Theidea，thusearlyborn，layinoblivionuntil1760，whenthedaguerreotypewasagainclearlyindicatedinabookpublishedinParis，writtenbyacertainTiphaniedelaRoche，undertheanagrammatictitleofGiphantie。Stilllater，atthebeginningofthepresentcentury，wefindThomasWedgwood，SirHumphryDavy，andJamesWatt，makingexperimentsontheactionoflightuponnitrateofsilver；andonlywithinthelastfewmonthsasilveredcopper-platehasbeenfoundamongsttheoldhouseholdlumberofMatthewBoultonWatt’spartner，havingonitarepresentationoftheoldpremisesatSoho，apparentlytakenbysomesuchprocess。*
[footnote……
TheplateisnowtobeseenattheMuseumofPatentsatSouthKensington。Intheaccountwhichhasbeenpublishedoftheabovediscoveryitisstatedthat”anoldmanofninetyrecentlydeadorstillaliverecollected，orrecollects，thatWattandothersusedtotakeportraitsofpeopleinadark?room；andthereisaletterextantofSirWilliamBeechey，beggingtheLunarSocietytodesistfromtheseexperiments，as，weretheprocesstosucceed，itwouldruinportrait-painting。”
Inlikemannertheinventionoftheelectrictelegraph，supposedtobeexclusivelymodern，wasclearlyindicatedbySchwenterinhisDelasementsPhysico-Mathematiques，publishedin1636；andhetherepointedouthowtwoindividualscouldcommunicatewitheachotherbymeansofthemagneticneedle。Acenturylater，in1746，LeMonnierexhibitedaseriesofexperimentsintheRoyalGardensatParis，showinghowelectricitycouldbetransmittedthroughironwire950
fathomsinlength；andin1753wefindoneCharlesMarshallpublishingaremarkabledescriptionoftheelectrictelegraphintheScotsMagazine，underthetitleof’AnexpeditionsMethodofconveyingIntelligence。’Again，in1760，wefindGeorgeLouisLesage，professorofmathematicsatGeneva，promulgatinghisinventionofanelectrictelegraph，whichheeventuallycompletedandsettoworkin1774。Thisinstrumentwascomposedoftwenty-fourmetallicwires，separatefromeachotherandenclosedinanon-conductingsubstance。