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Babbage's Analytical Engine, 1834-1871. (Trial model)

Computing & Data Processing

1871

Analytical engine constructed by the late Chas. Babbage, F.R.S., (this was not put together when received and there are still many pieces, moulds etc. received in 1878, on exhibition in the gallery) Charles Babbage's calculating engines are among the most celebrated icons in the prehistory of computing. His Difference Engine No. 1 was the first successful automatic calculator and remains one of the finest examples of precision engineering of the time. The portion shown was assembled in 1832 by Babbage's engineer, Joseph Clement. It consists of about 2000 parts and represents one-seventh of the complete engine. This 'finished portion of the unfinished engine' was demonstrated to some acclaim by Babbage, and functions impeccably to this day. The engine was never completed and most of the 12 000 parts manufactured were later melted for scrap.

Queen Victoria's Saloon

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1869

Railway carriage, London & North Western Railway, Queen Victoria's Saloon, built Wolverton Works, 1869.

Rover 'Safety' bicycle, 1885

Road Transport

1885

Rover safety bicycle of 1885. (First embodiment of the modern arrangement.) (Saddle re-made by Brooks in 1961).

Short Magazine Mark III Lee Enfield .303 rifle (deactivated)

Public Health & Hygiene

c. 1917

Short Magazine Mark III Lee Enfield bolt action rifle (deactivated), used in First World War, barrell length 731 mm / 28.7 in and calibre 7.65 mm / .303 in, by Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited, United Kingdom, 1917

'Over London-by Rail', engraving, London, England, 1872

Gustave Doré

1872

Wood engraving from 'London: a pilgrimage', by Gustave Dore, 1872. Signed in the block blc: Over London - by Rail. Depicting [East End] tenements, washing in back gardens, chimney pots, railway in distance.

Steam locomotive, number 245

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1897

Steam locomotive, London & South Western Railway, M7 class 0-4-4T No 245, designed by Dugald Drummond, built at Nine Elms in 1897, withdrawn in 1962.

Miniature terrestrial globe by J. Manning. Late 19

Astronomy

1850-1860

Miniature terrestrial globe by J. Manning. Late 19th century

Battery locomotive, North Staffordshire Railway

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1917

Battery locomotive, North Staffordshire Railway, Bo, built 1917 for T. Bolton & Sons, withdrawn from service 1963.

Builder's whole, rigged model, of SS 'Great Eastern', 1853-1857

Water Transport

1853-1857

Builder's whole, rigged model, scale 1:96, of SS 'Great Eastern' by John Scott Russell and Company, Millwall, London, England, 1853-1857

Louis Pasteur’s compound microscope

Microscopy (Wellcome)

1857-1865

Compound monocular microscope used by Louis Pasteur

Difference Engine No. 1

Computing & Data Processing

c. 1832

Portion of Charles Babbage's calculating machine (Difference Engine No.1), built by Joseph Clement, London, 1832.

Steam locomotive, 'Beattie Well Tank'

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1874

Steam locomotive, London & South Western Railway, 2-4-0WT No 298, 'Beattie Well Tank', designed by W.G. Beattie, built in 1874, withdrawn in 1962. Renumbered 30587 by British Railways.

South Eastern & Chatham Railway Class D 4-4-0 steam locomotive No 737

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1901

Steam locomotive and tender, No 737, Class D, 4-4-0, South Eastern & Chatham Railway, designed by H S Wainwright, built at Ashford in 1901, withdrawn in 1956. Fifty Class D 4-4-0s were built. Length over buffers 57'; width 8' 6"; weight: 50 tonnes; area 42.89m square. Driving wheel diameter 6 feet, 8 inches.

Queen Adelaide's Saloon, NO. 2

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1842

Railway carriage, London & Birmingham Railway, Queen Adelaide's saloon, No 2, built in 1842. The under frame was built at Euston Works, the body was built by a coach builder in Gough Street, London.

New Patent Jewel Kaleidoscope, 1854-1863

Optics

1854-1863

Kaleidoscope, 'New Patent Jewel Kaleidoscope' by the London Stereoscopic Company, 1854-1863 (B773)

Edison Kinetoscope

Cinematography

1894

Main part of Edison Kinetoscope. Invented by Edison's British employee, William Kennedy Laurie Dickson (1860 - 1935), this was the first device to show moving pictures. Painted in white on left side 'Dept II No 584'. Brass plaque on upper front inscribed 'No 509 / Edison Kinetoscope / Manufactured by Edison Mfg Co Orange / NJ USA'.

Compound microscope used by Joseph Jackson Lister

Microscopy (Wellcome)

1830-1850

Microscope, English, 1830-1850, given to Lord Lister by his father J.J. Lister in 1849

Alcock and Brown's Vickers Vimy biplane

Aeronautics

1919

Alcock and Brown's Vickers Vimy biplane

L&YR locomotive, number 1008

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1889

Steam tank locomotive, Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, 2-4-2T No 1008, designed by John Aspinall, built at Horwich in 1889, withdrawn in 1954. 55 tons 19 cwt: weight kg

Whalebone walking stick, owned by Charles Darwin, England, 1839-1881

Orthopaedics

1839-1881

Whalebone walking stick with skull form pommel in ivory, once owned by Charles Darwin, probably English, 1839-1881

Sunglasses with dark blue lenses

Ophthalmology

1860-1900

Sunglasses, straight arms, silver, dark blue lenses, English, 1860-1900

Silver thimble, used to pass a current through the 1866 Transatlantic cable, 1860-1866

Telecommunications

1860-1866

Silver thimble, unknown maker, probably Ireland, 1860-1866. Originally owned by Miss Emily FitzGerald and by means of which an electric current was sent through the two Atlantic telegraph cables in 1866

Strowger automatic telephone, 1901-1910

Telecommunications

1901-1910

Strowger table pattern telephone, manufactured by the Automatic Electric Company, Chicago, United States, 1901-1910

Jugum penises, United Kingdom, 1880-1920

Therapeutics

1880-1920

Jugum penis, an anti-masturbatory device also known as a spermatorrhoea ring, steel, nickel-plated, probably British, 1880-1920

London Brighton & South Coast Railway locomotive Gladstone

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1882

Steam locomotive and tender, London Brighton & South Coast Railway, 0-4-2 No 214, "Gladstone", designed by William Stroudley, built at Brighton in 1882, withdrawn 1927.

Furness Railway steam locomotive 'Coppernob' 0-4-0, No 3, 1846

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1846

Steam locomotive and tender, No 3, 'Coppernob', 0-4-0, for Furness Railway, designed by E Bury, built by Bury, Curtis and Kennedy in 1846, withdrawn in 1900. Length over buffers: 37' 3"; width: 7' 4": weight: 19 1/2 tons; driving wheels 4' 9".

Glass copy negative of Roundhay Garden Scene

Cinematography

1930s (1888)

Single large glass copy negative of Louis Le Prince's footage, Roundhay Garden Scene, shot in October 1888. This copy negative was made by the Science Museum in the 1930s from the original paper negatives created by Le Prince.

Great Northern Railway, locomotive 251

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1902

Steam locomotive and tender, Great Northern Railway, 4-4-2 No 251, designed by H A Ivatt, built at Doncaster in 1902, withdrawn in 1947.

Meerschaum tobacco pipe with bowl in form of human skull

Smoking

1870-1910

Meerschaum tobacco pipe, bowl in form of human skull, supported by outstretched hand with cuff, forearm as part of the stem, amber mouthpiece (clouded, curved) probably French, possibly English or Austrian, 1870-1910

Great Northern Railway 0-6-0ST steam locomotive, No 1247, 1899

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1899

Steam locomotive, No 1247, 0-6-0ST, Great Northern Railway, designed by Ivatt, built by Sharp Stewart & Company in 1899, withdrawn from service in 1959. Length: 31' 3 3/4"; width: 8' 7"; weight: 51 tons.

Snow plough, North Eastern Railway

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1891

Snow plough, North Eastern Railway, No DE900566, 1891.

Aveling and Porter steam traction engine

Road Transport

c.1871

Aveling and Porter steam traction engine, by Aveling and Porter Ltd., Rochester, Kent, England, 1870-1872. In 1860 Thomas Aveling invented the traction engine, offering an alternative to horses in agricultural haulage. Eleven years later, approximately when this engine was built, Aveling was improving his design for the self-propelling power plant. This engine was one of the first to be steered by its front wheels (earlier designs were steered by a fifth wheel) and to have gear-driven rear wheels. These features as well as the Aveling patented method of supporting the crankshaft were to become standard on all traction engines. This engine was renovated by Aveling-Barford Ltd in the 1950s before being donated to the Science Museum.

Replica of Daguerre-Giroux camera

Photographic Technology

1839 (original); c. 1988 (replica)

Replica of Daguerre-Giroux camera. Sliding box camera for daguerreotype plates up to 300x220cm. Plate holder replica of original in Museum of Science, Oxford. Achromat lens; sliding lens cover. Ex-Cromer Collection (donated April 1950). Stand is a modern replica by Science Museum workshop about 1988.

Reis telephone transmitter, 1863

Telecommunications

1863

Reis telephone transmitter, made by J W Arnold, Frankfurt, Germany, 1863

Rolls-Royce 10 hp, two cylinder motor car

Road Transport

1905

10 hp two-cylinder Rolls-Royce motor car, 1905. Reg. No. AX148; Chassis No. 20162; 10 hp

Type C crystal radio receiver

Radio Communication

c.1925

Type C crystal radio receiver, made by British Thomson-Houston Co. Ltd, Rugby, c.1925.

Thomson's (Lord Kelvin) First Tide Predicting Machine, 1876

Geophysics

1876

(Lord Kelvin) William Thomson's first tide-predicting machine, 1876. Built by A. Légé & Co., 20 Cross Street, Hatton Gardens, London.

Bottle of Alertis Cordial, United States, 1901-1920

Materia Medica & Pharmacology

1901-1920

brown glass bottle containing aletris cordial (sometimes known as 'Mother's cordial'), uterine tonic prepared by Rio Chemical Co. bottle and contents from U.S.A., 1901 to 1920

Lumière Cinématographe

Cinematography

c. 1896

35mm Lumiere Cinematographe camera/printer/projector, serial number 254, with brass taking and projection lenses with Lumière thread, crank handle. Claw mechanism designed for Edison perforations, c.1896.

Cryptograph (coding and decoding machine) by Sir Charles Wheatstone, 1843-1875

Telecommunications

1843-1875

Cryptograph (coding and decoding machine) by Sir Charles Wheatstone, unknown maker, British, 1843-1875

Artificial arm, below-elbow prosthesis

Orthopaedics

1895-1904

Right below elbow prosthesis made for a lady pianist, Elizabeth Burton. Blocked leather socket connected by jointed side steels to a long leather upper arm corset with four strap and buckle fastenings. Large wing nut on inner side of elbow, to lock the joint. Shaped wooden oval wrist with detachable wooden hand. Wide spread fingers, the index, middle and ring being shorter than normal, both thumb and little finger tips are padded. This design allowed the wearer to span an octave of a piano and was made by a Mr Royden of Abingdon St, Northampton, c.1904.

Model of a Power loom for plain weaving

Textiles Machinery

1857

Model, scale 1:3, of a power loom for simple plain weaving made by Messrs. Sevill and Woolstenhulme, Oldham, Manchester, England, 1857. This loom gives the most elementary kind of weaving in which weft crosses over and under the warps alternately and was the type used extensively for calico weaving. There is an arrangement for stopping the loom automatically if the shuttle does not reach its box after each pick, and if the weft should break then a weft fork device which is normally balanced to rest on the unbroken thread falls and operates cut off machinery to stop the loom.

Steam locomotive, named Lode Star, Great Western Railway

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1907

Steam locomotive, Great Western Railway, 4-6-0 No 4003 "Lode Star", designed by G.J. Churchward, built at Swindon in 1907, withdrawn in 1951.

Britannia statue

Fixtures & Fittings from Railway Buildings

1849

Statue, Britannia with supporters, London & North Western Railway, formerly displayed in the Great Hall of Euston Station over the door leading to the general meeting room, 1849-1961, subsequently displayed in the restaurant at Euston Station, 1962-1986. Soft stone, sculpted by John Thomas, 1849. To Britannia's left is a lion, and a figure of Mercury and to her right is a figure representing the Arts and Sciences.

Steam locomotive, number 673

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1897

Steam locomotive, Midland Railway, 4-2-2 No 673, Midland Spinner, designed by S.W. Johnson, built at Derby in March 1897, withdrawn in 1923.

Bo-Bo No 1

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1902

Electric locomotive, North Eastern Railway, Bo-Bo No 1, 3rd rail and overhead pick-up, built by Brush in 1902, withdrawn in 1965.

Pullman Car Company, called Topaz

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1913

Pullman Car Company First Class Parlour Car "Topaz".

Edison telephone, 1879

Telecommunications

1879

Wall telephone with Edison chalk receiver, unknown maker, probably United States, 1879.

Quarter-plate `Cameo' camera used to take 'second phase' of Cottingley Fairies photographs, 1918-1920

Photographs

1915-1920

Quarter-plate `Cameo' camera manufactured by W Butcher & Sons, London, 1915-1920, used to make a `second phase' of `Cottingley fairies' photographs between 1918 and 1920. Lukos II symmetrical lens back, made by Wollensak Optical Co. of USA.

Thompson's Revolver Camera

Photographs

1862

Thompson's Revolver camera, serial number 44, manufactured by A Briois, Paris 1862. Camera body engraved: `Thompson Invtr, A Briois, 4 rue de la Douane, Paris, Brevete SGDG, No.44'