_Originator of the Collodion Process._--All those who take any interest in
photography must agree with your correspondent G. C. that M. Le Gray is a
talented man, and has done much for photography. G. C. has given a very
good translation of M. Le Gray's _last published work_, p. 89., which work
I have: but I must take leave to observe, that it is no contradiction
whatever to my statement. The translations to which M. Le Gray alludes, of
1850, appeared in Willat's publication, from which I gave him the credit of
having first suggested the use of collodion in photography. The subject is
there dismissed in three or four lines.
M. Le Gray gave no directions whatever for its application to glass in his
work published in July 1851, wherein he alludes to it only as an
"encallage" for paper, classing it with amidou, the resins, &c., which he
recommends in a similar manner.
I had, four months previous to this, published the process in detail in the
_Chemist_. I never asserted that he had not tried experiments with
collodion in 1849; but he did not give the public the advantage of
following him: and I again repeat that the first time M. Le Gray published
the collodion process was in September, 1852,--a year and a half after my
publication, and when it had become much used.
It is obvious that if M. Le Gray had been in possession of any detailed
process with collodion on glass in 1850, he would not have omitted to
publish it in his work dated July, 1851.