question about mid-1850s lenses

[Mark Sawyer]

I'd guess he used the standard equipment of the day, a Petzval with the option of using the front element as a landscape lens at a fairly small stop. The Petzval was the first convertible lens, serving as both of the two main options of the day, a fast portrait lens and a slower, wider-angle landscape lens.

The Globe and Orthoscop were made a little too late for the 1850-'55 date. The Sutton lens was an unsuccessful and impractical-to-use failure that required curved plates.

[tgtaylor]

Maybe Salt and Silver will throw some light on it as it covers salted paper photography from 1840 to 1860. It was shipped from Koeln, Germany yesterday and is currently in the air between London and SF. UPS says they will deliver it tomorrow.

Thomas

[tgtaylor]

Here is some info on Greenlaw from Impressed By Light: British photographs from paper negatives 1840-1860, page 320:



Thomas

[NedL]

Thanks Thomas.

Abney's book(s) can be found on Google Books, also I think Burbank's or Hunt's manuals might have a description of the process. I think the original 1869 photographic news article might also be found on Google Books.

Towler's is available at the albumen site

Vijayanagara: Splendour in Ruins has superb reproductions of a number of Greenlaw's calotypes,.

Excellent instructions, if you'd like to try it yourself, are here.

[pgk]

Of interest? - http://www.photomadras.org/history.php - still going so may have some archives and info?

[NedL]

Of interest? - http://www.photomadras.org/history.php - still going so may have some archives and info?

Thank you! Amazing that it is still going!