Houbraken, as the late Lord Orford justly observes, "was ignorant of
our history, uninquisitive into the authenticity of the drawings which
were transmitted to him, and engraved whatever was sent;" adducing two
instances, namely, Carr, Earl of Somerset, and Secretary Thurloe, as
not only spurious, but not having the least resemblance to the persons
they pretend to represent. An anonymous but evidently well informed
writer (in the Gentleman's Magazine) further states, that "Thurloe's,
and about _thirty_ of the others, are copied from heads painted for no
one knows whom."--_Lodge's Illustrated Biography_.
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