Contraption Collection (page 2)

Curious musical instruments of the sixteenth century, 1860. Creator: Unknown
Curious musical instruments of the sixteenth century, 1860. An an elaborate but nameless instrument of the Elizabethan era designed by goldsmith Randolph Bull

Sabots elastiques, an apparatus for walking on water, 1860. Creator: Unknown
Sabots elastiques, an apparatus for walking on water, 1860. Engraving from the Manuscript department of the British Museum...accompanied by a brief specification, without date

The Show-man, 1799. Creator: Monogrammist J.A
The Show-man, 1799. Keep your eye close to the Glass - and you will see a large / vide place full of Death and Destruction - where more / plagues await de frequenters den contained in de famous Box

A Roman street scene; Two Italian women with their children, 1833. Creator: Albert Kuchler
A Roman street scene; Two Italian women with their children, 1833

Archimède démontrant aux ingènieurs anglais... 19th century. Creator: Honore Daumier
Archimede demontrant aux ingenieurs anglais... 19th century. Archimedes showing the English engineers how, in Syracuse, he raised not just one vessel but an entire fleet

The Dandy and His Postillion - or the Waay to Laugh Up Hill, 1819. Creator: William Heath
The Dandy and His Postillion - or the Waay to Laugh Up Hill, 1819. Ha! Ha! Ha! poor fellow! goodbye! He! He! He!'. Cus these hills! If the lace of my Stays should break I'm done over'

Going to the Races, published May 14, 1819. Creator: William Heath
Going to the Races, published May 14, 1819. Carriage pulled by men riding hobby horses, a forerunner of the bicycle lacking pedals and brakes. Attributed to William Heath

A Family Party Taking an Airing, 1819. Creator: William Heath
A Family Party Taking an Airing, 1819. A hobby horse (a forerunner of the bicycle) adapted to carry a passenger (and her pets). The rider is teased by monkeys. Attributed to William Heath

Unidentified Machine Model, between 1914 and 1918. Creator: Harris & Ewing
Unidentified Machine Model, between 1914 and 1918

Unidentified Machine Model, between 1914 and 1918. Creator: Harris & Ewing
Unidentified Machine Model, between 1914 and 1918

Cannon Revolver, exhibited in the Marine Museum, at Paris, 1854. Creator: Ebenezer Landells
Cannon Revolver, exhibited in the Marine Museum, at Paris, 1854....an instrument invented some time ago. M. Frugier Coigny claims to have invented it

Roasting the Baron of Beef by Gas, in the Castle-Yard, Exeter, 1850. Creator: Unknown
Roasting the Baron of Beef by Gas, in the Castle-Yard, Exeter, [Devon], 1850. Event during the annual meeting and exhibition of the Royal Agricultural Society

Robinson and Lee's Patent Bread-Making Machine, 1850. Creator: Unknown
Robinson and Lee's Patent Bread-Making Machine, 1850. Diagram of...a Bread-Machine recently erected in Glasgow...One ton and a half of loaf bread, or a ton of biscuit

Ascent of Bell's Aerial Machine, from Vauxhall Gardens, 1850. Creator: Unknown
Ascent of Bell's Aerial Machine, from Vauxhall Gardens, [London], 1850. The machine which Mr. Bell has constructed...is capable of sustaining a weight of between 500 and 600 lb

M. Petin's "System of Aerial Navigation", 1850. Creator: Unknown. M
M. Petin's "System of Aerial Navigation", 1850. French milliner and balloonist Ernest Petin..has sought to give to his apparatus the greatest possible power

Wild Duck Shooting on the Potomac, 1850. Creator: Unknown
Wild Duck Shooting on the Potomac, 1850. American invention for duck-shooting:..one device attracted my notice especially [and] succeeds admirably

Cordingly's Floating Bath, 1850. Creator: Hare
Cordingly's Floating Bath, 1850. A simple and ingenious novelty...for the convenience and comfort of those who may wish to enjoy a private bath in mid-day, on the Serpentine

The Patent Impulsoria, 1850. Creator: Unknown
The Patent Impulsoria, 1850. This ingenious means of applying animal power to the working of railways, so as to supersede the costly locomotive engine, has lately been invented...The new machine

The International Exhibition: centrifugal pump by Easton, Amos, and Co... 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: centrifugal pump by Easton, Amos, and Co. - from a photograph by the London Stereoscopic Company, 1862

The International Exhibition: sugar-refining apparatus of Messrs. Caile and Co. of Paris, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: sugar-refining apparatus of Messrs. Caile and Co. of Paris, 1862. European machine processing sugar cane from the colonies

The International Exhibition: Merryweather and Son's patent steam fire-engine, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: Merryweather and Son's patent steam fire-engine, 1862. This powerful and well-finished steam fire-engine

The International Exhibition: blowing-engine in the Belgian Department... 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: blowing-engine in the Belgian Department of the Western Annexe, 1862. Machine for...reducing iron ore to pig metal...As iron-furnaces have increased in size and number

The International Exhibition: Sandford and Mallory's flax-gin, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: Sandford and Mallory's flax-gin, 1862. Although of a very unpretending appearance, the flax-gin of America may claim a value for industrial usefulness greater than

Electric Permanent Waving Machine 1928
A permanent electric waving machine, medusa, Serpents, exhibited at the Hairdressers Annual Exhibition. Date: 1928

W Heath Robinson - The Lullaby Bed, to save getting out of bed to rock baby when he is troublesome at night

Princes Aerial Ship. Star of the East!, 19th century. 19th century
Princes Aerial Ship. Star of the East!, 19th century

Machine for Raising Dough at Messrs. Carr and Co.'s Works, Carlisle, 1857. Creator: Unknown
Machine for Raising Dough at Messrs. Carr and Co.'s Works, Carlisle, 1857. The process which has just been perfected by Dr

The International Exhibition: Robinson's cask-cleaning machine, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The International Exhibition: Robinson's cask-cleaning machine, 1862. A...machine...especially adapted for breweries and vinegar and chemical works...It consists of two frames or rings

Turner's Asbestos Cement Advertisement
A humorous advertisement illustration for Turner's Asbestos Cement Co. showing a quarry scene both above and below ground

Heath Robinson Hill-Side Clutch
An illustration which comically depicts a motor vehicle traversing an abnormally steep slope, with an inventive contraption of extended back wheels. Date: circa 1919

Colour illustration of skier in snow, with contraption heating kettle and ice to make a trail of snow. Captioned, A Bit of a Frost - a simple device for making your own snow as you go along'

Successful campaign in the Libyan desert. Italian soldiers about to trigger an underground device. Date: 1941

Frustrating an Attempt to Disorganise London
Sixth column strategy: Disguised as Gothic pinnacles the famous clock, Big Ben is being altered by an odd contraption, to confuse the general public. Date: 1940

How to Make it Hard for the Invader!
British Home Front are using a makeshift contraption to pinch a screwdriver making it impossible for the Germans to assemble an air-borne tank. Date: 1940

Dental or Mental? by William Heath Robinson
A suggested method of tooth-extraction with a primitive contraption. Date: 1924

Uncrossing the Crosses on a Hot + Bun
A contraption for removing the cross on a hot cross bun left over from Easter. Date: 1922

For the convenience of bathers, a neat appliance for pouring oil on troubled waters. Date: 1921

Postcard celebrating Anglo-French aviator Robert Esnault-Pelterie, early 1900s (chromolitho)
3847173 Postcard celebrating Anglo-French aviator Robert Esnault-Pelterie, early 1900s (chromolitho) by French School, (20th century); (add.info)

Postcard celebrating French pioneer aviator Count Charles de Lambert, early 1900s (chromolitho)
3847171 Postcard celebrating French pioneer aviator Count Charles de Lambert, early 1900s (chromolitho) by French School, (20th century); (add.info)

Postcard celebrating French pioneer aviator Gabriel Voisin, early 1900s (chromolitho)
3847167 Postcard celebrating French pioneer aviator Gabriel Voisin, early 1900s (chromolitho) by French School, (20th century); (add.info)

Type of hay derrick characteristic of Oregon... Irrigon, Morrow County, Oregon, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
Type of hay derrick characteristic of Oregon landscape. Irrigon, Morrow County, Oregon

Pit wheels (w / c on paper)
WAG423045 Pit wheels (w/c on paper) by Bayliss, Edwin Butler (1874-1950); Wolverhampton Art Gallery, West Midlands, UK; (add.info)

Winding Gear (charcoal on paper)
WAG423035 Winding Gear (charcoal on paper) by Bayliss, Edwin Butler (1874-1950); Wolverhampton Art Gallery, West Midlands

In the Gin Pit (w / c on paper)
WAG423052 In the Gin Pit (w/c on paper) by Bayliss, Edwin Butler (1874-1950); Wolverhampton Art Gallery, West Midlands, UK; (add.info)

Winding Gear (w / c on paper)
WAG423033 Winding Gear (w/c on paper) by Bayliss, Edwin Butler (1874-1950); Wolverhampton Art Gallery, West Midlands, UK; (add.info)

Plate 21. Walking, Both Elbows Bent, 1872-85 (collotype on paper)
3950119 Plate 21. Walking, Both Elbows Bent, 1872-85 (collotype on paper) by Muybridge, Eadweard (1830-1904); 21.6x36.8 cm; Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA

Flying Machine (colour litho)
3639085 Flying Machine (colour litho) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Flying Machine.); Look and Learn / Valerie Jackson Harris Collection

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"Heath Robinson's Ingenious Contraptions: A Glimpse into the World of Whimsical Inventions" Step into a world where imagination and creativity collide with practicality, as depicted by the legendary artist William Heath Robinson. Known for his intricate illustrations of fantastical machines, he takes us on a journey through an automated dining room without servants. In his masterpiece "Ultra-Marine, " we witness a whimsical contraption that defies logic yet captivates our senses. The Pea Apparatus showcases Robinson's ability to turn even the simplest task into an elaborate mechanism. With "A Decided Catch" and "Bound to Draw, " Robinson proves that there is no limit to what can be achieved when one combines wit and engineering prowess. His Sixth Column Strategy reveals a strategic mind at work, devising ingenious solutions to everyday problems. Not all inventions were met with approval though, as seen in the rejected creations by the Inventions Board IX. But this did not deter Robinson from pushing boundaries and delighting audiences with his Railway Ribaldry illustration. His cunning stroke shines through in "The Subzeppmarinellin, " a clever WW1 cartoon showcasing his satirical take on warfare technology. Even royal events like the 1923 Royal Wedding did not escape his humorous touch. Robinson's contraptions often end in smoke but leave behind smiles on faces, as depicted in "Ending in Smoke. " These imaginative creations remind us of the power of human ingenuity and how it can bring joy even amidst chaos. So step into Heath Robinson's world of whimsy and marvel at these extraordinary inventions that blur the line between fantasy and reality.