I am sorry to hear of your ill success with the 2 doz gel. plates. The plan of the battlefield should not be altered in the way you suggest—the gelatine line should be advanced, but the gelatine Colonel should be represented as not quite up in his tactics—when he has allayed his thirst and looked carefully over his book of tactics he will return to his faithful
platessoldiers and the condition of things will be as per in No 2. — I have tried Cramer & Nordens 8×10 cut in two and find them good, free from defects and about 6 times quicker than wet. Yrs W.H. Metcalf
This excerpt of a letter from W.H. Metcalf to H.H. Bennett (c. 1879) just cracks me up. Who knew that photographic emulsions had strategies?
