Palmer, “Palmer's Patent Arm and Hand” a 4pp illustrated patent review in Journal of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, vol 67 (third series vol 37), February 1859, pp 114-118, with a full page plate (illustrated here) and three large text illustrations. Offered in the full volume of 448pp. Bound in half-calf and marbled boards, the spine being rubbed and chaffed. Ex-library, with the shadow of a call number label at spine bottom, plus large bookplate, and library stamps on title page. Overall, a solid Good copy, with a fresh and crisp text. $145
Also appearing in this volume:
Henry Fox Talbot, “Improvements in the Art of Engraving”, pp 193-197. (William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877) was among the earliest of the photographic pioneers, or pre-pioneers, as he asserted priority of his photographic method for 1835 when Daguerre revealed his own (very different) method in 1839. Talbot (or Fox Talbot) was also a practitioner of the art, publishing a stone-cold and revolutionary work of photographically illustrated books, The Pencil of Nature.)
W.O. O'Brien, “Canals and Canal Conveyance”, pp 16-26 and 73-80;
M. Muguet, “Accidental Production of Colors in Photographs”, pp 126-7, translated from Cosmos. This seems an interesting note in the early history of color photography, though there is no mention of any work being done by any others in this field. ("M Muguet states to the French Academy the circumstances under which he obtained natural colors in a stereoscopic picture of ruins covered with ivy. Each glass plate had been exposed twenty seconds the sun shining brilliantly and on developing I was astonished at finding the color strongly developed the ivy was represented by a deep green tint some old timber of trees by a brown the stones by a gray all with colors in the highest degree varied. Fixing did not alter them but in drying they lost their brilliancy with the exception of the green which has remained as decided as at first. In taking a second picture the same effect was produced but with less strength...In reference to this communication of M Muguet to the Academy Paris M Bertsch reminded the hearers that every photographer had frequently observed that when the development of a positive was arrested at a certain point and the picture placed upon a black ground effects were obtained which imitated the natural color very well....")
1859 is a big year in the history of science, but there is no mention (nor was this the place for mentioning most of what is to follow) of Darwin, Huxley, Maxwell, Riemann, Kirchhoff, or Cayley.
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