ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SILHOUETTISTS, MAKERS OF SILHOUETTE MOUNTS AND OTHERS CONNECTED WITH THE CRAFT 87 BIBLIOGRAPHY 117 INDEX LXXIII LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Portrait of a Private in an English Regiment _Frontispiece_ FACING PAGE Silhouette Portraits of the Ansley Family 1 _Painted in black and orange-red on convex glass_ Silver Wedding Anniversary Picture 16 _With portraits and emblems_ Captain Robert Conig 32 _Of H.M. 90th Regiment of Infantry_ Silhouette Portraits of Members of the Ansley Family 48 _Painted in black and orange-red on convex glass_ Portrait of Lord Mansfield 64 _Painted in black and gold on glass_ Silhouette Portrait of a Man 80 _Painted in black and gold on glass_ Silhouette Portrait of a Lady 96 Painted Silhouettes 112 Illustrations in Monochrome I to LXXII [Illustration: SILHOUETTE PORTRAITS OF THE ANSLEY FAMILY Painted in black and orange-red on convex glass. Dated 1793. Signed by W. Spornberg, Bath In the possession of Lady Sackville, Knole] PREFACE. It has not been easy to gather up the threads of history concerning an art and handicraft long fallen into desuetude. Amongst the few who still work at black profile portraiture, none has been found who is cognisant of the traditions, nor who has any knowledge of the complex processes by means of which the fine eighteenth-century work was accomplished.