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of the last century, by Matthew Boulton and James Watt ; 
shortly afterwards, Mr. Smith, of the Patent Museum, read 
a paper on the subject, and exhibited the pictures in question 
at a meeting of the London Photographic Society, and 
also produced copies of many documents connected with the 
subject. The whole was published in the Journal of the 
Photographic Society , together with the discussions, and a 
large amount of correspondence appeared in the journals. 
No conclusion, however, appeared to be arrived at, nor any 
suggestions made of the process by which the pictures on 
paper could have been produced. 
During the last winter, in company with Mr. James Nas- 
myth, I paid a visit to the Patent Museum. Through the 
kindness of Mr. Smith, we had an opportunity of examining 
these pictures carefully, hearing what he had to say on the 
subject, and seeing some of the original letters and papers. 
Mr. Smith also gave me a small portion from one of the torn 
pictures, and has since sent me another, for the purpose of 
careful examination. Through his kindness, also, I am 
enabled to exhibit to you this evening a number of the per- 
fect pictures, in the hope that, by your seeing and examining 
them, some light may be thrown on the secret of their 
production. 
It will be, perhaps, well to give you a short historical 
sketch of the pictures. Those who wish to refer at length 
to the published accounts, will find them in vol. viii. of the 
Journal of the Photographic Society. 
The pictures in question consist of a number on paper — 
some large (so large, indeed, that it requires two sheets to 
form one subject), others small. They vary in shade of 
colour from black to dull red — many being of a sepia tone. 
Some are plain, others coloured. These pictures came from 
■ Boulton’s old house at Soho, and many of them are evidently 
experiments, being marked with large figures in pencil. 
The plates are two silvered copperplates, also found in the 
