the lines of the
image of photographs projected on to the block itself, in place of employing
photograph pictures on screens at a distance from the block, and also in place
of using pantographs or instruments in the nature thereof to communicate
motion mechanically to a tool acting on the clay at a distance.
In witness whereof, 1, the said Antoine Francois Jean Claudet, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
ANTOINE FRANCOIS JEAN CLAUDET. (L.S.)