156 
not to be despised ; and, for permanency, have had the test 
of nearly eighty years. 
Many of these pictures must he in existence in old houses 
and country inns ; and, if more specimens were obtained, 
some clue to the secret might he found. I feel confident 1 
have more than once seen specimens. Once, in particular, 
when on a photographic trip, in 1853, with our old member, 
Mr. Barton, either at Ludlow or Hereford, we saw several of 
them, and puzzled ourselves to make out what they were, 
with their striking photographic appearance. At length we 
decided that they must he sepia drawings. 
The pictures on silver plates are two, and, on certain 
evidence, thought to be views of Soho House before the 
alteration. As this took place at the end of last century, 
these pictures, according to that idea, must have been taken 
at least sixty-six years ago. All we have to judge upon is 
this evidence, which is rather weak. The pictures are 
evidently taken in the camera, and arc genuine photographs. 
From the evidence published in a pamphlet by Mr. M. P. 
W. Boulton, it appears highly probable that these pictures 
were taken about twenty-eight to thirty years ago by his 
aunt. Miss Wilkinson. 
Independently, however, of this, 1 fear we must give them 
up as modern productions. Their appearance is that of 
daguerreotypes of the early period, made sensitive with iodine 
alone ; and the image, as may be seen through the micros- 
cope, is composed of mercury vapour. But another piece of 
evidence appears to me more conclusive still, and that is the 
size of the plates. I have here a daguerreotype view of 
Rome, taken in the early days of the art — one of a number 
taken at that time in Rome and Paris. If we now compare 
the size of the plate with the Soho pictures, we shall find 
them identical. Such could scarcely be an accidental coinci- 
dence. These plates were not made or used for any other 
purpose ; and it is not within the bounds of probability that 
