D.-TAKING PORTRAITS FROM LIFE BY DAGUERREOTYPE. G3

boundaries; but if the process is stopped at an earlier interval, therewill commonly be found a stain corresponding to the figure of tho glass.

“ The chair in which the sitter is placed has a staff at its back, ter-minating in an iron ring, that supports the head, so arranged as to havemotion in directions to suit any stature and any attitude. By simplyresting the back or side of the head against this ring, it may be keptsufficiently still to allow the minutest marks on the face to be copied.The hands should never rest upon the chest, for the motion of respira-tion disturbs them so much as to bring them out of a thick and clumsyappearance, destroying also the representation of the veins on the back,which, if they are held motionless, are copied with surprising beauty.

“ It has already been stated, that certain pictorial advantages attendan arrangement in which the light is thrown upon the face at a smallangle. This also allows us to get rid entirely of the shadow from theback-ground, or to compose it moro gracefully in tho picture; for this,it is well that the chair should bo brought forward from the back-ground,from three to six feet.

“ Tlioso who undertake Daguerreotype portraitures, will of coursearrange the back-grounds of their pictures according to their owntastes. When one that is quite uniform is required, a blankot, or acloth of a drab colour, properly suspended, will be found to answer verywell. Attention must be paid to the tint,—white, reflecting too muchlight, would solarize upon the proof before the face had time to comeout, and, owing to its reflecting all tho rays, a blur or irradiation wouldappear on all edges, due to chromatic aberration.

“ It will readily be understood, that if it be desired to introduce avase, an urn, or other ornament, it must not be arranged against theback-ground, but brought forward until it appears perfectly distinct uponthe obscured glass of the camera.

“ Different parts of the dress, for the same reason, require intervals,differing considerably, to bo fairly copied; the white parts of a costumepassing on to solarization beforo the yellow or black parts have madeany decisive representation. Wo have therefore to mako use of tem-porary expedients. A person dressed in a black coat and open waistcoatof tho same colour, must put on a temporary front of a drab or fleshcolour, or, by the time that his face and tho fine shadows of his woollenclothing are evolved, his shirt will bo solarized, and be blue, or evenblack, with a white halo around it. Where, however, the white parts ofthe dress do not expose much surface, or expose it obliquely, these pre-cautions are not essential, the whito collar will scarcely solarize untilthe face is passing into the same condition.

“ Precautions of the same kind are necessary in ladies’ dresses, whichshould not be of tints contrasting strongly.

“ It will now be readily understood, that the whole art of taking Da-guerreotype miniatures consists in directing an almost horizontal beam oflight, through a blue coloured medium, upon the face of the sitter, whois retained in an unconstrained posture by an appropriate but simple

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