Search our collection | Science Museum Group Collection

Photographic print of Herschel's Forty-Foot Telescope, 1890

Astronomy

1890

Photographic print of William Herschel's 40-foot telescope at Slough, in frame made from mahogany ladder rungs from the mounting of the 20-foot telescope used at Slough by William and at the Cape by John Herschel. Printed in 1890, one of 25 prints made from the first permanent negative taken by Sir John F.W. Herschel in 1839.

Rectangular Vesta matchbox

Plastics and Modern Materials

1897

Rectangular Vesta match box of black ebonite, hinged side flaps for opening, top decorated with jubilee portrait of Queen Victoria, reverse marked R, encircled by leaf and flower decoration, c. 1901

Kinora viewer

Cinematography

c. 1908

Kinora viewer for reels. Wooden base with inlaid line decoration and turned support strut. Rectangular viewing lens. One element missing but has since been replaced. This Kinora Viewer was made in Britain around 1908 and was marketed by Bond's Ltd., 138 New Bond Street, London. This is a simple folding wooden model (No. 1 combination hand or table instrument with two lenses for a single viewer). Fitted with flipbook of balloon flight, stamped no 585.

Lu-Mi-Num Safety Bicycle

Road Transport

1896

Safety bicycle made in France and retailed by the Lu-Mi-Num Manufacturing Company, St Mary's Gate, Manchester, 1896

Poster for 'Pantomimes Lumineuses'

Cinematography

1892

Poster, coloured lithograph, 'Pantomimes Lumineuses Theâtre Optique de E. Reynaud' / Jules Cheret, for Musee Grevin, signed in the block and dated 1898', (framed and glazed)

Kinemacolor cine camera made by Moy and Bastie to Charles Urban's design

Cinematography

1909

Kinemacolor camera built by Moy & Bastie in 1909 to specification of Charles Urban and G A Smith (crank handle and screws missing). Ross Xpress Patent lens 1:4.5, Serial No 85973.

Birtac cine camera/projector

Cinematography

1898

"Birtac" camera projector for 17.5mm film, made by Birt Acres in 1898; complete with handle, lens, two mantle holders and spool of positive film showing "Domestic Scene". The magazines hold 20 feet of film, sufficient for about 40 seconds of filming. The intermittent motion is of the 'dog' type.

Schmidt and Haensch polarimeter, c 1900.

Experimental Chemistry

1900

Polarimeter by Franz Schmidt and Haensch, Berlin S., with stand, in box, serial no. 4838, D. R. pat. 82523, c. 1900

kinemacolor projector

Cinematography

1910

Kinemacolor projector on table type stand. 35mm projector for 2 colour successive frame projection. Beater intermittent, two continuous sprockets, rack and pinion focusing and framing. No lens. Spool boxes. Safety shutter operated by centrifugal mechanism. Two sector shutter behind lens, filter wheel ('modern' copy) with red and green filters. Lamphouse with carbon arc. Made by The Natural Kinematograph Co. Ltd., London, 1910. Brass plate incised 'No 66'.

Naylor Marsaut miner's safety

Coal Mining

c. 1900

Naylor Marsaut miner's safety lamp with double bifold burner, c. 1900

High Speed Vertical Steam Engine, c. 1900

Motive Power

1900

Model Robey open type single cylinder vertical high speed steam engine, scale 1:4.

Simms-Bosch Magneto type D2R. c.1910.

Road Transport

c.1910

Simms-Bosch Magneto type D2R. c.1910.

British Drug Houses Limited

1904 - 1973

1904-1973, supplier of wholesale chemicals & drugs, England, British

Smith & Coventry Capstan Lathe

Hand and Machine Tools

c.1890

Capstan lathe, made by Smith & Coventry Ltd, Manchester, c.1890.

Esbach type albumenometer, Europe, 1895-1905

Clinical Diagnosis

1895-1905

Esbach albumenometer, in wooden cover

Packaging for the No 1 Brownie Model B camera

Photographic Technology

c. 1908

No 1 Brownie camera model B original carton. Eastman Kodak, 1900-1915.

Ross research microscope, London, England, 1871-1900

Microscopy (Wellcome)

1890-1900

Compound monocular microscope, with the Schroeder fine adjustment, serial no. 5003, by Ross, London, 1890-1900

Hydraulic dental chair, Europe, 1891-1910

Dentistry

1891-1910

Dental chair with hydraulic adjustment, c.1900

Hong Kong plague medal, England, 1894

Wellcome Medals

1894

Hong Kong Plague Medal 1894, silver medal with silk ribbon, awarded to Private S. Abbey of Shropshire Light Infantry, by the Hong Kong Community for his services during the plague epidemic, by Boucher and Wyon, English, 1894

Induction coil for use with X-ray apparatus

Radiomedicine

1896-1910

X-ray apparatus consisting induction coil by Alfred Apps, London, X-ray tube stand and cold cathode X-ray tube, British, 1896-1910

North Eastern Railway, locomotive 1621

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1893

Steam locomotive and tender, North Eastern Railway, 4-4-0 No.1621, designed by Wilson Worsdell, built at Gateshead in 1893, withdrawn in 1945.

Ludgate Circus, London

Photographs

c. 1890

A photograph entitled 'Ludgate Circus, London', published by George Washington Wilson, c. 1890. The photograph is taken from Fleet Street looking down Ludgate Hill towards St Paul's Cathedral. The King Lud public house can be seen on the left. Opened in 1870, the pub closed in 2005.

C. F. Casella & Co. Rain gauge, 1908

Meteorology

1908

Sectioned (longitudinal) insulated copper rain gauge by C. F. Casella & Co., London, England, 1908. Consists of three parts: funnel, case and inner bucket.

Cook's Tours in Scotland

Library Collections

1900

Guidebook, Thomas Cook & Son, "Cook's Tours in Scotland", 1900, places to visit, 120 pages, soft cover, stamped 'Thos Cook & Son - Strand Office, Charing Cross'.

English lever reversing pinion pocket watch with dial

Time Measurement

1900

English lever reversing pinion pocket watch with sunk seconds dial, movement numbered 509148, signed S. Fagot, Treharris, on dial, in silver case hallmarked Chester 1900 signed TPH and numbered 496388, with winding key

Pince-Nez Glasses

Ophthalmology

1890-1910

Steel-rimmed pince-nez with cork noseguards.

Alembic and cucurbit in blue glass, Isfahan, Iran

Experimental Chemistry

1900

Alembic and cucurbit in blue glass, from Isfahan, Iran. Early 20th century. These two pieces were collected in Isfahan in the summer of 1975 from Azad Manesh, an alchemist and physician who practices in the Islamic tradition. Thus they are amongst the very few pieces of this type of apparatus whose origin is certain and recorded. When in use, the cucurbit was wrapped in clay, though this has now crumbled away. A photo in the Technical File shows Azad Manesh at work.

Steam locomotive, number 120

Locomotives and Rolling Stock

1899

Steam locomotive, London & South Western Railway, T9 class 4-4-0 No 120, designed by Dugald Drummond, built at Nine Elms in 1899, withdrawn in 1963.

‘Scaffixer’ block: 1907, or 1910 Jones patent

Building Construction

1907-1910

‘Scaffixer’ block, for scaffold pole fixing, patented by David Henry Jones and Daniel Palmer Jones in either 1907, or 1910; and made by the Patent Rapid Scaffold Tie Co., Westminster, London, England, 1907-1910

"Kromskop" Stereo Viewer

Photographic Technology

1890-1895

'Kromskop' stereo viewer in a wooden case with six boxes of stereo slides, made by Frederick Ives.

Hammond typewriter with 2-row curved keyboard and braille strip, c. 1894

Printing & Writing

1894

Hammond typewriter adapted for the blind with 2-row curved keyboard and Braille strip, c.1894. Adapted form of Hammond No.1 typewriter, an early American typewriter with two-row ebony "piano" keys and mahogany base, interchangeable two-piece type-shuttle with rubber characters, striking spring-loaded hammer behind the carriage, cylindrical paper-holder under the plate.

GEM calculator, 1890.

Mathematics

1890-1900

"Gem" calculating machine, J. Guthrie's patent No.15062, 1890

Well's Kettle Torch Lamp, 1910

Lighting

1910

Well's Kettle Torch Lamp, 1910

Brown & Sharpe automatic lathe

Hand and Machine Tools

c. 1897

Automatic lathe, made by Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Co., Providence, Rhode Island, USA, and installed at the Renolds Ltd factory, Manchester, 1897. Number 0.0.

Prestwich Model 5 cine camera used by Herbert Ponting

Cinematography

1910

Prestwich Model 5 cinematographic camera, used by Mr Herbert Ponting to document Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic Expedition, 1910.

'Orthometre', eye measuring device for criminal identification system, Paris, France, 1895

Psychology, Psychiatry & Anthropometry

1895

Orthometre brass eye measuring instrument in velvet lined wooden case, 1895. Designed by Alphonse Bertillon in Paris, France as a criminal identification tool.

Hipp chronoscope, Neuchâtel, Switzerland,1893-1900

Psychology, Psychiatry & Anthropometry

1893-1900

Hipp chronoscope with key and weight and (damaged, incomplete) glass cover, by Peyer Favarger et Cie, Neuchatel, Switzerland

Century Model 46 plate camera

Photographic Technology

1900-1907

Century Model 46 plate camera for plates 4 3/4 x 6 1/2 inches. Fitted with a C.P. Goerz, Doppel-anastigmat lens series II F:180mm f/6.8-64. Fitted with a Bausch and Lomb Unicum shutter, 1/2/5/25/50/100/B/T with pneumatic release valve. Sliding rising and cross front, rack and pinion focusing, double extension, brilliant reflecting rotating finder on baseboard, spirit level, revolving back NO 42930 lens no. 101046. Century Camera Co. With six wooden double darkslides.

Ader's 'Eole' flying machine, 1890

Aeronautics

1890

Model of Ader's first aeroplane, the "Eole", scale 1:10

De Dion Bouton motor tricycle

Road Transport

1898

De Dion Bouton motor tricycle, by the Motor Manufacturing Co. Coventry, 1898. This tricycle is a copy of the French machines which embodied improvements patented by Count Albert De Dion and Charles Bouton in 1895. A vertical single-cylinder air-cooled engine is mounted behind the rear axle which it drives through spur gearing.

Short's 'Filoscope' Flip Book 'The Train'

Cinematography

1897

Short's Filoscope 'The Train'. Manufactured by The British Mutoscope & Biograph Co Ltd, Henry W Short (patentee/inventor), 1897.

Major Adams Giving an Elephant a Bun

Photographs

1898-09-27

A photograph entitled 'Major Adams Giving an Elephant a Bun at Zoological Gardens', taken by Edgar Tarry Adams in September 1898. Major Adams, the man feeding the elephant, is possibly Percy Adams (1858-1932), Edgar's brother.

Debrie Parvo 35mm cine camera

Cinematography

1908

Cine camera for 35mm film in 300 foot magazines, serial number 536. Fitted with a Taylor Hobson Cooke cinema lens F: 2 1/4 inches f/3.1-11, Series 1, in interchangeable mount. Lever adjusted helical focusing mount, with rotating scale on camera top. Iris adjustable by lever on camera side. Lens mount with hood and matte box. Hand turned. Film speed indicator on rear. Shutter adjustable from front exterior. Folding frame optical finder with sliding mask. Footage/ frame counter, clock type. Through-the-film focusing, from camera rear. J Debrie, 111 Rue St Maur, Paris.

Ensign Optiscope Number 6 projector

Cinematography

c. 1905

Ensign Optiscope No 6 lantern slide projector. For 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 inch slides. Aldis Uno projection lens F:10 inch; all metal; bellows lens extensions, with two wooden slide carriers (stamped RRD). This is a projector for 3 1/4 inch square slides. It has an Aldis Uno 10" projection lens mounted in a panel on two rods and with bellows that can be extended. The lamphouse has an ES bulb holder, secured by a wing screw underneath its base. The projector comes with two wooden slide carriers. The projector can be pivited on the base and secured by means of the chrome lever. Power is controlled with an on/off switch on the base.

Mignon typewriter, model 2, c. 1905

Printing & Writing

1905

Mignon typewriter, model 2, c. 1905. The principle of the Mignon is very simple. It combines a typesleeve with a complete character set, and an index card with pointer and two (later three) keys. Point the pointer at a letter on the index and strike the key to print a letter on the paper and advance the carriage. With minor practice the operator could reach a typing speed of at least 100 strokes per minute. Both the index card and typesleeve could be replaced to change fonts and use character sets for different languages.