Compound lever, 1762.

Compound Lever, consisting of 3 levers, 2 pivoted on single pillars, & 1 pivoted on cross-arm of 2 pillars, on wooden base (original brass balance weight missing).

This device was made by George Adams, instrument maker to the King George III. A lever, one of the 'simple machines' known since antiquity, enables a heavier load to be lifted using a lighter one. This machine uses a series of three levers so that the weight to be lifted can be sixty times greater than the 'power' required to lift it.