



Pair of tongs from James Watt's workshop, 1790-1819.
This pair of tongs with a “scissors” joint may have been a crude domestic tongs for use in the workshop of Scottish engineer James Watt, for handling coal for the stove or for managing a taper, but it is more probably to have been a workshop tool for manipulating small crucibles and other articles in the fire - Watt used the stove in his workshop for chemical experiments, and a number of crucibles, some filled with the contents from their last experiment, also survive in the workshop.
On display
Science Museum: Energy Hall: James Watt and our World
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Details
- Category:
- James Watt's Garret Workshop
- Object Number:
- 1924-792/5
- type:
- tongs
- credit:
- Major J.M. Gibson-Watt
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