SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHING.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 922, 15 October 1879, Page 2

SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHING.

Fob some time a certain class of newspapers have abounded m marvellous talea of spirit photography, the work of a lady photographer of Rochester, N.Y., assisted of course by the ghosts of her clients' ancestors and departed friends. Recently two lady sitters were impressed by the old-fashioned, yet' familiar costume and aspect of the spirits attending them m their pictures ; and set to work to trace their probable pre-spirit history m the pages of an old magazine for ladies. The search was successful, the original of one of the spirits proving to be an engraving entitled, " Nourmahal," and the other the "Last Rose of Summer." No, doubt the spirits can give good reasons for raesqiierading m those particular costumes, but as yet they have failed to do so. The photographs, and engravings fell into the hands of a representative of the Rochester " Union/ who m order to ascertain the process by which the ghostly printed beside the sharply defined portrait, submitted them to a photographer who does not deal m spirits. The process was practically illustrated and explained as follows : — A negative is first taken of the engraving. When the Bitter comes for a picture the negative is turned the the other side, the collodion put on and the glass put m the camera. In this manner the portrait of the sitter is on one side of the glass and what is intended for the spirit on the other. When the negative comes to be printed the paper is placed /against the side of the glass having the portrait of the Bitter and exposed to the light. The spirit being on the other side of the glass has to strike through it, which gives it the hazy | appearance, while the portrait being on the side next the light, comeß out clearly defined. Any one who is desirous of doing so can test this for himself, and the illustration shown by the photographer explained the matter fully to the eyes of the inquiring newspaper man. The more artistic a photographer is, of course the more unearthly, he can make the workj and the gentleman m question said he could produce a picture of the most ghastly description.