d to me by Mr. Darwin; it is
dated last November, and was written to him by Mr. A.L. Austin, from
New Zealand, thus affording another of the many curious instances of
two persons being independently engaged in the same novel inquiry at
nearly the same time, and coming to similar results:--

INVERCARGILL, NEW ZEALAND,
_November 6th_, 1877.

To CHARLES DARWIN, Esq.

SIR,--Although a perfect stranger to you, and living on the reverse
side of the globe, I have taken the liberty of writing to you on a
small discovery I have made in binocular vision in the stereoscope.
I find by taking two ordinary carre-de-visite photos of two
different persons' faces, the portraits being about the same sizes,
and looking about the same direction, and placing them in a
stereoscope, the faces blend into one in a most remarkable manner,
producing in the case of some ladies' portraits, in every instance,
a _decided improvement_ in beauty. The pictures were not taken in a
binocular camera, and therefore do not stand out well, but by moving
one or both until the eyes coincide in the stereoscope the pictures
blend perfectly. If taken in a binocular camera for the purpose,
each person being taken on one half of the negative, I am sure the
results would be still more striking. Perhaps something might be
made of this in regard to the expression of emotions in man and the
lower animals, &c. I have not time or opportunities to make
experiments, but it seems to me something might be made of this by
photographing the faces of different animals, different races of
mankind, &c. I think a stereoscopic view of one of the ape tribe and
some low-caste human face would make a very curious mixture; also in
the matter of crossing of animals and the resulting offspring. It
seems to me something also might result in photos of husband and
wife and children, &c. In any case, the results are curious, if it
leads to nothing else. Should this come to anything you will no
doubt acknowledge myself as suggesting the experiment, and perhaps
send me some of the results. If not likely to come to anything, a
reply would much oblige me.

Yours very truly,
A.L. AUSTIN, C.E., F.R.A.S.

Dr. Carpenter informs me that the late Mr. Appold, the mechanician,
used to combine two portraits of himself under the stereoscope. The
one had been taken with an assumed stern expression, the other with
a smile, and this combination produced a curious and effective
blendi