THE end of our pleasant task is reached; and it only remains to thank the gentle reader who has kindly followed us, and to re-assert as a parting word, that this work does not aspire to cover every point which collectors may wish to have decided. Its modest purpose will be served if any reader is led to take an interest in the subject, if collectors find it useful as an assistant in intelligent collecting, or an instigation to further and more careful research. Undoubtedly, there lie in old garrets, book-cases, and forgotten cupboards, dust-covered books, in which some fortunate searcher will one day discover plates as yet unknown. It is hoped that any such will publish their success for the benefit of the steadily increasing number who find something interesting in these memorials of the past, and who take pleasure in their preservation and pride in their possession. |