350 THE WEDGWOODS. 



ably fine black-ware mug of Wedgwood's make, which 

 possesses considerable interest. It was given by Josiah 

 Wedgwood to Francis Eginton, and has remained in the 

 family from that day until within the last few months, 

 when it passed through my own hands into those of my 

 friend Mr. Lucas, in whose collection I am pleased to have 

 placed so interesting an example. The mug, which holds 

 two quarts, and is 7f inches in height, and 5J inches in 

 diameter, is said to have been subjected to several experi- 

 ments to test its firmness by Wedgwood and Eginton. One 

 of these experiments was that of boiling the vessel in milk, 

 and I can quite understand why this should have been done, 

 for it is well known to all old housekeepers that nothing is 

 so good for preserving the colour and beauty of Egyptiar 

 black-ware as skimmed milk. 



Egiuton was, it appears, the inventor (about the year 

 1773 it is said) of that curious process by which pictures 

 were mechanically reproduced at the close of last century, 

 and which has of late made so much noise in the scientific 

 world. The process is said to be closely allied to photo- 

 graphy, and examples having been discovered among the old 

 papers at Soho, Birmingham, and placed in the Museum of 

 Patents, at South Kensington, have been brought under the 

 notice of the Photographic Society, and produced much dis- 

 cussion at its meeting. What the process adopted by Egin- 

 ton, who was in the employ of Matthew Boulton, of the Soho 

 Works, was, is at present a mystery; the books which he left, 

 and which contained his recipes, &c., having been abstracted 

 from the family, and lost. The process was called " Poly- 

 graphic," and the pictures were said to be produced " by 

 Chymical and Mechanical process," and consisted of copies 

 of paintings by different artists West, Kauffman, Rey- 

 nolds, Rubens, &c. The following copy of an invoice from 

 Eginton to Boulton, will show the kinds of subjects pro- 

 duced by this process, whose peculiarities it is not necessary 

 to inquire into here : 



