The sun. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1937-1972, June 14, 1940, Image 3
THE SUN, NEWBERRY, S. C„ FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 1940
Again Is Raised the Question of Who
Made the First Camera in the U. S. and
look the First Photographic Portrait
Farm
Topics
LIMING OF SOILS
AIDS PRODUCTION
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
(Released by Western Newspaper Union.)
W HO made the first
camera in America?
What pioneer pho
tographer first used a “fast
action” picture - taking ma
chine to get a successful por
trait of a human being?
According to a recent Asso-
• ciated Press dispatch from
Hampden Sydney, Va., hon
ors belong to Dr. John Wil
liam Draper, an Englishman
who was educated at the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania, be
came a professor of chemis
try at Hampden Sydney col
lege more than a century ago
and achieved a wide reputa
tion not only in chemistry but
in physiology, history and
philosophy as well. This dis
patch said:
An old box-shaped camera left
at Hampden Sydney college in
1839 by Dr. John William Draper
is going to be taken from its cen
tury-old resting place to a niche
in the Smithsonian Institution,
officials of which have accepted
it as the first camera in America
and the first “fast action” camera
in the world. The presentation
probably will take place at the
June commencement.'
To prove that it was the first
camera of modern type, eight
years of research was conducted
by the Rev. Howard C. Cobbs,
who was a professional photog
rapher at Charleston, W. Va., be
fore he began his studies for
the ministry.
The college asked Mr. Cobbs to
make a picture of the camera in
1932 for George W. Eastman,
president of the Eastman Kodak
company. The young student
learned its history from Dr. J. H.
C. Bagby, professor of chemistry.
He tried it with modern film and it
worked. He learned that Dr.
Draper made his famous “first
portrait” of a living person at
New York university in 1839 or
1840, soon after leaving Hampden
Sydney.
Mr. Cobbs became convinced
that the camera here was older
than the one used at N. Y. U.
and was the first modern-type
camera. Everything he un
earthed indicated that he was
right in his belief, but he could
get no “iron-clad” proof.
Mr. Cobbs took his data to the
Smithsonian. Officials congratu
lated him on his work, then sug
gested that he study records
there. He found just what he
needed, and it was in Dr.
Draper’s own words in a letter
to the Photographic and Fine Art
Journal, published in 1858, in an
swer to an inquiry “who made the
first photographic portrait?”
Dr. Draper explained that he
had worked with sensitive plates
before anything was published in
Europe by Daguerre or Talbot;
that he had tried a lens of large
aperture and short focus to speei
up action enough to permit por
traits of living person^; that he
succeeded notably later with in
formation about Daguerre’s more
sensitive plates.
It was while at Hampden Syd
ney that he carried on his ex
periments, he said, even trying
mirrors from a telescope before
obtaining a lens. The telescope
is here and will be presented with
the camera.
His connection with portraiture,
he said, dated to the summer
before publication of Daguerre’s
process. Daguerre’s process was
published in August, 1839. Dr.
Draper went to New York univer
sity in September, 1839, and with
Daguerre’s more sensitive plates
and his methods succeeded.
Had he discovered the more
sensitive plate, Virginia might
have claimed the honor of the
first portrait as well as the first
camera.
Despite the assertions in
that news story, however, it
is possible that some one may
soon rise to challenge Dr.
Draper’s right to the honor of
having made the first camera
in America and being the
first to get a successful por
trait. Here’s why:
Last year was celebrated the
“Centennial of Photography” dur
ing which honors were paid to
Louis Jacques Mande Dageuerre,
the Frenchman, who is univer
sally acclaimed as “The Father
of Photography.” On the eve of
that celebration the MacMillan
company of New York published
“Photography and the American
Scene—A Social History, 1839-
1889,” the result of more than six
years of research by Dr. Robert
Taft, professor of chemistry at
the University of Kansas.
In the first two chapters of his
book. Dr. Taft gives a well-doc
umented account of the work of
the pioneer “daguerreotypists” in
this country who became interest-
DR. JOHN W. DRAPER
(From an ambrotype made by Mathew W. Brady about 1857.)
ed in the new art very soon after
articles about Daguerre’s proc
ess had been reprinted from
French and English journals in
American newspapers as early as
March, 1839. One of these was
D. W. Seager, an En^ .shman,
who was living in New York in
1839. As a result of Dr. Taft’s
investigations, he makes the
statement that Seager “was the
first person to make a successful
daguerreotype in the United
States; which he did on Septem
ber 27, 1839.”
As for the claim that Draper
made the first successful portrait
of a human being, Dr. Taft’s con
clusions also give that honor to
another man. Alexander S. Wol
cott of New York. Wolcott, who
was an instrument maker and
manufacturer of dental supplies,
took a daguerreotype of his part
ner, John Johnson, on October 7,
1839, according to Taft, and this
was the “first photographic por
trait.”
Draper’s Contributions.
Although denying to Draper the
honor of being the first to make
a successful photographic por
trait, Dr. Taft sums up his impor
tant contributions to photography
thus:
“He was among the earliest to
attempt photographic portraiture.
The earliest photographic por
trait which has survived. It is a
daguerreotype of Miss Dorothy
Catherine Draper, made by her
brother, Dr. John W. Draper,
probably in the summer of 1840.
These attempts were based on
such scientific princip'es as were
then known; he sent abroad an
early daguerreotype portrait, ap
parently the earliest which has
survived; he published an exten
sive account of these experiments,
thereby enabling and encourag
ing others to benefit from his ex
perience ; and he became as
sociated with Morse in the open
ing of an establishment for the
purpose of taking portraits, thus
becoming one of the founders of
a new profession.”
Dr. Taft’s mention of “the earli
est daguerreotype portrait which
has survived” is a reference to
Draper’s famous portrait of his
sister, Miss Dorothy Catherine
Draper, which is still in existence
and which is owned by the Rev.
Sir John C. W. Herschel of Eng
land, grandson of Sir John F. W.
Herschel, the distinguished Eng
lish scientist to whom Draper
sent it in the summer of 1840. It
was accompanied by a letter, the
full text of which is printed for
the first time in Taft’s book. In
this letter Draper stated that
“I believe I was the first person
here who succeeded in obtaining
portraits from life.”
“It will be noted that the letter
is dated July 28, 1840, and t..at no
reference is made to the date on
which the portrait was made,”
comments Dr. Taft. “It will also
be noted that the exposure of this
early daguerreotype portrait was
only 65 seconds. Previously pub
lished accounts concerning this
daguerreotype have given expo
sures ranging from 10 to 20 min
utes, which have evidently been
based upon such general informa
tion as was available in Seager’s
exposure table (printed in the
American Repertory of Arts,
Sciences and Manufacturers for
March, 1840, the first ever printed
in this country).
“Judging from these facts, the
date of the letter, the relatively
short exposure required and an
examination of the portrait itself
which shows rather great con
trasts, I am of the opinion that it
was taken outdoors during the
summer of 1840.”
In September, 1840, Draper
published an article in the Lon
don, Edinburgh and Dublin Philo
sophical Magazine in which he
described in detail his method of
making photographic portraits,
such as the one of his sister. He
stated that in his earlier attempts
he dusted the face of the person
sitting for the portrait with white
powder (probably flour) to secure
greater contrast but that a few
trials showed him that there was
no advantage in this. To get
greater illumination on the sub
ject he used mirrors to reflect the
sun directly upon the sitter “but
in the reflected sunshine, the eye
can not support the effulgence of
the rays.” In order to support
the head and keep it still during
the long exposures required for
these early pictures, a staff ter
minating in an iron ring was at
tached to the sitter’s chair and
so “arranged as to have motion
in all directions tp suit any
stature and any altitude.”
Instrument of Torture.
“The modern patron of the pho
tographer’s art may not recog
nize the instrument of torture de
scribed above,” writes Dr. Taft,
“but to those who had photo
graphic portraits made ‘in the long
ago’ it will be remembered as the
familiar head rest which was part
of every photographer’s equip
ment, a device which was used,
as can be seen, from the early in
ception of the art up to fairly
modern times.”
It must have been a very try
ing experience for Miss Dorothy
Catherine Draper and it is doubt
ful if many of the belles of 1840
would have been willing to endan
ger their complexions by having
flour smeared over it or sitting
exposed to strong sunlight for
long minutes while trial pictures
were being taken, not to men
tion enduring the discomfort of
that “instrument of torture,” the
iron head rest. So she deserves
great credit for her contribution
to the development of the art of
photography and even though it is
debatable if her brother can just
ly claim the honor of being the
first to make a photographic por
trait, there is little doubt that one
distinction does rest with the
Draper family.
Dorothy Catherine Draper was
the first photographic “model”—
the ancestor of the “glamour
gals” who smile so bewitching-
ly at us from the pages of thou
sands of magazines and newspa
pers today.
Process Is Necessary to De
stroy Harmful Acidity.
By PROF. G. D. SCARSETH
(Soil Chemist, Purdue University Agricul
tural Experiment Station, Lafayette, Ind.)
Liming the soil is like lathering
the face before shaving. Lathering
simply paves the way for a smooth,
clean shave; liming only prepares
the soil for better crop production.
Just as shaving requires a razor <
in addition to soap and water, so the
best crop production requires, in ad- |
dition to liming, the use of fertiliz- ■
ers carrying nitrogen, phosphorus
and potash.
Not all soils are acid, nor do all
soils need lime. But where soil
acidity occurs it is “Public Enemy
No. 1” and lime is the G-man that
destroys it.
To use fertilizers on acid soils
without first employing lime to cor- :
rect the acidity is like trying to run
a race with lead weights in your
pocket.
But if neither liming, adequate
fertilization nor legumes are used,
then agriculture must inevitably fall
back on the White Man and Indian
rotation. The recipe is this: Let
the White Man have the soil 100 years
to destroy its fertilization, and let
the Indians have it 5,000 years to
rebuild it with forests. The forest
trees “limed” the soil naturally by
pumping back to the surface, |
through their deep roots, the soluble .
plant foods which fertilized the
earth as the leaves fell to the
ground and decayed.
Soil acidity is due to the absence ’
of calcium, magnesium and potas- ;
sium. When the soil was virgin or |
very fertile, the clay particles in the i
earth were saturated with these solu- :
ble alkaline elements. But through
continuous cropping and the pro- j
longed movement of rainwater ;
through the soil, these elements are
loosened and washed out of the soil.
Then hydrogen from the soil waters
becomes attached to the spots on the
clays where these food elements
had been removed. Thus the soil
becomes acidic and the clay par
ticles themselves, are the source of |
the soil acids. And unless they are
provided with alkaline elements, the
soil will remain acid.
Since clays in the soils are the
principal sources of acid, a heavy
clay soil would have more acidity
to be neutralized by lime than a
sandy soil with only a small amount
of clay.
To summarize the situation: If 1
soils are acid, lime should be ap
plied to correct this condition in or
der to secure best results from the
fertilizer used.
Farmers Developing
New Saving Methods
Agriculture has greater assurance
; of permanency if it can maintain its
i soil and raise better crops, accord-
| ing to Dr. George C. Moore of the
soil conservation service. United |
i States department of agriculture. I
In one instance, he said, 1,200 New
| York farmers aided, for the fourth !
j year, in completing methods for
saving soil and water on sloping ag- I
' ricultural land. A wealth of infer- i
! mation has accumulated.
Results have become evident in
increased yields, for potatoes and
silage corn alike. Dr. Moore report
ed. He suggested other better-farm
ing practices to go along with
contour tillage, strip-cropping, and
diversion ditches, such as pasture
improvement, better care of wood
lands, and greater use of alfalfa
and permanent hay. He said these
help toward a better live stock bal
ance on a cash crop farm.
Root Zones Are Needed
For Good Plant Growth
Since air in the soil is essential
j for plant growth, a root zone 3% to 4 i
; feet should be provided for such
i common farm crop plants as wheat, '
corn, soy beans and alfalfa. This
I may be provided through an ade-
! quate system of underground drain-
■ age, in which the mains and laterals
1 act as air ducts through which air
circulates and from which it feeds
out into the soil at the joints. Sur
face inlets aid in this matter of soil
, ventilation.
Root zones, which are above the
water table, secure their moisture
through capillary attraction. Capil
larity simply lines the soil pores
with a film of moistore, leaving air
space so that the plant food is then
available to the growing plant, both
air and moisture being present.
Fowl Paralysis
The outstanding symptom of fowl
' or range paralysis in poultry is dis
ability of a bird’s legs, wings or
eyesight. This is because the dis
ease affects the nervous system. An
; affected bird may gradually lose its
ability to stand. Similarly, the
wings may droop or drag and the
head turn or twist unnaturally. If
the nerves of the eye are affected,
blindness sets in. As for treatment,
about the only thing one can do is
to kill off all affected birds.
FOOD FOR THE FAMILY OR FOR GUESTS
(See Recipes Below)
It takes little imagination to
evolve a good meal in summer.
Whether you are planning a menu
for the family or for guests, there’s
all the wealth of the world from
which to choose!
There is fresh asparagus and
home-grown berries, new potatoes,
tiny green onions, and all the other
tender green things from the
garden.
Remember that sunshine and
warm weather and foods with zest
ful flavor go to
gether, and plan
your menus
around fresh
tasting fruits and
vegetables, for
they have win
ning ways with
jaded appetites. There’s the minted
pineapple cup pictured above, that’s
a grand first course for a summer
lunch or dinner; it’s as refreshing
as a cool breeze off the lake! There
are fruit salads, too—cool and color
ful as summer gardens; and vegeta
ble plater which, well arranged,
have appetite-appeal galore. And,
by the way, your calorie-conscious
friends will bless you if you serve
them, wfien you entertain the club,
these refreshing, filling, but not too
fattening combinations.
Plan your menus around some of
the fresh and tempting recipes be
low, and when you serve a salad or
vegetable for the main dish of the
meal, serve with it some unusual
bread, a beverage, and the simplest
kind of dessert.
You’ll find tested recipes for un
usual bread and rolls to serve with
summer meals, in my cook book,
“Better Baking.”
June Fruit Appetizer 6r Dessert.
Fresh pineapple
. Fresh strawberries
Confectioners’ sugar
Cut pineapple in %-inch slices, un
peeled. Then cut each slice in
wedge-shaped pieces. Wash straw
berries, leaving the stems on them.
Chill the fruits thoroughly, then on
individual dessert plates arrange
the pineapple wedges and the straw
berries, in a ring around the plate.
Place a mound of confectioners’
sugar in the center of each plate,
and serve at once.
Minted Pineapple Gems.
(Serves 4)
1 14-ounce can pineapple (spoon-
size chunks)
4 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon fresh mint (minced)
Arrange pineapple in fruit cock
tail glasses. Combine lime juice
and mint, and pour over the pine
apple. Chill thoroughly before serv
ing.
Hot Weather Vegetable Plate.
New potatoes browned in butter
Small whole beets rolled in mint
Spinach with hard cooked eggs
Nutted squash
Green onions.
Parboil small pared potatoes in
butter. Cook small, whole beets in
boiling water un
til tender Drain
and peel. Add
melted butter.
Then roll but
tered beets in
chopped green
mint. Cook spin
ach in salted water, drain, and sea
son with salt, pepper and butter.
Garnish dish with hard cooked egg
white rings and top with riced egg
yolks. Steam small summer squash
until tender. Cut in halves, scoop
out centers, and mash. Season with
melted butter, salt and pepper.
Sprinkle chopped nut meats over
top. Arrange vegetables on indi
vidual plates and garnish with a
sprig of parsley.
Fresh Asparagus With Lemon
Butter Sauce.
(4 servings)
2 small bunches fresh asparagus
(or 1 large bunch)
5 cups boiling water
IV2 teaspoons salt
V4 cup butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Cut off lower parts of asparagus
stalks as far down as they will snap.
Discard, or use in soup. Tie stalks
If you’re planning a club tea to
bring the social season to a close,
you’ll want to read Eleanor
Howe’s column next week. She’ll
give you plans and recipes for a
delightful summer tea. Be sure
to watch for this column next
week!
together loosely in a bundle and
place upright in saucepan contain
ing the boiling water to which
salt has been added. Cook, uncov
ered, until ends of stalks begin to
be tender, about 15 minutes; then
lay bunch of asparagus flat in pan
and continue cooking until tips are
tender, 5 to 10 minutes, then drain.
Cream butter and add lemon juice
slowly. Pour this mixture over hot
asparagus and serve at once.
Fruit Salad Dressing.
2 egg yolks
Vi cup strained honey
Juice of 1 lemon
Dash of salt
1 cup whipping cream
Place egg yolks, honey, lemon
juice and salt in top of double boiler,
and cook % hour, stirring frequent
ly. Remove from heat, beat with a
Dover egg beater, and cool. Whip
cream and then pour the chilled
honey' mixture into the whipped
cream, beating with Dover beater.
Baked Eggs in Tomato Cup.
(Serves 5-6)
6 tomatoes
Salt
Pepper
6 eggs
Buttered bread crumbs
Soft cheese (grated)
Scoop out tomato centers and
sprinkle with sai.. Place tomatoes
in muffin pans.
Break an egg into
each tomato. Sea
son, and top with
buttered crumbs
and cheese. Bake
in a moderate oven (350 degrees)
until tomatoes are tender and eggy
are set.
Orange Ice Box Cookies.
(Makes 5 dozen)
1 cup shortening
V2 cup brown sugar
% cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon orange rind (grated)
2% cups general purpose flour
14 teaspoon salt
% teaspoon soda
% cup pecan nut meats (broken)
Cream shortening and add sugars
slowly, while beating constantly.
Add egg (well-beaten), orange juice
and orange rind. Mix and sift flour,
salt and soda together and add to
the creamed mixture, together with
the broken nut meats. Form in rolls
in wax paper and chill overnight in
refrigerator. Slice thin, place on
greased baking sheet and bake in
moderately hot oven (375 degrees)
for 12 to 15 minutes.
Fruit Salad.
Toss together in a salad bowl 1
cup watermelon balls, 1 cup canta
loupe balls, 1 cup honey dew melon
balls, 1 cup pitted red cherries. Add
french dressing enough to coat all
the fruits, and mix lightly. Serve on
individual plates with two or three
stalks of well-chilled french endive
for garnish.
This Practical Cook Book Costs
Only Ten Cents.
When you serve a salad or a vege
table plate as the main dish of your
meal, serve with it delicious and un
usual bread or rolls. You’ll find test
ed recipes for different biscuits,
muffins and bread in Eleanor
Howe’s inexpensive cook book, Bet
ter Baking. There are recipes for
apricot rolls, blueberry muffins and
honey drop biscuit; and recipes for
crusty peanut butter bread or date
and nut bread to complete your
salad meals.
You’ll find recipes for cookies,
cakes and pastries, too, and this
practical booklet is only 10 cents.
To get your copy promptly send 10
cents in coin to “Better Baking,”
care Eleanor Howe, 919 North Mich
igan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois.
(Released by Western Newspaper Union.)
Dress Up Room With
Crocheted Chair Set
Pattern 2506
ET started on crochet that
you’ll love—repeat this easy
flower medallion and fill the quick
ly crocheted basket. You’ll have
a chair set or scarf ends that will
dress up your room! Pattern 2506
contains directions for making
set; illustration of it and stitches;
materials required. Send order to:
Sewing Circle Needlecraft Dept.
82 Eighth Ave. New York
Enclose 15 cents in coins for Pat
tern No
Name
Address
CLASSIFIED
DEPARTMENT
PHOTOFINISHING
DOUBLE-StZE PRINTS!
8 eftp. roll developed, printed. 36o;
16 exp.. 40c; reprints.3c each.One*
day service. Send negative for
free sample. Mall way Pheiefto*
Uhars, Box 11S-B, EvaaavHli, 111.
Long Footpath
The Appalachian trail, the long
est marked footpath in the world,
begins on Mount Katahdin in cen
tral Maine and ends on Mount
Oglethorpe in northern Georgia, a
distance of 2,050 miles. It passes
through 14 states, two national
parks, six national forests and ap
proximately 20 state parks and
forests.—Collier’s.
Laxative
For Headache,
Biliousness,
and Dizziness
when caused by
Constipation.
15 doses for
only 10 cents:
Dr. Hitchcock s
LAXATIVE POWDER
Contented Spirit
To secure a contented spirit,
measure your desire by your for
tune and not your fortune by your
desires.—Jeremy Taylor.
WEARY DESPONDENT
Q a Crying spelln, irritable
IV||l|_d serves due to functional
“monthly” pain should find
a real “woman’s friend” in Lydia E. Pink-
ham’s Vegetable Compound. Try ill
Lydia L Pinkham’s cowSSSo
Rather Why Not
I had rather it should be asked
why I had not a statue, than why
I had one.—Cato.
F|RST £h6|c£ 0 f millions.
<0- TO TUPID rwnilGMT
^ 1 St
^A^ST. JOSEPH ASPIRIN
THEIR FIRST THOUGHT
FOR SIMPLE HEADACHE.
WNU—7
24—40
Worthy Word
Never was a sincere word ut
terly lost.—Emerson.
a Miserable
with backache ?
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Doan’s are especially for poorly
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neighbor!
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