Search our collection | Science Museum Group Collection

Cyanotype of Polypodium phegopteris, 1853

Photographs

1853

A cyanotype of Polypodium phegopteris, from the album 'Cyanotypes of British and Foreign Ferns', made by Anna Atkins (1799-1871) in 1853.

Medal commemorating smallpox vaccinations, France, 1830-1840

Wellcome Medals

1830-1840

Circular silver medal, given to Paris doctors, depending on the number of smallpox vaccinations the had given, designed by A.J. Depaulis, French, 1830-1840

Sang's Platometer, planimeter, 1851; in mahogany c

Mathematics

1851

Sang's Platometer, planimeter, 1851; in mahogany case, 15 1/2"x8 3/4"x4 3/8" no key

Goblet commemorating the opening of the Newcastle High Level Bridge, 1850.

Miscellanea & Curiosities

1850

Goblet, glass, to commemorate the opening of the Newcastle High Level Bridge, York Newcastle & Berwick Railway, 16 January 1850.

Bradford Cathedral

Photographs

c. 1855

A photograph of Bradford Cathedral, taken by Samuel Smith, c. 1855.

Post mortem set in case

Anatomy & Pathology

1820-1860

Post mortem set, almost complete, in mahogany case, by Charriere of Paris, 1820-1860

Two girls by a window

Photographs

c. 1860

Two women by window, one standing and one kneeling. A photograph of two young girls, probably Clementina (b. 1847) and Florence Hawarden (b. 1849), taken by Clementina, Lady Hawarden, in about 1860.

Allan's electromagnetic generator.

Electricity Supply

1852

Allan's electro-magnetic engine, by Thomas Allan, London, Greater London, England, 1852

'Foreign Ferns' insert from 'Cyanotypes of British and Foreign Ferns', 1853

Photographs

1853

'Foreign Ferns' cyanotype insert from 'Cyanotypes of British and Foreign Ferns', made by Anna Atkins in 1853.

Large padlock with key by Moreton and Langley

Locks & Fastenings

1850

Large padlock with key by Moreton and Langley, c.1850.

Ritchie's photometer

King George III

1827-1856

Ritchie's photometer

Early compound beam engine

Motive Power

1860

Compound Condensing Beam Engine 8" & 16" diam. x 17 7/8" & 26" stroke respectively, boiler feed pumps with plunger and Spare engine piston ring and parcel of small spare parts, by Thomas Horn, Engineer, Westminster, London, England, 1860 used at Ifield Sussex

Divided object-glass micrometer by George Dollond,

Astronomy

1821-1857

Divided object-glass micrometer by George Dollond, London, part of refracting telescope (1987-722) by Simms (RAS No.30, Sheepshanks No.4) Presented to the Royal Astronomical Society in 1857 by Miss Ann Sheepshanks sister of the Rev. Sheepshanks. Later in 1957 given to the British Astronomical Association.

Rectal speculum, Weiss, metal, ebony handle, by Jo

Clinical Diagnosis

1823-1830

Rectal speculum, Weiss, metal, ebony handle, by John Weiss, 62 Strand, London, England, 1823-1830.

Lord's calculator, a circular slide-rule for texti

Mathematics

1837-1848

Lord's calculator, a circular slide-rule for textile calculations, made by W.Wilson, London

Diamond-frame pattern sextant with case.

Navigation

1845-1855

Brass sextant with polished brass diamond-pattern frame and limb, with wooden handle in fitted mahogany keystone case by John James Messer, London, England, 1845-55. Consists of inlaid polished silver 131° scale (-5° to 145°) with 15’ divisions and silver vernier (15”), four index-filter shades (red & green), three horizon filters (orange), scale magnifier on 90mm swivelling arm. Fitted with threaded telescope bracket for sighting telescopes (84mm – erect image & 146mm – inverted image) and sighting tube (83mm).

Wide-angle bronze mounted Glob

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.

"Moule" earth closet, by the Rev. A.C. Moule, 1860

Domestic Appliances

1860

"Moule" earth closet, by the Rev. A.C. Moule, 1860

Bone snuff box, rectangular, with rounded edges, e

Smoking

1830-1850

Bone snuff box, rectangular, with rounded edges, engraved with floral design and courting couple on base, made in Germany, 1830-1850

Lady Elizabeth Feilding standing against a backdrop

Photographs

8 April 1842

Salted paper print from paper negative, by William Henry Fox Talbot, dated 8 May 1842. Image shows Lady Elizabeth Theresa Feilding (née Fox-Strangways) (d. 1844), standing against a backdrop.

Road-rail steam carriage, model, made by John Stag

Road Transport

1842

Road-rail steam carriage, model, made by John Stagg, Birmingham, 1842

Samuel Clegg Steam Engine Model

Motive Power

1825

Beam engine model of vertical single-cylinder engine, made by Samuel Clegg of Manchester, c.1825.

Early form of Amsler planimeter c. 1856, engraved

Mathematics

1854-1856

Early form of Amsler planimeter c. 1856, engraved `Elliot, London'

Manchester

Thomas Higham

1834

Print, steel engraving. 'Manchester' / Engraved by T. Higham after G. Pickering. Published by Fisher, Son & Co., London 1834, proof copy, overall: 25x32.5cm; to platemark: 22.2x29cm. Smoky skyline; woman milking cow; boys fishing; shepherd with dogs and sheep grazing;

Draper's daguerreotype of Solar Spectrum, dated July 27th 1842

Photographs

1842

Draper's daguerreotype of Solar Spectrum, dated July 27th 1842, yellow iodide of silver.

Copy letter, Isambard Kingdom Brunel to ?, 22 March 1839

Archive Collections

1839

[Copy letter] 1839 Mar 22, Duke St., Westminster [to Directors of the Great Western Railway?] / I.K. Brunel. [Begs to lay before them "observations upon the comparative advantages of wide carriages constructed as those at present in use between Paddington and Maidenhead and of narrow carriages the bodies of which may be placed between the wheels". 7p. on 2 leaves]

Smoke consuming at Ancoats

.Unattributed

1820

Etching: Smoke consuming at Ancoats, Manchester in 1820 [men and women commenting on the lack of smoke and soot at the factories]; overall: 38x27cm

Lithograph: Printed by C. Hullmandel after T. Broo

Brookes, T

1833

Lithograph: Printed by C. Hullmandel after T. Brookes. A West View of the House and Manufacturies of Enoch Wood & Sons, Burslem 1833. 23x39cm image area

Moorish Arch, looking from the Tunnel

Thomas Talbot Bury

1831

Print. aquatint, hand-coloured. "Moorish Arch, looking from the Tunnel". T.T. Bury, delt.; H. Pyall, sculpt. London, published Feb.1831, by R. Ackermann. Liverpool & Manchester Railway.

18-carat gold openface lever pocket watch signed 'VULLIAMY, mxuz LONDON'

Time Measurement

1847

18-carat gold openface lever pocket watch signed 'VULLIAMY, mxuz LONDON', with chain and key, hallmarked for London, 1847, with normal minute hand for showing mean time and additional minute hand for local time, and with table inside back of case showing differences from Greenwich time for various cities

Geographical Diagram. Geological map of the World. Published

Emslie, John (engraver); Reynolds, James (publisher)

1850

Geographical Diagram. Geological map of the World. Published by James Reynolds, 174 Strand. Drawn and engraved by John Emslie. ca.1850

Goat's foot elevator, steel with bone handle, by W

Dentistry

1830-1860

Goat's foot elevator, steel with bone handle, by Weiss, London, 1830-1860

Monocular microscope, by Philip Carpenter, 24 Rege

Microscopy (Wellcome)

1820-1840

Monocular microscope, by Philip Carpenter, 24 Regent Street, London, England, in case with accessories, 1820-1840.

Cystoseira Granulata

Photographs

1843-1853

A cyanotype of 'Cystoseira granulata' from 'Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions', made by Anna Atkins (1799-1871) in 1843. 'Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions', a collection of cyanotype photograms of algae, was self-published in installments over ten years from 1843. This first installment is credited as the first photographically illustrated book.

Miniature knife, by Michael Faraday, 1819-1824

Metallurgy

1819-1824

Miniature knife with blade of steel made by Faraday 1819-24 (ex Chemical Society Centenary Exhibition 1947)

Wheatstone's automatic telegraph transmitter, 1858

Telecommunications

1858

Wheatstone's automatic telegraph transmitter, 1858

Replica of Camera used by W H Fox Talbot

Photographic Technology

1839

Camera used by W.H. Fox Talbot (replica), c.1839. Overall: 117 mm x 118 mm x 220 mm, 0.83kg.

improvements in the arrangement & combination of the parts of loco engine

Documents

1841

Engineering Drawing, "Improvements in the arrangement & combination of the parts of Loco Engine", plans, elevations & sections, drawn by J. Farey, 67 Guildford Street, Russell Square, London. Signed by Robert Stephenson. Scale: 11/4" - 1ft. Patent specification for the Long Boiler type of locomotive.

Phenakistoscope disc

Cinematography

c. 1830s

Lithographed by Forrester and Nicholl, 10 George Street, & John Dunn, Optician, 50 Hanover Street, Edinburgh. Hand coloured; man, woman and child; 253mm disc with 23mm deep slots in circumference.

HMS Bulldog Mechanical Marine Sounder

Oceanography

1860

Bulldog sounder clam used on HMS Bulldog, devised by George Charles Wallich, ships's surgeon, 1860.

Clarke's-type electromagnetic machine, in rectangu

Therapeutics

1854-1860

Clarke's-type electromagnetic machine, in rectangular box, with horseshoe magnet, 2 rotating bobbins and pulley wheels, patented by Davis and Kidder, made by W. H. Burnap, Lowell, U.S.A., 1854-1860s

Jabez Hogg photographing Mr Johnson in Richard Beard's studio, c 1843

Photographs

1840-1848

A daguerreotype of Jabez Hogg and Mr Johnson, 1843; Jabez Hogg photographing Mr Johnson in Richard Beard's studio, c 1843. A daguerreotype from 1843 which is thought to be the first photograph showing a photographer at work. The image depicts Jabez Hogg photographing W S Johnson in the studio of Richard Beard.

Daguerreotype Portrait of a Young Man

Photographs

1845-1855

A hand-coloured daguerreotype of a seated young man holding a silver-topped cane, taken by William E. Kilburn (1819-1891) in about 1850. Three-quarter portrait of young boy seated. Fully tinted. Gilt on chair. silver top to cane boy holding. Slightly tarnished around edge. Red Morocco leather case with two latches. Lined with plain red plush. Rectangular mat with domed top. No frame and unbound. 'I GUY' stamped on mat. 'Delicate Roses' variant. Inscription inside fromt of case 'By appointment Mr Kilburn 234 Regents Street'.

Miniature terrestrial globe by J. Manning. Late 19

Astronomy

1850-1860

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

Albion Printing Press, 1838

Printing & Writing

1838

Foolscap folio Albion Printing Press, 1838. Patented 1812.

Plaid Wool Dress, 1845

Industrial Chemistry

1845

Plaid wool dress, circa 1845, dyed with natural dyes.

Richard Roberts lathe part

Hand and Machine Tools

c. 1817-23

Roberts lathe part

Phenomena of Nature: The Rainbow

Josiah Wood Whymper

1849

Plate 1. 'The Rainbow' / in the Book "Phenomena of Nature" [cover title]: 'Thirty plates illustrative of natural phenomena etc. with a short description annexed to each plate' [title page]. - / [illustrations] by Whimper [Josiah Wood Whymper, 1813-1903]; printed by R [Richard] Clay, Bread Street Hill. - London: SPCK etc, 1849. - Engravings, wood, coloured, in bound volume, 35x29x1cm.

North Eastern coalfield: colliery pit-head and coking ovens [2]

W Wheldon

1845

Painting, one of a pair, entitled 'North Eastern coalfield: colliery pit-head and coking ovens' by W. Wheldon, 1845. Oil on canvas, octagonal. Each painting shows colliery pit head with associated coking ovens on the Northumberland and Durham coal field. This one likely shows the Sunniside Incline at Pease's West colliery at Crook, looking towards Lucy Pit and the coke ovens to the right.

Commemorative Jug, Liverpool & Manchester Railway

Liverpool & Manchester Railway

c.1830

Liverpool and Manchester Railway commemorative jug, c. 1830, featuring the Moorish Arch in Liverpool and the locomotive 'Novelty'.