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Box for 'Trilene' tablets, Europe, 1801-1900

1801-1900

Carton for "Trilene" tablets

Thumbscrew, France, 1601-1850

1601-1850

Thumbscrew, steel, probably French, 1601-1850

Rover 'Safety' Bicycle, 1885

1885

Rover safety bicycle of 1885 (first embodiment of the modern arrangement), with saddle re-made by Brooks in 1961.

Hoover constellation vacuum cleaner with attachments

circa 1956-1959

Hoover Constellation vacuum cleaner, about 1956. A particularly ’space age’ 1950s vacuum cleaner, noted for its use of exhaust air to make it hover. Coupled with a futuristic spherical shape and fashionable colouring, the Constellation is truly a design classic among vacuums. It is made from metal with plastic components. This example is mainly grey with blue details.

Sony 'Trinitron' Colour Television, 1969-1970

1969-1970

Sony 'Trinitron' colour television set, model type KV-1320UB, manufactured by Sony, Japan, 1969-1970. Serial No. 505704

Coalbrookdale by Night by Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg

1801

Coalbrookdale by Night by Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg, 1801. Oil on canvas in gilt frame. Signed and dated bottom right. Exhibited as 'A View of Colebrook Dale by night' at the Royal Academy London in 1801. It shows the Bedlam furnaces at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire, with flames and smoke billowing from the centre of the picture. The picturesque gorge landscape to either side is lit by moonlight, and figures hurry in the foreground to transport raw materials and iron pigs.

Packet of 20 Death Cigarettes, London, England, 1999

1999

Packet of 20 Death cigarettes, labelled: 'Manufacturer's advice: Cigarettes are addictive and debilitating. If you don't smoke, don't start. Death is a responsible way to market a legally available consumer product which kills people when used exactly as intended. Death cigarettes: For an honest smoke', made in the EC under the authority of The Enlightened Tobacco Company Plc, London, c.1999.

Contraceptive Sponge

1920-1960

Marine sponge, for use as vaginal pessary, possibly English, 1920-1960

Cat-o-nine Tails, United Kingdom, 1700-1850

1700-1850

Cat o'nine tails, whip-cord with wooden handle, reputedly British Navy, 1700-1850

Technical script for 'Our World' television broadcast

1967

Bound Copy of Script for Our World broadcast 1967 with technical notes, produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation and European Broadcasting Union, British, 1967.

Apollo 10 Command Module, Call Sign 'Charlie Brown'

1969

Apollo 10 command module, call sign 'Charlie Brown', by North American Rockwell Corporation, Downey, California, United States, 1969. Apollo 10, carrying astronauts Thomas Stafford, John Young and Eugene Cernan, was launched in May 1969 on a lunar orbital mission as the dress rehearsal for the actual Apollo 11 landing. Stafford and Cernan descended in the Lunar Module to within 14 kilometres of the surface of the Moon, the closest approach until Neil Armstrong and Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin in Apollo 11 landed on the surface two months later.

Crick and Watson's DNA Molecular Model

1953

Reconstruction of the double helix model of DNA, originally by Francis Crick and James Watson, 1953, using some of the original metal plates, made by Farooq Hussain at King's College London, 1977

Babbage's Analytical Engine, 1834-1871. (Trial model)

1871

Portion of the mill of the Analytical Engine with printing mechanism, designed by Charles Babbage and under construction at the time of his death, London, 1834-1871.

Arkwright's Water Frame, 1775

1775

Improved spinning machine (water frame), by Sir Richard Arkwright, England, 1775.

Smiths De Luxe Wristwatch Worn by Sir Edmund Hillary on His Ascent of Mount Everest 1953

1953

Wristwatch by Smiths English Clocks Ltd, Cheltenham, England, 1953. Steel waterproof case by the Dennison Watch Case Co, marked on the back 'AQUATITE, DENISTEEL BACK, 73359, CASE MADE IN ENGLAND' around 'DQ' in the centre. Silvered dial with Arabic numerals in luminous paint, and a subsidiary seconds dial at six o'clock. Signed ‘Smiths De Luxe' below twelve o'clock, and 'made in England' below the subsidiary dial. 15 jewel lever-escapement movement.

'Over London-by Rail', Engraving, London, England, 1872

1872

Wood engraving from 'London: a pilgrimage', by Gustave Dore, 1872. Signed in the block blc: Over London - by Rail. Depicting [East End] tenements, washing in back gardens, chimney pots, railway in distance.

Southern Railway 0-6-0 Q1 class steam locomotive, No C1

1942

Steam locomotive, No C1, Q1 Class, 0-6-0, Southern Railway, designed by O V Bulleid, built at Brighton in 1942, withdrawn in 1964. Weight: 51.25 tons; length 54 feet, 10 ½ inches; driving wheel diameter: 5 feet, 1 inch

Rotative Steam Engine by Boulton and Watt, 1788

1788

Boulton and Watt Rotative Beam Engine - the 'Lap' engine. This is the oldest essentially unaltered rotative engine in the world. Built by James Watt in 1788, it incorporates all of his most important steam-engine improvements. The engine was used at Matthew Boulton’s Soho Manufactory in Birmingham, where it drove 43 metal polishing (or ‘lapping’) machines for 70 years.

Vaginal Speculum for Applying Leeches

1801-1830

Guilbert vaginal speculum, metal, French, 1801-1830.

Marine Timekeeper known as 'H5' by John Harrison and Son 1770

1770

Silver pair-cased marine timekeeper, known as H5, by John Harrison & Son, London. White enamel dial with gold central star to adjust hands. Verge escapement with Harrison’s special diamond pallets. Steel balance and spring. Fusee. Maintaining power. 7 1/2 seconds remontoir on 4th wheel. All wheels from the 3rd, jewelled. Long bimetallic strip on adjustable frame. Original key and starting pin. Signed ‘John Harrison & Son London 1770 No. 2’. Case hallmarked for 1768 – 9 and stamped ‘HT’ (probably Henry Taylor who became a free Clockmaker in 1746). With original mahogany carrying case and three silk cushions.

William Grey Walter

1910 - 1977

Steam locomotive, entitled Evening Star

1960

Steam locomotive and tender, British Railways, 9F class 2-10-0 No 92220 "Evening Star", designed by R.A.Riddles, built at Swindon in 1960, withdrawn in 1965.

'Pedoscope' shoe-fitting X-ray viewer

1948-1953

Pedoscope, by the Pedoscope Company Limited, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, 1948-1953

Wells Cathedral clock, 1392

1392

Wells Cathedral clock, England, 1392

Difference Engine No. 1

circa 1832

Portion of Charles Babbage's calculating machine (Difference Engine No.1), built by Joseph Clement, London, 1832.

Swan electric lamp

1878-1879

Early carbon and rod filament incandescent electric lamp, by Sir Joseph Wilson Swan, England, 1878-1879

Mill Engine

1903

The Mill Engine, manufactured by Burnley Ironworks Company, 1903

Cubical polyhedral sundial

1751-1800

German universal cubical sundial in wood with paper scales, signed D. Beringer, compass needle and cover glass missing, c.1780

'Memento mori' watch in the form of a skull, known as the 'Mary Queen of Scots' watch.

1780-1850

Watch signed Moysant, Blois in the shape of a skull, with outer leather travel case. The large silver case is shaped like a human skull and is pierced and also engraved all over with religious and mythological scenes as well as quotations in Latin from Horace. The mechanism, which includes a striking train, is hidden inside the skull. It has had considerable alteration and is now a conversion to lever escapement. The silver dial, which has two hands, is engraved with a scene of Saturn swallowing his children.

Obsidian possibly used in trephination experiments

1918-1920

One piece of obsidian, possibly used as trephining instrument by Dr. T. Wilson Parry, in experiments on neolithic trephination, England, 1918-1920

Edison telephone, 1879

1879

Wall telephone with Edison chalk receiver, unknown maker, probably United States, 1879.

Molecular model of penicillin by Dorothy M Crowfoot Hodgkin, England, 1945

1945

Penicillin; molecular model by Dorothy Hodgkin, ca. 1945.

Iron handcuffs with key, 1800-1899

1801-1900

Pair of handcuffs with key, iron, by Hiatt, English, 19th century

Model paddle wheel engines of the SS 'Great Eastern'

1853-1857

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

Motorola 'GSM flare' mobile telephone, 1995

1995

Motorola GSM flare mobile phone, type 6200, made by Motorola, British, 1995. Pack no. S4647BBBB

'Build a Better Burger' Game

1984-1986

Game, 'Build a Better Burger' game for 2-4 players ages 5 and over, marked 'All the action of a real fast food restaurant!', made by Action Games and Toys Ltd, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, under license from Lakeside Games (a division of Leisure Dynamic Inc, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA), 1984-1986. Players compete to be the first to assemble a meal according to the menu card they select.

'Merman'

1801-1900

Dried merman, possibly Dutch or Japanese, possibly a Javanese ritual figure, possibly 1850-1900.

Diesel-hydraulic locomotive, Class 02 0-4-0 No D2860

1960

Diesel-hydraulic shunting locomotive, British Railways, Class 02 0-4-0 No D2860, built by Yorkshire Engine Company in 1960.

Great Northern Railway 4-2-2 locomotive Stirling Single

1870

Steam locomotive and tender, Great Northern Railway, 4-2-2 No 1, designed by Patrick Stirling, built at Doncaster in 1870, withdrawn in 1907.

Furness Railway steam locomotive 'Coppernob' 0-4-0, No 3, 1846

1846

Steam locomotive and tender, No 3, 'Coppernob', 0-4-0, for Furness Railway, designed by E Bury, built by Bury, Curtis and Kennedy in 1846, withdrawn in 1900. Length over buffers: 37' 3"; width: 7' 4": weight: 19 1/2 tons; driving wheels 4' 9".

Chinese Government Railways Steam Locomotive 4-8-4 KF Class No 7

1935

Steam locomotive KF class number 7, 4-8-4, Chinese Government Railways, designed by Colonel Kenneth Cantlie, built by Vulcan Foundry in 1935 (as number 607), withdrawn in 1981.