Miscellanea: Survey of nameplates in a well known London Street.

In 1951 a well known otolaryngologist recorded 798 brass nameplates in a well known London street. In the 35 years since this last survey was conducted the number has decreased by 23. This surprising finding is attributed to the communal entryphone and to the emergence of the shoddy plate. A definition of a plate is proposed, the concentration described, and the geographical distribution of plates summarised. A new phenomenon is encountered, the ghost plate, type A and type B. Further study is required to elucidate the significance of ghost plates.