such as the Diary of Titian Ramsay Peale: Oregon to California Overland Journey September and October 1841, suggest his use of optical devices, such as the camera lucida--a three or four-sided prism positioned on top a vertical rod which could then be attached to a drawing board--to facilitate the production and precision of his observational drawings while on expedition. His use of the camera lucida predated his experiments with collodion photographic processes. Later, as patent examiner in the U.S. Patent Office, 1848-1873, where he eventually rose to principle examiner in the Division on Arts, he likely became aware of successive developments in photographic technologies. Peale historian Julie Haifley Link suggests his post in the Patent Office was likely "influential for his awareness and knowledge of literature concerning photography and the technological advances of the medium."
Titian Ramsay Peale, T R Peale‘s First Attempt at Photography. Pearce‘s Mill. Rock Creek DC., c. 1850 – 1856, albumen (probably) print, image size: 16.2 cm. x 21.1 cm., catalog number: 66.25.01
Titian Ramsay Peale, Early Experiments from Paradise Window G Street Washington DC, c. 1850 – 1860 (probably) salted paper print, image size: 11.1 cm. x 15.5 cm., catalog number: 66.24.18
Peale corresponded with his nephew Coleman Sellars, inventor of the Kinemateoscope— a hand cranked, rotating device intended for viewing series of stereoscopic images—on a variety of photography-related subjects. These letters covered photographic processes and methods, as well as the contemporaneous work of other national and international amateurs of the time. Subsequently, his membership to the Amateur Photographic Exchange Club, founded in 1861, allowed an avenue for Peale to engage in regular exchange with regards to photography-related topics.
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