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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

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

One of four original Swan and Raven models used by Froude

Froude

1867

One of four original Swan and Raven models used by William Froude on River Dart in 1867 measuring 6 foot in length.

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.

Print, 'Searching Fault' scene on 'Great Eastern' during the laying of the first Atlantic cable, 1865-1867

Telecommunications

1865-1867

Coloured print of Robert Charles Dudley's 'Searching Fault' (scene on "Great Eastern" during laying of the first Atlantic cable), printed by Day and Son Limited, Camden, London, England, 1865-1867. Full title of the print is 'Searching for a fault after recovery of the cable from the bed of the Atlantic July 31st'

Schwann's microscope

Microscopes

1835

Schwann's microscope (no case), with accessories

Braiding Machine

Textile Industry

c.1900

Braiding machine made around 1900, used at Croft Mill, Manchester.

X-ray tube

X-rays

1895-1899

Large pear shaped x-ray tube of form originally used by Prof. Röntgen, manufactured in Germany about 1896. Inside of glass at end of tube eroded by bringing cathode rays to a focus with a magnet; on stand.

Karl Ferdinand Braun's 'Braun tube', 1897

Electronic Components

1897

Early 'Braun Tube'. Cathode ray tube.

Wax portrait of Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy (1780 – 1854)

Clockmakers

1851

Wax portrait of Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy (1780-1854) by Richard Cockle Lucas 1851

Wheatstone ABC telegraph receiver, 1942

Telecommunications

1842

ABC telegraph receiver, invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone, unknown maker, England, 1842

Fergusson type speculum, England, 1871-1900

Clinical Diagnosis

1871-1900

Speculum, vaginal, mirror interior, elastic gum covering, by Simpson, late 19th century, English, Fergusson type

Spark gap or knob coherer, 1889

Radio Communication

1889

Spark gap or knob coherer, unknown maker, England, 1889. Used by Sir Oliver Lodge to first show the coherer effect and detect electric surgings by closing the circuit of a galvanometer during experiments on lightning guards.

Compound monocular microscope

Public Health & Hygiene

1852

Compound monocular microscope owned by Edwin Lankester and purchased from the makers Smith & Beck of London in 1852, with accessories and case. Possibly used by Lankester when examining water from the pump at Broad St, Soho, the focus of the outbreak of cholera in London in 1854.

Two lancets in a patterned silver case

Therapeutics

1844

Two lancets, steel blade in tortoiseshell sheath, by Savigny and Co. of London, 1810-1850, in silver case, inscribed "R.G.," made in Birmingham in 1844

National Telephone Company directory, 1898-1899

Telecommunications

1898-1899

National Telephone Company UK telephone directory for 1898-9, published by the National Telephone Company, British, 1898-1899

Pioneers of Electric Telegraphy at the British Association

Telecommunications

1865

Framed photograph of 'Pioneers of Electric Telegraphy at the British Association Birmingham 1865', unknown maker, British, 1865

Chamberland filter, France, 1875-1884

Microbiology

1875-1884

Chamberland filter used by Pasteur and Chamberland in work on anthrax and chicken cholera

Oil lamp base for Thomson mirror speaking galvanometer, 1858

Telecommunications

1858

Oil lamp base for Thomson mirror speaking galvanometer, made by Dietz and Company, City of London, England, 1858

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.

Silver snuff boxes, United Kingdom, presented in 1832 and 1850

Smoking

1832

Snuff container presented to Robert Fortescue for work during the cholera epidemic in Plymouth, by Mills of Birmingham, silver partly gilt, 1832

Insulators used for Morse's telegraph, 1835

Telecommunications

1835

Insulators used for Morse's telegraph, unknown maker, United States, 1835

Cooke and Wheatstone's ABC telegraph transmitter

Telecommunications

1840

Cooke and Wheatstone's ABC telegraph transmitter, unknown maker, England, 1840

Experimental carbon pencil microphone, 1878-1890

Telecommunications

1878-1890

Experimental microphone consisting of two carbon pencils having knife edges in contact, probably made by David Edward Hughes, England, 1878-1890

Henley's magneto electric double needle telegraph, 1848-1852

Telecommunications

1848-1852

Henley's magneto electric double needle telegraph, made by the Magnetic Telegraph Company, England, 1848-1852.

Columnar Engine, 1862

Motive Power

1862

Small columnar engine built by the company of Maudslay, Sons & Field, to drive their models displayed at the London International Exhibition, 1862.

One of the first rechargeable batteries, about 1860

Electricity Supply

1860

The first practical lead-acid storage battery. Made by Gaston Planté in London around 1860.

Syntonic Leyden jars, 1880-1889

Radio Communication

1880-1889

Two syntonic Leyden jars, unknown maker, Germany, 1880-1889. Possibly the actual ones used by Oliver Lodge in March 1889 at the Royal Institution to demonstrate resonance in adjacent circuits when at the same frequency.

Whitworth standard wire gauge

Industrial Metrology

1869 to 1897

Whitworth standard gauges for checking and adjusting wire gauges, based on the Whitworth proposed standard wire gauge; range 0.1-0.01 inches. The gauge is the flat part of the round bar: the gauge measurement being the distance across the flat surfaces. The use or standardisation of the decimal system was proposed by Whitworth when he was president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers 1856 to 1857: 'Paper on a standard decimal measure of length'. Following the standard procedure and logic at that time each gauge size serves to establish that wire size standard. The concept of tolerance or specification by limits of acceptability had not at that time been established. These decimal gauges were never accepted as a national standard. The number of his wire gauge corresponds with sizes in thousandths of an inch from 1 to 500 with logical increases in increment of 0.001 (for small sizes) to 0.025 for the larger end of the range.

paper tensile tester

Papermaking

c.1900

Paper tensile tester made in Austria and supplied by J. J. Marshall and Co. Wooden body with dial in middle of one long side, reading 0-50 pounds. Patent Paper Testing Machine, J.J. Marshall & Co, London and Dartford, Made in Austria. Paper clamped with steel plates and thumb scres on top, one side adjustable in half inch lengths, handle at right endtensions right clamp. Brass end plates at both ends

model manchester & leeds railway carriage

Railway Models

1839

Model railway carriage, scale 1:8, Manchester & Leeds Railway (Lancashire & Yorkshire) third class open passenger, 1839.

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.

Sixteen lens cine camera by Louis Le Prince

Cinematography

1886-1887

Sixteen lens cinematographic camera, made by Louis Le Prince in Paris in 1887 (with electrical connections)

Richet-type forceps

Surgery

1851-1900

Forceps, Richet, steel and brass, chromium-plated and gilt, by Collin of Paris, from Charriere, Collin and Gentile collection, c. 1870

Ivory netsuke in the form of doctor and patient

Asian Medicine

1871-1900

Ivory figure, depicting a doctor feeling the pulse of a woman patient, signed Chikaaki, Japan, late 1800s

Iron borings coherer (Branly type), 1894

Radio Communication

1894

Iron borings coherer (Branly type), probably made by Oliver Lodge, England, 1894. Mounted on wooden baseboard with electric bell components mounted alongside as vibrator for restoring the coherer.

Aesthesiometer

Psychology, Psychiatry & Anthropometry

1856-1900

Aesthesiometer, Sieveking, brass and nickel, from Parkes Weber collection, by Becker of London, 19th century

Circular unit of Finsen lamp

Therapeutics

1890-1900

The main circular unit of the Finsen ultraviolet lamp, presented by Princess Alexandra to the London Hospital in 1900

Coherer, ebonite, with adjustable contacts, 1890-1896

Radio Communication

1890-1896

Ebonite coherer with adjustable contacts, unknown maker, British, 1890-1896. Used in August 1896, in experiments carried out by Captain Henry Jackson

Vulcanite telephone wire insulators, 1850-1870

Telecommunications

1850-1870

Six vulcanite insulators for telegraph wires mounted on short pole, unknown maker, probably British, 1850-1870

Arthington Tunnel memorial plaque, 1849

Railway Infrastructure

1849

Memorial plaque, stone, to commemorate those killed during the construction of the Arthington (Bramhope) Tunnel, Leeds & Thirsk Railway, 1845-1849, erected by James Bray, Contractor, 1849, from Otley churchyard.

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.

Platt Brothers Notice

Textile Industry

1899

Notice, Platt Brothers and Co. Ltd, Oldham, 1899, regarding the Workmens Compensation Act 1897 and employee behaviour, by order Jno [Jonathan] Wynne, Secretary, square with black lettering on cream background.

Walnut and brass model of the "Great Paris Telescope"

Astronomy

1898-1900

Walnut and brass scale model (1:50 approx) of the 'Great Paris Telescope' exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition, a stationary 1.25 metre refracting telescope (57 metres long) with a 2 metre mirror siderostat.

Lens for narrowing light beam for Thomson mirror speaking galvanometer, 1858

Telecommunications

1858

Lens in tubular mount on stand, for Thomson mirror speaking galvanometer, made by Elliott Brothers, Strand, London, England, 1858

Mallam-type vaccinator, London, England, 1874-1900

Public Health & Hygiene

1874-1900

Mallam's vaccinator, cased, patented and manufactured by Arnold and Sons, London, 1874-1900

Octant made of ebony and brass

Navigation

1830-1835

Octant made by John Smith, London, about 1830. Ebony frame and limb with brass index arm and fittings; an inlaid ivory plate on the crossbar. Signed on the plate on the crossbar: J. SMITH 126 Wapping LONDON. Radius 9 inches. Inlaid ivory scale from -3° to 96°, every 20'. Ivory vernier to 1', zero at the right. The tangent screw and clamping screw are on the back of the index arm. Three shades (two red, one green); three horizon shades (two red, one green). Index-glass adjustment by screw; adjustment of the horizon glass by a fixed screw and a lever, worm gear and a milled clamping screw. The sight vane is lacking. No box. (B 696)

Dog ornament moulded from gutta percha, 1850-1900

Plastics and Modern Materials

1850-1900

Dog ornament (spaniel) moulded from gutta-percha, made by the Gutta Percha Company, Islington, London, England, 1850-1900

Single needle telegraph, 1846

Telecommunications

1846

Single needle telegraph, made by William Reid for the Electric Telegraph Company, London, England, 1846

Vertical galvanometer, 1830-1870

Electricity Supply

1830-1870

Vertical galvanometer, invented by Sir William Cooke, unknown maker, British, 1830-1870