In the historical section, the description of the calotype, as published by Mr. Fox Talbot, is given. Mr. Henry Fox Talbot, during 1852, made the country a free gift of all his patents, reserving only the right of a patentee over that portion which includes the practice of taking portraits for sale. (See the letters in the Appendix).

The first important published improvement on the calotype was due to Mr. Cundell, whose process appeared in the Philosophical Magazine for May, 1844, from which we extract the following :—

1. To produce a calotype picture, there are five distinct processes, all of which, except the third, must be performed by candle-light : they are all very simple, but, at the same time, they all require care and caution. The first, and not the least important, is—

2. The Iodizing Of The Paper

Much depends upon the paper selected for the purpose ; it must be of a compact and uniform texture, smooth and transparent, and of not less than medium thickness. The best I have met with is a fine satin post paper, made by "R. Turner. Chafford Mill." Having selected a half-sheet without flaw or water-mark, and free from even the minutest black specks, the object is to spread over its surface a perfectly uniform coating of the iodide of silver, by the mutual decomposition of two salts, nitrate of silver and iodide of potassium. There is a considerable latitude in the degree of dilution in which these salts may be used, and also in the manner and order of their application; but as the thickness and regularity of the coating depend upon the solution of nitrate of silver, and upon the manner in which it is applied, I think it ought by all means to be applied first, before the surface of the paper is disturbed. I use a solution of the strength of seventeen grains to the ounce of distilled water.

3. The paper may be pinned by its two upper comers to a clean dry board a little larger than itself; and, holding this nearly upright in the left hand, and commencing at the top, apply a wash of the nitrate of silver thoroughly, evenly, and smoothly, with a large soft brash, taking care that every part of the surface be thoroughly wetted, and that nothing remain unabsorbed in the nature of free or running solution. Let the paper now hang loose from the board into the air to dry, and by using several boards time will be saved.

4. The nitrate of silver spread upon the paper is now to be saturated with iodine, by bringing it in contact with a solution of the iodide of potassium: the iodine goes to the silver, and the nitric acid to the potash.

5. Take a solution of the iodide of potassium of the strength of 400 grains to a pint of water, to which it is an improvement, analogous to that of M. Claudet in the daguerreotype, to add 100 grains of common salt. He found that the chlorinated iodide of silver is infinitely more sensitive than the simple iodide; and by this addition of common salt, a similar, though a less remarkable, modification is obtained of the sensitive compound. Pour the solution into a shallow flat-bottomed dish, sufficiently large to admit the paper, and let the bottom of the vessel be covered to the depth of an eighth of an inch. The prepared side of the paper, having been previously marked, is to be brought in contact with the surface of the solution, and, as it is desirable to keep the other side clean and dry, it will be found convenient, before putting it in the iodine, to fold upwards a narrow margin along the two opposite edges. Holding by the upturned margin, the paper is to be gently drawn along the surface of the liquid until its lower face be thoroughly wetted on every part; it will become plastic, and in that state may be suffered to repose for a few moments in contact with the liquid: it ought not, however, to be exposed in the iodine dish for more than a minute altogether, as the new compound, just formed upon the paper, upon further exposure, would gradually be redissolved. The paper is therefore to be removed, and, after dripping, it may be placed upon any clean surface with the wet side uppermost until about half dry, by which time the iodine solution will have thoroughly penetrated the paper, and have found out and saturated every particle of the silver, which it is quite indispensable it should do, as the smallest portion of undecomposed nitrate of silver would become a black stain in a subsequent part of the process.

6. The paper is now covered with a coating of the iodide of silver; but it is also covered, and indeed saturated, with saltpetre and the iodide of potassium, both of which it is indispensable should be completely removed. To effect the removal of these salts, it is by no means sufficient to " dip the paper in water; " neither is it a good plan to wash the paper with any considerable motion, as the iodide of silver, having but little adhesion to it, is apt to be washed off. But the margin of the paper being still upturned, and the unprepared side of it kept dry, it will be found that by setting it afloat on a dish of clean water, and allowing it to remain for five or ten minutes, drawing it gently now and then along the surface to assist in removing the soluble salts, these will separate by their own gravity, and (the iodide of silver being insoluble in water) nothing will remain upon the paper but a beautifully perfect coating of the kind required.

7. The paper is now to be dried ; but, while wet, do not on any account touch or disturb the prepared surface with blotting paper, or with anything else. Let it merely be suspended in the air ; and, in the absence of a better expedient, it may be pinned across a string by one of its corners. When dry, it may be smoothed by pressure. It is now "iodized" and ready for use, and in this state it will keep for any length of time if protected from the light. The second process is that of exciting or:

8. Preparing The Paper For The Camera

For this purpose are required the two solutions described by Mr. Talbot; namely, a saturated solution of crystallized gallic acid in cold distilled water, and a solution of the nitrate of silver of the strength of 50 grains to the ounce of distilled water, to which is added one-sixth part of its volume of glacial acetic acid. For many purposes these solutions are unnecessarily strong, and, unless skilfully handled, they are apt to stain or embrown the paper : where extreme sensitiveness, therefore, is not required, they may with advantage be diluted to half the strength, in which state they are more manageable and nearly as effective. The gallic acid solution will not keep for more than a few days, and only a small quantity, therefore, should be prepared at a time. When these solutions are about to be applied to the iodized paper, they are to be mixed together, in equal volumes, by means of a graduated drachm tube. This mixture is called "the gallo-nitrate of silver." As it speedily changes, and will not keep for more than a few minutes, it must be used without delay, and it ought not to be prepared until the operator is quite- ready to apply it.