Ophthalmology
1860
Pince-nez with blue-steel rims.
Scientific Instruments & Research
c.1855
Double pan chemical balance by F.L.C. Liebrich, c.1855
Wellcome (general)
1855
Passport in leather covered case issued to A.W. Blomfield in 1855, stamped in many places on continent, English, 1855
Surgery
Aural scoop, silver, gilt handle missing, hallmarked, London, 1855
Nursing & Hospital Furnishings
Silver wand of a Scottish medical institution, hallmarked I.G. in London, English, 1855. Possibly made by R.&S. Garrard & Co, 1843-1909, London silversmiths. Cylindrical baton with a thistle with two demons or pixies sitting on it at one end, at the other end is a length of fluting with a snake coiled around it, surmounted by a dome and sphere.
Astronomy
1861
One of six negative photographs taken with the Kew Photoheliograph, showing the sun on December 8, 1861 at 10h 50m.
Meteorology
1858
Snow Harris's wind gauge, 1858, made by John Lilley & Son, 7 Jamaica Terrace, Limehouse, London. Tube broken, wind arrow snapped, inlet tube horizontal elbow is missing. Case base. Carries trade card
Weighing & Measuring
Brass yard bed stamped "County of Surrey, A Division, 1855", and later cancelled at Standards Department about 1910. Made by De Grave Short & Fanner, London
Mathematics
1854-1856
Early form of Amsler planimeter c. 1856, engraved `Elliot, London'
Telecommunications
Sample of 1858 Atlantic submarine cable with facsimile certificate of authenticity by Cyrus W. Field. Cable made by Glass, Elliot and Company and the Gutta-Percha Company, Greenwich, 1858. Souvenir form made by Tiffany and Company, New York, 1858.
Photographic Technology
c.1862
Wide-angle bronze mounted Globe camera lens made by C.C. Harrison and J. Schnitzer of New York in around 1862. From accession form: An early for of wide angle lens. With less covering power than the Sutton panoramic water lens if is better corrected for astigmatism and chromatic aberations, though it suffers from distortion on the edges of the field. An advanced form of this construction with special curves for the two lenses but with much smaller apertures can be seen in the Goerz Hypergon which covers 130 degrees as against the 90 degrees of this lens.
Plastics and Modern Materials
c. 1862
Parkesine plaque with moulded figures showing a mythological scene of Zeus surrounded by his nymphs. Made by Alexander Parkes; c. 1862. (P102 written on edge).
Box for Baily's bronze line yard no.41A (1855).
Fourteen microphotographs by J. B. Dancer, c.1860; catalogue nos: 20, 55, 93, 126, 199, 236, 241, 262, 301, 317, 363, 390, 491, 495.
Motive Power
1856
Complete 'double sensitive' pressure gauge boiler fitting, invented, patented and made by Mr, J Inshaw in 1856.
Experimental pressure gauge instrument, invented, patented and made by Mr, J Inshaw in 1856.
1855-1860
Box for microscope by J.B. Dancer. Engraved on base: "J.B. Dancer Optician Manchester"
c1855
One of two pieces of special apparatus, possibly used for exposing gas to charcoal, used by Edward Frankland at Owens College chemistry laboratory during research on coal gas lighting, Manchester, c.1855.
One of two pieces of special apparatus, possibly used for exposing gas to charcoal, used by Edward Frankland at Owens College chemistry laboratory during research on coal gas lighting, Manchester, c.1855. (End of glassware is broken)
Industrial Metrology
earliest 1857
James Cocker's patent decimal gauge (micrometer) from his original patent of 1857 no. 1680, modified by Messrs. Joseph Whitworth and Co. to gauge 0 to 2 inches reading to thousandths of an inch (Whitworth Works no. 119)
Electricity and Magnetism
1862
Electrical whirl
c. 1857
One of two prototype models of beams for equal-arm balances in brass, c.1857.
1863
Engraved plate for five samples of Persian Gulf Cable, made by W T Henley's Telegraph Works Company Limited, North Woolwich, London, England, 1863. Engraved plate reads 'GOVERNMENT TELEGRAPH TO INDIA. SPECIMENTS OF THE PERSIAN GULF TELEGRAPH CABLE, MANUFACTURED BY W. T. HENLEY, NORTH WOOLWICH, UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF LIEUT COL P. STEWART. R. E. SIR CHAS BRIGHT AND MR LATIMER CLARK. LENGTH OF CABLE 1420 MILES, WEIGHT 5100 TONS. NO 1 MAIN CABLE, NO 2 SHORE END, NO 3 BUSHIRE SHORE END'.
Wellcome Medals
Alloy medal to commemorate a hospital, unsigned, Romania, 1860
Miscellanea & Curiosities
Bowl, child's alphabet, ceramic, white glazed Staffordshire pottery, with hand-coloured transfer vignette of North Staffordshire Railway 2-2-2 locomotive emerging from tunnel, c1860.
Metallurgy
1859
Cinder first run off, from the charcoal finery at Pont-y-Mister Tin Plate Works, 1859
"Blue metal" of characteristic colour, from the Hafod Works, 1861, presented by Mr. Hussey Vivian
Refined iron from the Bromford Iron Works, 1856
Calcined ore, previous to pulverisation. Dee Bank Lead Works, 1859
Part of an ingot of puddled steel made at the Ebbw Vale Iron Works, 1859
Varley's globe vacuum lightning protector, 1861
Specimen of 1861 cable recovered in September 1871after 10 years' submersion
Railway Timepieces
1857
Longcase clock by Isaac Jackson, Wylam, ordered by Robert Stephenson in 1857 and installed in the General Manager's Office at R. Stephenson & Co's Locomotive Works, Newcastle, 14.12.1858
Varley's lightning protector, 1856
Three cylindrical iron weights: 25-Kilogrammes, 10-Kilogrammes and 1-Demi. Kilo: one of three sets metric commercial weights, from Württemberg, 1859
Domestic Appliances
Gas cooker with hotplate comprising three concentric aerated drilled-tube burners and a false oven, by Alfred King, Liverpool, Lancashire, England, 1859. This cooker was designed by Alfred King for installation in 148 Piccadilly, London, the home of Lionel Nathan Rothschild.
Glazed frame for Reis letters from, Framed letter from Philip Reis, dated 13.7.1863, reworking Reis telephone
Copper measure of capacity from a Swedish collection of weights & measures.
Locomotives and Rolling Stock Components
Speed indicator, Ramsbottom's velocimeter, 1860, mounted on plinth, consists of a closed glass tube half filled with oil which revolves on a vertical axis and is driven by a band from the trailing axle of the locomotive.
Piece of Belgian retort after use in smelting the lead (Parkes' Process) Llanelly Lead Works, 1859
Knife with cellulose nitrate (Parkesine) handle, mottled black and red in colour, wavy profile. Steel-plated blade with four fake hallmarks. Base of blade decorated with moulded leaf decoration.
Printing & Writing
Case for model of an Ingle stop-cylinder press, c. 1855 (probably a salesman's show model)
Microscopes
Portable microscope lamp, c.1860, in metal case
Photographs
ca. 1860
Untitled albumen print by Milton M. Miller, mounted on original card/album page. Portrait of a Chinese woman. She is seated in a chair and holding a fan. Her feet have been bound in the traditional Chinese custom. This photograph was once part of a 19th century album showing views of colonial India and Asia.
ca, 1863
Albumen print by Samuel Bourne, mounted on card, titled 'Simla, from 'Oakover''. Aerial view of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India, 1863. The photograph was once part of a 19th century album showing views of colonial India and Asia.
Lighting
after 1857
Serrin's gravity fed and electromagnetically controlled arc lamp. The gap between the carbon rods is controlled.
Textiles Machinery
1858-1862
Power loom shuttle, one of five, by J. Harrison and Sons, Blackburn, Lancashire, England, 1858-1862
Public Health & Hygiene
Cast iron cholera grave marker, with an inscription (rusted) "J J 1862" and a lion's head at the head end.
Bed of metal furnace when making metal containing about 40 per cent of copper, Morfa Copper Works, Swansea, 1863, presented by Mr. Terrill
Arsenical ore ready for roasting. From the Arsenic Works, Hayle, Cornwall, 1858
