ied on.

Taylor and Lloyd's Bank was established in 1765, at the corner of
Bank Passage in Dale End. Mr. Taylor had been a very successful
manufacturer of japanned goods, and made a very large number of
snuff-boxes, then in universal use. He produced, among others, a style
which was very popular, and the demand for which became enormous.
They were of various colours and shapes, their peculiarity consisting
entirely in the ornamentation of the surface. Each had a bright
coloured ground, upon which was a very extraordinary wavy style of
ornament of a different shade of colour, showing streaks and curves of
the two colours alternately, in such an infinity of patterns, that it
was said that no two were ever found alike. Other makers tried in vain
to imitate them; "how it was done" became an important question. The
mystery increased, when it became known that Mr. Taylor ornamented
them all with his own hands, in a room to which no one else was
admitted. The fortunate discoverer of the secret soon accumulated a
large fortune, and he used to chuckle, years after, as he told that
the process consisted in smearing the second coat of colour, while
still wet, with the fleshy part of his thumb, which happened to have
a peculiarly open or coarse "grain." It will be seen at once that in
this way he could produce an infinite variety. Mr. Lloyd, the other
partner, belonged to a very old Welsh family, which, as landed
proprietors, had been settled for generations near Llansantfraid, in
Merionethshire. There are some very ancient monuments of the ancestors
of this family in the parish church there.

Somewhere about twenty-five years ago, the business was removed to
the present premises in High Street, and a few years later on, the
death--at Brighton--by his own hand, of Mr. Taylor, left the business
entirely vested in the Lloyd family. About ten or twelve years ago it
was decided to convert it into a limited liability company, and a very
searching examination was made by public accountants, as a preliminary
step. Just as the thing was ripe, the stoppage of the Birmingham
Banking Company was announced. This deferred the project for a time,
but the Messrs. Lloyd, with great judgment, published the accountants'
report. As soon as the excitement had abated, the prospectus was
issued. The shares were eagerly subscribed for, and the company was
formed. Moilliet's bank was included in the operation, and the
bank, under the able presidency of