Print. Engraving, stipple. The Countess of Lovelace (Daughter of the late Lord Byron.). / Drawn by A. E. Chalon R.A. (1780-1860) ; Engraved by W.H. Mote. - nd. [c1840]. - Image 30x23cm vignette, on laid india, platemark 34x26cm, sheet 50x37.5cm. - Portrait, TQL standing to L, looking front, in evening dress with mantilla, holding fan; decorative octagonal frame

Ada Lovelace was a talented mathematician who, according to her husband, ‘mastered the mathematical side of a question in all its minuteness’. She was encouraged and guided by Mary Somerville, and was a companion to Charles Babbage, whose machines inspired her. She saw the potential of the analytical engine, writing a detailed paper on its significance. Babbage called her ‘the Enchantress of Numbers’.