204 
AYILLIAM SMITH I HIS MAPS AND MEMOIRS 
MITCHELL. 1873. 
In the Geological Magazine for January, 1873, p. 31, "A book 
about William Smith and the Somersetshire Coal Canal, with an account 
of the Origin of Stratigraphical Geology of England. By W. Stephen 
Mitchell LL.B., F.L.S., F.G.S.," was announced for publication by 
subscription at one guinea. 
The book " is designed to bring together into one record all the 
information that can be obtained of the geological work of the " Father 
of English Geology." Unfortunately, the work never appeared. 
" Notes and Queries on the Classification and Nomenclature of the 
English Strata. By W. S. M." [W. Stephen Mitchell], appeared in the 
Geological Magazine, 1873, pp. 113-115 and 355-356. They refer to 
the nomenclature on Smith's Map. Probably these notes were pre- 
pared for the Book about William Smith" which was not published. 
1877. 
In the Geological Magazine for 1877, page 378, G. S. Boulger pointed 
out that Mr. Edward Stanford had recently purchased the sixteen 
copper plates for W. Smith's original atlas, and he suggested that they 
should be purchased for the Geological Society. Apparently the 
suggestion was not agreed to.* 
Through the kindness of Mr. Meredith T. Whittaker of Scarborough, 
I have seen a copy of the First Report of the Scarborough Philosophical 
Society, bound up with which are reports of the opening ceremonies 
in connection with the Scarborough and York Museums ; the former 
in 1829 and the latter in 1830. On both occasions Wm. Smith was 
present, and spoke ; the report of one of his speeches giving us the 
exact date jf the completion of the first draft of his Hackness Map. 
On the fourth page of the Scarborough Philosophical Soc.ety's 
Report is the following copy of the 
* Prof. Boulger informs me that there was no response to his appeal, 
and that the plates were melted down. It seems difficult to believe 
that in 1877 there was not sufficient interest in Smith's work to enable 
English geologists to pay for the price of the copper in order to preserve 
these historical plates. 
