PART 1: THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA.

The 963 copper engravings are from Rees’ Encyclopaedia of Arts and Sciences, 1832, the first such to be published in North America. But these illustrations were originally engraved in England, in 1806-7, so that the items they show, particularly industrial machinery, ships and steam engines, were invented, introduced or designed in the 18th century. Below is the listing of all the different Sections, in alphabetical order, with our short comments. Note that the largest Section, Natural History, has all the animals, birds, fishes, shells, botany, and so on. As some of the subjects overlap, we have cross-referenced them. The original plates were just smaller than A4 size, but we scanned them in at 600 dpi; they would print out up to modern poster size or even larger, for wall-charts. Prices on Application, from £40.00 per image.

It must be clearly understood that once images have been ordered, then put onto a CD or DVD, and the disc handed over or despatched, then every image must be paid for.


1. Agriculture covering layouts of farm buildings, agricultural machinery and carts, fences and gates, and land drainage.

2. Analysis and Algebra: Algebra then Analysis, of geometrical constructions, a bit boring, but good for a film set featuring a period mathematician, scientist, teacher, or suchlike. See Conics and Trigonometry.

(Air, or Vacuum Pumps – see Pneumatics )

3. Anatomy of Homo Sapiens, or parts thereof, some quite decorative. Good for a film set of an early doctor’s consulting rooms or a gentleman’s study. (For all animals, birds, fishes, etc, see Natural History)

4. Architecture from classical columns to how to build a bridge, a dome or a roof. Quite interesting.

5. Armour Three on classical armour and one on the Renaissance types.

6. Artillery No’s 128-135, but interesting: the first featuring the battering-ram and the catapult, then on to the construction of gun-carriages, for smaller field-pieces to heavier siege-cannon, powder carts, shot carts and the like. The layout of an Artillery Park. See also Cannon Boring, Castrementation, and Fortifications.

7. Astronomical instruments including navigational instruments (the first plate: we have many of these for hire, plus telescopes)

8. Astronomy including the constellations of Orion and Great Bear. See also Parts 2 and 3 of this Picture Library, Urania’s Mirror, and Flamsteed’s Celestial Atlas of 1729.

(Ballooning: sadly, nothing here on the subject, but a gap we intend to fill.)

(Barometers: see Pneumatics)

9. Bas Relief but see also Drawing, et seq.

(Birds: see Natural History, H, Ornithology.)

(Blast Furnace: see Chemistry, and Iron Manufacture, plates 399 and 400.)

10. Bleaching.

11. Block-making machinery, for ship’s rigging: 8 of the machinery used at the Royal Dockyard, Portsmouth. (Many had been invented by Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, 1769-1849, father of the great Isambard Kingdom Brunel, 1806-1859.) See also Naval Architecture, and Ships.

(Botany: see Natural History, Botany)

(Brewing: see Porter Brewery)

(Bridges: see Architecture, plates 93-96, and also Canals, next…)

12. Canals. Interesting, given the pre-railway period. Five plates on their construction, No’s 200-204, on bridging and locks. See also Miscellaneous, (plate 493, flood-gates), and Waterwheels and Waterworks.

13. Cannon boring 3 plates, No’s 205-207. See also Artillery.

14. Casting, No. 208.

15. Castrementation on the different layouts of an Army with artillery in the field. See also Fortifications, and Military Manoeuvres.

16. Chemistry , No’s 215-233, showing all sorts of apparatus, large and small, including stills and alembics. Some would be good for your medieval alchemist. Funnily enough, we have a wide selection of similar items to hire.

(Clocks and Watches: see Horology)

17. Clouds No’s 234-235, of different forms. Good for an artist’s studio. See also Panorama and Perspective, Projections, and Shadow.

(Compasses: see Magnetism)

18. Composition only, No 236, but see also Drawing, et seq.

19. Conics No’s 237-244. See also Analysis and Algebra.

(Corkscrews: see Mechanics, plate 432)

20. Cotton Manufacture , No’s 245-257, of interesting old machinery. See also Woollen and Worsted Manufacture.

(Cranes: see Mechanics, plates 433-435)

21. Crystallography , No’s 258-265, on crystals, including the Goniometer. (As a young man working in Paris, Louis Pasteur’s seminal work on this subject, his earliest published success, in 1848, came only sixteen years after this Encyclopaedia was published.)

(Davy Safety Lamp: see Mining, plate 473)

22. Dialling , No’s 266-269, on how to construct and engrave various sundials. (“I am a sundial, and I make a botch/ Of what is done much better by a watch”. Hilaire Belloc, 1870-1953)

(Distillation, and stills: see Chemistry, plates 216 and 222)

23. Drawing. Just three plates of examples, No’s 270-272, but would go with Clouds, Panorama and Perspective, Projections, Sculpture, Shadow, and the first plate of Geometry.

24. Drawing instruments. Only 2 plates of them, No’s 273-274, but they go with Drawing, and the others in the previous section.

25. Electricity , No’s 275-290, of the old apparatus to generate sparks – entertaining, but otherwise useless. This is just before the days of Michael Faraday and his realisation that AC, rather than DC was needed. We do have some of these old spark generators to hire. See also Magnetism.

26. Engines. Not Steam Engines, No’s 291-300, of more assorted machinery, specialist cutting and dividing engines. See also Horology, and Machines.

(Entomology: see Natural History, Entomology)

(Farm Machinery: see Agriculture, plates 6-9, 20, and 22-26)

(Fire Engines: see Hydraulics, plate 387)

(Fireworks: see Pyrotechnics)

(Fishes: see Natural History, Ichthycology)

27. Fortifications No’s 301-307, on how to lay out your fort. The designs had been much the same over hundreds of previous years. See also Castrementation, and Military Manoeuvres.

28. Furnaces, No’s 308-311, of different types, including a pottery kiln. See also Chemistry, for an iron smelting furnace (plate 217, and the blast furnace, plates 223-225), and Iron Manufacture, plates 399-400.

29. Gardening. Not horticulture, but 3 plates, No’s 312-314, of plans and elevations for your hot-house, conservatory or orangery. (First you need your large Georgian country house). In general, see also Agriculture, and Architecture.

(Geology: see Mining, plates 473-475)

30. Geometry No’s 315-327, of geometrical construction. Boring school-room stuff, but the first plate could well go with Panorama and Perspective. See also Analysis and Algebra.

31. Heraldry , No’s 328-341, some quite decorative: shields, standards, banners, crowns, coronets and mitres.

32. Horology, No’s 342-383, very comprehensive, showing all the parts of different clocks and pocket watches of the time, but starting with the earliest Clypsedra (water clock), the earliest English clock (1370!), then through chiming mechanisms for a church turret or other clocks: chronometers, various escapements, pendulums, balance wheels, dial-work, fusee engines, and repeating and alarm mechanisms for complicated watches.

33. Hydraulics , No’s 384-397, an interesting section, showing early diving bells, fire engines, fluids, fountains, siphons, pumps and so forth.

34. Iron Manufacture No’s 398-403, of the larger machinery in those days, including the installations, the different types of furnaces needed, and casting. See also Furnaces, and Chemistry, plate 217.

(Laboratory instruments and apparatus: see Chemistry, Electricity, & Magnetism)

35. Lamps 2 plates, No’s 404 and 405, of different oil lamps.

36. Lathes, and Turning 2 plates, No’s 406 and 407, but in general see also Engines, and Mechanics.

37. Magnetism 6 plates, No’s 408-413. The subject was, in those days, only just being connected with electricity. See also Electricity.

38. Masonry. Just 2 plates, No’s 414-415, showing bricklaying and arches. But in general, see also Architecture, Canals, Mill-work, Waterwheels and Waterworks, and Windmills.

39. Mechanics, Machines No’s 416-462. A long, interesting and wide-ranging 47 plate section covering the theory and principles (including percussion and rotation), and assorted machines, including cranes, drills, a flour-mill and a pile-driver.

(Microscopes: see Optics, plates 842-845)

40. Military Manoeuvres No’s 463-468. The Grand Old Duke of York would have liked these 6 plates. See also Castrementation, and Fortifications.

41. Mill-work No’s 469-471. These 3 plates match with Waterwheels and Waterworks, or Windmills. In general, see also Mechanics.

42. Mining No’s 472-477. 6 plates on mine construction and a winding engine, but including mineralogy, strata and geology, and the Davy safety lamp.

43. Miscellany No’s 478-502. 25 plates of oddities that the editors couldn’t decide where to put, so here they are. Included are Napier’s Bones (early calculating rods), a writing machine, flood gates, gas lights, devices for raising stage scenery, and rope fire escape.

44. Monograms No’s 503-512, of real people, 10 plates of them, early ones, from Germany, the Low Countries and Italy, just in case you need them. They go back to 1455 and include those of Albrecht Durer, Hans Holbein and Lucas Cranach.

45. Musical Scores 26 plates, No’s 513-538, of assorted scores, including arpeggio, counterpoint, modulation, chords, fingering, and (?) shakes. But useful for any period set with a composer, a lesson, a recital or even a chamber orchestra.

46. Musical Instruments 11 plates, No’s 539-549, showing ancient and modern (ie, up to the 1830’s), but not as comprehensive as one might expect – no harpsichords or spinets, or brass-band things, for example. Could decorate the set of a composer – see Musical Scores, above.

47. NATURAL HISTORY


48. Naval Architecture No’s 818-829. Or, “how to build your 74 gun ship-of-the-line, or a 38-gun frigate, an East Indiaman or the Royal Yacht of 1804.” 12 superb double fold-out plates show the plans of the decks, profiles and elevations, frames and inboard construction. Probably our favourite Section, but they are more expensive, at £20.00 each. See also Block Making Machinery and Ships.

49. Navigation No’s 830-832. Three plates on the theory. See also Ships, plate 930, for navigational instruments, and Magnetism, plate 408, for marine compasses. (We have many old navigational instruments for hire – sextants, octants quadrants, the backstaff and the cross-staff. The replicas are beautifully made and in working order. We also have a wide selection of compasses)

50. Optics 16 plates, No’s 833-848, covering burning lenses, the camera obscura, the heliostat, rainbow refraction, and early microscopes. (Some of these last items we have for hire.) Note: no telescopes. For those, see Astronomical Instruments, plates 159-160, or many others in that section)

51. Organ Building 4 plates, No’s 849-852, on the pipes and workings of a church organ.

(Orrery: see Planetary Machines)

52. Panorama and Perspective 11 plates, No’s 853-863, on the techniques of drawing. But see also Architecture, Projections, and Shadow.

53. Paper Mill 2 plates, No’s 864-865, showing the layout of the building. See also Printing Presses, for the different presses.

54. Planetary Machines 10 plates, No’s 866-875. Very interesting, for period gentlemen astronomers concerned with the nature of the solar system. Shown are the various types of the Cometarium and the Orrery, with the complicated cogs and wheelwork that went into their construction. (We have several different examples of these for hire. They are strikingly decorative)

55. Pneumatics No’s 876-893. An interesting 18 plate section showing barometers, thermometers, vacuum pumps and the newly-invented air-gun. (1809, at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton: “After dinner with His Royal Highness, the gentlemen having declined, the Marchioness of Salisbury was persuaded to try her hand, but she missed the mark completely, and hit a fiddler in the dining-room.”)

56. Porter Brewery, 1 plate, No. 894.

57. Printing Presses Five plates, No’s 895-899, of the different presses in use at the time, including the large “Columbian” model, Philadelphia, 1813, the one with an eagle sitting on top of it.

58. Projections 14 plates, No’s 900-913, slightly boring but technically interesting: someone dressing the set for a period draughtsman’s or an artist’s studio could need them. See also Panorama and Perspective, and Shadow.

59. Pyrotechnics (Fireworks) No. 914. Or fireworks. Just the one plate, but quite fun.

(Early Railways, rolling-stock and stations: this Encyclopedia was just before their time, but we hope to include this important section in the future.)

60. Scenography or Theatre Staging: One plate, No. 915.

61. Sculpture No’s 916-921. 6 plates of classical figures or groups. See also Drawing.

(For Sea-shells and Shellfish: see Natural History, Conchology)

62. Shadow Just 2 plates, No’s 922-923, but match with Panorama and Perspective, and Projections.

63. Ships No’s 924-934. 11 plates showing some sailing vessels and Royal Navy warships of the late 18th or early 19th century, but more on the technical side, with ropes and knots, anchors, masts, cordage, capstans and a ship’s pump. One plate of early navigational instruments (No. 930). See also Block-making Machinery: but for superb large-size plans of these old wooden-walled ships, don’t miss Naval Architecture.

64. Steam Engines No’s 935-943. Another of our favourite sections. Nine fascinating plates showing the early stationary types, for pumping water out of mines, or providing rotative power for mills and factories: different models include Savery’s, Newcomen’s, James Watt’s, Maudsley’s and Murray’s.

(Sundials: see Dialling)

65. Surgery No’s 944-955. 12 interesting plates of the instruments used at the time (1832), plus different techniques of bandaging. Many had not changed since the time of Nelson or Waterloo, or even 100 years previously. (Early medicine and surgery is a speciality of ours: we have many of the old instruments for hire, individually or in sets)

66. Surveying No’s 956-964. 10 plates showing techniques and the early instruments used. (We have some for hire, 18th or 19th century)

(Telescopes: see Astronomical Instruments, plates 159-160)

(Theatre Staging: see Scenography)

(Thermometers: see Pneumatics, plate 891)

67. Trigonometry No’s 965-966. Two boring plates of tangents, cosecants etc, but good for a period mathematician or classroom. See also Analysis and Algebra.

(Turning: see Lathe)

68. Volcanos No’s 967-970. Four plates.

69. Waterwheels and Waterworks No’s 971-974. Four plates, quite interesting. See also Mill-work.

70. Weaving No’s 975-976. Two plates of looms. Could go with Woollen and Worsted Manufacture.

(Whales, and a Narwhal: see Natural History, Mammals, plates 726-727)

71. Windmills No’s 977-978. Just two plates, but interesting: the construction of a full-size windmill. See also Mill-work, and Waterwheels and Waterworks.

72. Woollen and Worsted Manufacture No’s 979-985. Seven plates showing the machines used at the time. See also Weaving.

73. Writing by Cipher No’s 986-988. Three plates, but badly foxed, of codes for an early secret agent, including the use of musical notes or dots and dashes.