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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

Marble statue of George Stephenson, 1852

Fixtures & Fittings from Railway Buildings

1852

Marble statue, George Stephenson, on plinth (weight approx 6 tons). Dimension: 15' high (180" high x 36" square), from the Great Hall of Euston Station

Fowke's Bellows camera

Photographic Technology

1856

Camera with fittings etc, formerly the property of Captain Fowke Royal Engineers. Two ivory plaques: 'Capt Fowke's Camera, T. Ottewill & Co. London', 'Henry Cole Esq, In memory of Capt Fowke. R.E. 4th Dec 1868'.

Orrery planetary model

Astronomy

1851-1856

orrery with brass gearwork and paper scale showing eight planets out to Neptune with wooden case by Newton and Company, London, mid 19th century.

Daguerreotype of the Moon in leather case

Photographs

1851

Daguerreotype of the Moon in leather case; (size 4 1/2" x 3 1/4"). M.F.H. Cat. No. 37. A daguerreotype of the moon taken in 1851 by John Adams Whipple (1822-1891) and George Phillips Bond (1825-1865). Whipple, working with Bond, the director of Harvard College Observatory, endeavoured (and eventually succeeded) in creating lunar daguerreotypes of a quality never seen before. Following several failed attempts, this successful photograph probably occurred after a slight adjustment the men made to the focus and resolution of the Harvard telescope. One of Whipple and Bond's lunar daguerreotypes was shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851 where it won a medal.

Clark's block signalling telegraph instrument, 1854

Signalling & Telecommunications

1854

Clark's block signalling telegraph instrument, invented by Edwin Clark, probably made by W T Henley's Telegraph Works Company for the Electric Telegraph Company, London, England, 1854. This type of instrument was used of the London and North Western Railway Line between London and Rugby from 1855

Bullion box containing lead shot

Miscellanea & Curiosities

1855

Bullion Box, South Eastern Railway, box containing lead shot from Great Gold Robbery from London - Paris via Folkestone train on 15 May 1855.

Model paddle wheel engines of the SS 'Great Eastern'

Marine Engines

1853-1857

Model paddle wheel engines of the "Great Eastern" steamship, 1858.

4-wheeled hand crane

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1850

Railway crane, Great Northern Railway, 4-wheeled hand crane, No 112, (LNER 942052), 1850.

Architect's model of S&J Watts' warehouse

Textile Industry

1850-1856

Architecht's model of S & J Watts' warehouse, made around 1850.

Royal footwarmer, Great Western Railway

Passenger Comforts

1856

Footwarmer, brass, Great Western Railway, footwarmer from Royal Saloon 1856-1901 as inscribed.

Bain's chemical telegraph, 1850.

Telecommunications

1850

Alexander Bain's chemical telegraph, unknown maker, England, 1850. Includes key not shown on photograph.

Micrometer type mechanical comparator

Industrial Metrology

1855

Whitworth millionth measuring machine in a case for comparing components against standard inch bars; made in 1855.

William Thomson's marine mirror galvanometer, 1850-1900

Telecommunications

1854

William Thomson's marine mirror galvanometer, made by Siemens and Halske, Berlin, Germany, 1850-1900.

magneto-electrometer, 1857

Telecommunications

1857

Magneto-electrometer, made by E. O. W. Whitehouse, England, 1857

Principal varieties of mankind', 3 May 1850.

James Reynolds

1850

Geographical Diagram. The Principal Varieties of Mankind. Published by James Reynolds 174 Strand, London. 3 May 1850. Drawn and engraved by John Emslie.

'The British Nave' at the Great Exhibition of 1851

Art

1851

Print. Chromolithograph, 'The British Nave', Plate 3 (Proof) of a set of four large prints commemorating the Opening of the Great Exhibition of 1851, [after paintings by Joseph Nash]. Printed and published by Dickinson Brothers, New Bond Street. [1851]. Image 54.5x75cm on card 71x88cm. Signed Joseph Nash in ink on lower left edge of image. View of the Western or British Nave looking East, with long panorama of structure and layout of main avenue. In centre above horse's head is dioptric revolving lighthouse reflector mechanism by Chance Brothers & Co; then Seeley fountain; large Ross telescope; Coalbrookdale Dome. Large case on foreground left with model of Liverpool docks, beside cotton and beneath Philosophical and electric displays. Banners hang from balconies with arms of cities of Britain: York is nearest on right. Queen Victoria with Prince Albert and family are being escorted through on tour; guests and visitors stand watching and waiting. In frame, 84x100x2cm

Portable double-needle telegraph and test set, 1850

Telecommunications

1850

Portable double-needle telegraph and test set, with removable wooden cover, unknown maker, possibly British, 1850

Portion of the first submarine cable between Dover and Calais, 1850

Telecommunications

1850

Portion of the first submarine cable laid between Dover and Calais, made by the Gutta Percha Company, Islington, London, England, 1850.

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.

Chart of the Atlantic showing proposed couRse of the Atlantic Cable, 1856-1857

Telecommunications

1856-1857

Framed and glazed chart of the Atlantic Ocean showing the proposed course of the Atlantic Cable, plus section marked 1857 showing the depth of the ocean bed at points along the course, made by the Atlantic Telegraph Company, London, England, 1856-1857.

Specimen of Dover-Calais telegraph cable, 1851

Telecommunications

1851

Specimen of Dover to Calais telegraph cable showing corrosion, made by R S Newall and Company, Millwall, London, England, 1851

Specimen of telegraph cable laid in Birmingham in 1856

Telecommunications

1856

Specimen of early telegraph cables laid in Birmingham in 1856, unearthed in 1898, unknown maker, British, 1856. 12 gutta-percha covered copper wires, each wire being around 1.67mm in diameter, making it most likely a No. 16 gauge wire of the period. The gutta-percha covering makes each wire 5.6mm in diameter

'Thunder pump' magneto-electric device, 1856

Telecommunications

1856

'Thunder pump' magneto-electric device, made by W T Henley's Telegraph Works Company Limited, London, England, 1856

Tobacco box - made from a piece of roman lead pipe

Miscellanea & Curiosities

1854

Tobacco box, made from a piece of lead pipe found in Roman remains in Old Broad Street, North London Railway. Presented to H. Jones by his friend Jn Johnson in October 1854. Brass inscription on lid.

Sample of submarine cable laid between Dover and Calais, 1850

Telecommunications

1850

Short length (including a joint) of the original Cross-Channel submarine telegraph cable laid on 28th August 1850 between Dover and Calais. Cable originally made by Gutta Percha Company, Islington, London, England, 1850.

Lead weight marked 'Reid' from the first cross-Channel telegraph cable, 1850.

Telecommunications

1850

Lead weight, marked Reid, with which the original cross-Channel telegraph cable of 1850 was weighted, made by Reid Brothers, Islington, London, England, 1850

Bright's bell telegraph, 1855

Telecommunications

1855

Bright's bell telegraph, unknown maker, England, 1855

Sample of 1851 Dover-Calais telegraph cable, 1851

Telecommunications

1851

Specimen of Crampton's Dover and Calais telegraph cable, laid in 1851 and remained in use until 1875, made by R S Newall and Company, Millwall, London, England, 1851

Railway bridge section, portion of rivetted girder from Britannia Bridge

Railway Infrastructure

1850

Railway bridge section, portion of rivetted girder from Britannia Bridge, Menai Straits, with painted inscription LAST RIVET / MARCH 5 1850 / R.STEPHENSON.

Spectacles, gold rims, blue lenses, given to James

Ophthalmology

1853

Spectacles, gold rims, blue lenses, given to James Brown by W. Barnington, in silver case, by Mills, Birmingham, 1853

Caricature showing 'The State Doctor' during a cholera epidemic, Europe, c. 1854

.Unattributed

c.1854

Print. lithograph, some col, caricaturing precautions in a cholera epidemic [c1840-1865]. 2. 'The State Doctor' (wearing expensive frock coat amid drugs and large pestles), image 9.5x6cm edged to 11.5x8cm. Framed together with /1, /3, 52x21x2cm

Caricature of an undertaker hoping for cholera, Europe, c. 1854

.Unattributed

c.1854

Print. lithograph, some col, caricaturing precautions in a cholera epidemic [c1840-1865]. 3. 'Hoping for the spread of the cholera' (a gleeful undertaker, in hat, news reports of deaths), image 10x7cm edged to 12x9cm. Framed together with /1, /2, 52x21x2cm

Album of cyanotypes of British and Foreign Ferns

Photographs

1853

Album of cyanotypes of British and Foreign Ferns, made and assembled by Anna Atkins and Anne Dixon for presentation to `CSA' (unknown), 1853

Pocket watch belonging to Joseph Lister

Wellcome (general)

1853

Gold pocket watch with second hand dial, formerly belonging to Lord Lister, by Simmons, London, 1853

Model of street-sweeping machine.

Domestic Appliances

1850-1857

Model of a street-sweeping machine, unsigned, United Kingdom, 1850-1857

Gold chain for Lister's pocket watch

Wellcome (general)

1853

Gold chain for use with pocket watch, formerly belonging to Lord Lister, in case, by John Simmons, Fleet Street, London, 1853

Lucien Sharpe sheet metal gauge

Industrial Metrology

c. 1850

Lucien Sharpe micrometer, c. 1850, steel, plain screw-sleeve type, (without rachet feel), reading up to 30mm by 0.01mm

Telegraph block instrument

Signalling & Telecommunications

1855

Telegraph block instrument; Walker's, 1855, Stockton & Darlington Railway, No 216, type introduced by Mr C V Walker on the South Eastern Railway. (No.161 of 1866) Lock and Block with double semaphore-arm block-indicators on vertical wooden post with top-mounted block-dome/striker. There are 3 plates attached: "SDR No 162" (enamel); "Walker's Semaphore Block Instrument.1855....." (ivorine); "Walkers' Patent.." (enamel). This has a significantly shorter case than the SER examples.

Caricature showing a publican's dilemma during a cholera epidemic, Europe, c. 1854

.Unattributed

c.1854

Print. lithograph, some col, caricaturing precautions in a cholera epidemic [c1840-1865]. 1. 'Fearing the spread of the cholera' (gin drinkers beware, publican's dilemma), image 10x7cm edged to 12x9cm. Framed with /2 and /3, 52x21x2cm

Poster advertising lectures on phrenology, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, 1851

J Diplock

1851

Lectures on phrenology, physiology, etc. April 3-10 1851. On yellow paper, 58x23cm. In frame, 64x28.5x2cm.

The Great Exhibition Polka 1851

Art

1851

Lithograph, colour: The Great Exhibition Polka 1851, for the pianoforte, composed and dedicated to HRH Prince Albert by Frank B Tussaud. Printed by Stannard & Dixon, issued by Duff & Hodgson, London [1851]. Sheet music cover with picture of Crystal Palace exterior and visitors. 34.5x24cm.

Copy of clay liver used for divination, original from Babylon, 2050-1750 BCE

Classical & Medieval Medicine

2050-1750 BCE

Babylonian clay liver used for divination, c.2050-1750 BC, copy, 1981

View of the Britannia Tubular Bridge

Art

1850

Lithograph, coloured. View of the Britannia Tubular Bridge (opened 1850) over the Menai Strait, with the road Suspension Bridge of 1826 in background. [c1850]. Overall: trimmed to 27x46cm. Shipping below bridge includes paddlesteamer. In frame 42x60.5x2cm

South-East View of Sheffield

Art

1855

Chromolithograph. South East View of Sheffield. Lithographed by T. Picken after W. Ibbitt, printed by Day & Son, [London]. Published April 7th 1855 by W. Ibbitt, 152 Broad Lane, Sheffield. Image 38x68.5cm on sheet 50x77cm. signed in stone brc W Ibbitt/55. Industrial cityscape with smoking chimneys, canal staithes and barges, workmen on break, women washday, mine heads, civic pride. In frame 66x90x2cm

Trade advertisement - Chadburn Brothers, Albion Wo

Art

1850-1851

Trade advertisement - Chadburn Brothers, Albion Works, Nursery Street, Sheffield. Branch Establishment, 71, Lord Street, Liverpool. Optical, Mathematical and Philosophical Instrument Makers to H.R.H. Prince Albert. From prospectus for Great Exhibition 1851 (Calv. 83).

Portrait bust of Henry Maudslay

Francis Legatt Chantrey

before 1857

Plaster cast of original marble bust, by Sir F. Chantrey, of Henry Maudslay (1771-1831)

Building site

Photographs

c. 1855

A photograph of a building site with part of a steam engine, taken by Samuel Smith, c. 1855.

Binocular stereoscopic camera

Photographic Technology

c.1856

Binocular stereoscopic camera no. 12, made by John Benjamin Dancer, Manchester, c.1856 and probably owned by Joseph Sidebotham in the 1860s. Rear plate holder removeable. Focussed by turning milled nut on top. Fitted with a focal plate shutter as well as a front of lens shutter. Missing spirit level, brass plunger for changing plates and changing box.

Example of original pattern Singer sewing machine of 1851, made c. 1853.

Textiles Machinery

1851-1855

Singer Lockstitch sewing machine model of 1851, by I. M. Singer and Company or the Singer Manufacturing Company, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 1851-1855