19th Century Scientific Illustrations

A collection of engravings and cartoons depicting various 19th-century experiments, inventions, and industrial processes, featuring diverse subjects in historical settings.

CHRISTIAN HUYGENS working on his invention of the first pendulum clock

Illustration showing The turner. From the Rev. Isaac Taylor 'Scenes of British Wealth in Produce, Manufactures and Commerce'. London, (c* 1832)

An engraving depicting Benjamin Franklin with the printing press he used in London and which is now preserved in America. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, polymath, author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason and postmaster. Dated 19th century

Sir Humphrey Davy (1778-1829). English chemist and inventor. Inventor of the Davy lamp.

Ole Christensen Rmer (25 September 1644 - 19 September 1710) was a Danish astronomer who in 1676 made the first quantitative measurements of the speed of light.

Artist's impression of the Marquis de Jouffroy supervising the manufacture of the cylinder for his steam engine*From Louis Figuier Les Merveilles de la Science, Paris, n,d.(c. 1870)

Illustration depicting an engraver's workshop. Dated 19th century

Application of cold to industry. Raoul Pictect system. Cool rom for meat. Chicago (United States). Engraving. La Ilustración Española y Americana (The Spanish and American Illustration), 1883.

Interior of the Spencer Museum of Peruvian artifacts and antiquities, now housed in the University of Kansas, Date: 1870

Illustration showing Investigation of effect of Galvanic electricity using Voltaic pile and frog's legs, Eyes and tongue of recently decapitated bullock moved: frog's legs twitched. From Jean Aldini 'Essai Theorique et Experimental sur le Galvanisme', Paris; 1804. Aidini was Galvani's nephew

An engraving depicting the process of making glue by boiling and straining skin, cartilage, etc., to extract gelatine. Dated 19th century

Engraving showing Captain James Fitzjames's cabin aboard HMS 'Erebus', pictured shortly before departure, 1845. In 1845 the British Admiralty sent two polar exploration ships, HMS 'Erebus' and HMS 'Terror', to look for the Northwest passage round the northern coast of Canada. The expedition, commanded by Sir John Franklin, disappeared from view late in 1845 and none of the men were ever seen again. In fact the ships made it to the King William Island region, then got stuck in the ice.

Death found an author writing his life ca. 1827.

Particle physics: Cartoon from 'Punch', London, 1932, celebrating the work of Norman Feather, English physcist, of Trinity College, Cambridge, England.

Etching by Pierre Hutin from around 1765 depicting a chemist at work, showing figure, tools, interior, and 18th-century etching techniques.

Engraving depicting a mother and child having a Daguerreotype taken. The Daguerreotype process, was the first publicly available photographic process, and for nearly twenty years it was the one most commonly used. Invented by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1787-1851) a French artist, inventor and photographer. Dated 19th century

Small writing machine, Herrington system. Old illustration from La Nature 1887

Diving Pavilion at the Hygiene Exhibition in Berlin, Germany, historical engraving, 1883, Europe

education students letter to borrow money engraving by G. Graf Germany late 19th century writing smoking pipe,

Experiment designed to show that air has weight. From 'Experimenta Nova ut vocantur Magdeburgica De Vacuo Spatio' ('New Magdeburg Experiments About the Vacuum', Otto von Guericke, (Amsterdam, 1672). Engraving.

The Prerogative office, Doctors Commons, 1860, London, UK, 19th century engraving

19th century, joiner using a floor cramp, to fit floorboards. London, illustration, 1887

The balloon was equipped with its area, the boat could hold four people, vintage engraving. The balloon was equipped with its area, the boat could hold four people, vintage engraved illustration. Journal des Voyage, Travel Journal, 1880-81. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 10657205

An engraving depicting the Comet of 1853 as seen from Paris. Dated 19th century

Galvani causes contractions in a frog with electricity from a thundercloud

Experiment designed to show that air has weight, 1672. Artist: Unknown

The United States. New York. Shoe factory and shop in 74 Main Street, Batavia. Inside view. Colored engraving, 1876.

Abraham Trembley (1700 - 1784), Swiss naturalist, depicted in his study. He was the first to witness multiplication of protozoans by cell division in algae.

Silkworm farm, showing interior of rearing house or Magnangerie and collection of mulberry leaves (1) on which caterpillars (worms) were fed. From The Universal Magazine, London, 1753. Engraving

An engraving depicting Professor Faber's speaking automaton, the Euphonia, showing the bellows behind the torso and the inventor operating the mechanism. 19th century

Engraving depicting the steam powered pump at Chaillot, Paris, built by the Perier brothers, circa 1775. Dated 19th century

Guillaume Francois Rouelle, 18th century French chemist, 1874. Artist: Unknown

Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895), French chemist and microbiologist, trepanning a rabbit at L'Institut Pasteur, Paris. Date: 1886

Telegraphists at work in the instrument gallery of the Central Telegraph Office in Newgate Street, London, 1874. Date: December 12th 1874

United States, Washington. Prison of Charles Julius Guiteau (1841-1882), assassin of the President James A. Garfield, on July 2, 1881. The sculptor Clark Mills (1810-1883) making a plaster cast of the head of the prosecuted, condemned to be hanged. Engraving. La Ilustración Española y Americana, 1882.

'Pastrycook; Industrious Classes in Constantinople', 1854. From "Cassell's Illustrated Family Paper; London Weekly 31 Dec 1853 to 30 Dec 1854".

Scholar in his Study Department, Gilliam van der Gouwen, After Bernard Picart, 1670 - 1740 print A scholar is in a study deduction at his desk. Bottom left a globe. Amsterdam paper engraving scholar in his study. armillary sphere, skeleton celestial globe

Dr. Shebbeare pillory (1758). Print the eighteenth century, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque (1882).

Moulding earthenware items in plaster moulds. From Chemical Technology, Philadelphia, 1849, by F. Knapp.

Illustration showing Spinning. 1838

Kitchen interior, 19th century French engraving

Illustration depicting Edmond Carré's apparatus for the artificial production of ice. Dated 19th century

An engraving depicting Alois Senefelder discovering the process of lithography by chance. Alois Senefelder (1771-1834) a German actor and playwright who invented lithography in the 1790s. Dated 19th century

Honore Baudre's geological piano uses a series of selected stones, each of which emits a different note when struck. Date: 1885

Magic lantern being used to project slides during a lecture on spectrum analysis at the Royal Polytechnic Institution, London. From John Henry Pepper 'Cyclopaedic Science Simplified', London, 1873. Chromolithograph.

Thomas Major created an etching between 1730 and 1799 depicting the interior of an alchemist's laboratory with instruments, flasks, and a practitioner at work.

Richard Greene's museum at Lichfield, the "Lichfield clock" standing among cabinets of curiosities. Engraving by Cook.

JAMES WATT (1736/1819) Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1781. James Watt observing the effects of steam. Engraving, 1869.

Drawing goatskins. Skins were immersed in lime pits for five weeks, being removed and replaced regularly so that the solution could work evenly on the hair of the skins. From the Penny Magazine, London, 1842.

Apodictic Truths, allegory on the philosophy of Kant, Jacob Smies, 1774 - 1833, Cartoon on the philosophy of Kant. In a crowded pharmacy, on the right, a human skeleton is examined and dismembered; in the center, philosophy books are boiled down to `abrakadra' in a large flask., draughtsman: Jacob Smies, 1774 - 1833, paper, pen, brush, h 335 mm × w 468 mm

An engraving depicting a kitchen range manufactured by Henry Goddard of Nottingham. The apparatus for roasting a joint is seen hanging in front of the fire over a pan to catch juices. Dated 19th century

Casting the speculum metal mirror for the Great Melbourne telescope. The first casting of the 48-inch (122cm) mirror was made on 3 July 1866, but this was defective and it5 was the third casting made a fortnight later that was finally used. the telescope was assembled in Dublin before being dismantled and shipped to Australia in 1868. Built by Grubbs of Dublin. Engraving after the picture by Howard Grubb. From 'The Strand Magazine' (London, 1896).

Illustration from Theatrum Machinarum Novum 1661 by Georg Andreas Böckler; A hand operated milling machine

Illustration showing Preparing moulds for use in electroplating, published Paris circa 1870

Mummy of ancient Egyptian king Pharaoh Amenhotep I, who reigned from 1525 to about 1504 BC, historical engraving, 1888

An apothecary mixing a concoction in his working room surrounded by the paraphernalia of his profession. Wood engraving by A. Bellenger after H.S. Marks.

Cartoon commemorating the centenary of Michael Faraday's (1791-1867) birth and his contributions to the development of electricity. Dated 19th Century

An engraving depicting a steelyard. Dated 19th century

Thomas Rowlandson, Hocus Pocus, or Searching for the Philosopher's Stone, published 1800 Hocus Pocus, or Searching for the Philosopher's Stone

Historical scene, US-American history, 19th century, expedition to Greenland, 1854, Elisha Kent Kane, 1820 - 1857, a US-American researcher, explorer and physician

Cartoon titled 'Proposed Regulations in Hygeiopolis'. As hygiene was becoming recognised as essential for the health of the nation, some such as Punch, believed that all of the regulations limited freedom of choice. Dated 19th century

George III visits Herschel's observatory. Date: circa 1780s

Astronomers searching the night sky with a telescope. After a 17th century work by Simon Fokke.

Man-engine or movable ladder adopted in Cornish mines. The movable ladder was powered by the steam engine at the pit head and moved with the regular stroke of the engine. In this model either side of the shaft is fitted with platforms a stroke' length apart. A man standing on one of the side platforms would step on the platform on the man-engine in the pause between strokes. Before the installation of man-engines, it could take men more than an hour to climb down vertical ladders to reach the working level. From 'The Popular Encyclopaedia' (London, 1888).

Cartoon depicting a Colorado Beetle: In 1877 arrive in Britain and become a pest on the potato crop which led to an Order in Council that any specimens are destroyed. Dated 19th Century

Candy Interior, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1873.

An operation. Print Romain de Hooghe, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1867.

Demonstration of the Great Electric Induction Coil at the Polytechnic Institution in London in 1869 by Professor Pepper. Viewed by a large number of visitors to the Polytechnic, including the Princesses Louise and Beatrice, the coil was over 3 metres long and able to produce sparks up to 76 centimetres long. April 17th 1869

An engraving depicting Johann Philipp Reis demonstrating his "musical" telephone. Johann Philipp Reis (1834-1874) a German scientist, teacher and inventor. Dated 19th century

Dentures and dental equipment manufactured by the Samuel White company in Philadelphia, Universal Exhibition in Paris, France, illustration by Broux and Baude from L'Illustration, Journal Universel, No 1857, Volume LXXII, September 28, 1878.

Astronomer in ancient Alexandria observing stars with a cross-staff.

Cooke & Wheatstone's double needle telegraph. The letters of the alphabet and a variety of conventional signals; were indicated by single and combined movements of the galvanometer needles. The operator worked the instrument by manipulating the two handles at the bottom and an alarm bell was housed in the upper casing and was used to signal the beginning of a message.

Engraving of a Trebuchet, a machine used for casting stones. Dated 14th Century

LOUIS PASTEUR French chemist and microbiologist experimenting on a chloroformed rabbit Date: 1822 - 1895

Newton, Sir Isaac (1642-1727). English mathematician, physicist and astronomer. Newton analyzing a light beam. Engraving. FRANCE. LE-DE-FRANCE. Paris. National Library.

Engraving depicting an ophthalmoscope in use. Ophthalmoscopy, also called funduscopy, is a test that allows a health professional to see inside the fundus of the eye and other structures. The ophthalmoscope was invented by Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894) a German physician and physicist. Dated 19th century

Though the 'enlightenment' is revolutionising science, this lab resembles an alchemist's workplace : books by Paracel- -sus and Boerhaave are on the shelves. The shop is beyond. Date: 1747

Healthy toilet bowl with water effect and ventilated siphon seal. Old 19th century engraved illustration from La Nature 1886

Static electric effects. Chain receiving a charge from a glass globe static electric machine is attached to the waist of the man standing insulated on a block of wax. He becomes 'charged' and his hands attract pieces of paper and small objects. From 'Recherches sur les Causes Particulaires des Phenomenes Electriques' by Abbe Nollet (Paris, 1753). Engraving.

Boyer's photographic studio, a wooden framework with gauze-like material stretched over it. This produced an evenly diffused light when the magnesium flash on the top right of the framework was fired by pressing button on bulb at end of wire. From 'La Nature', Paris, 1899. Engraving.

X-ray machines I, illustration, Meyers Konversations-Lexikon encyclopedia, 1897

EXPERIMENT WITH CONCAVED MIRRORS. The rays reflected on the mirror, at equal distance from the main axis, are symmetrical. At the point where they impinge, you will find the focal point or main focus of the mirror. Engraving, 1858.

An engraving depicting a life preserver devised by Trangott Beek of Newark. Inside the top part which could open and close, a food and water supply was stored; anticipated that it would allow a months survival after a shipwreck. Dated 19th century

Engraving depicting Michael Faraday in his laboratory at the Royal Institute. Michael Faraday (1791-1867) an English scientist. Dated 19th century

Mathieu Laensbergh looks through a telescope at the starry sky, Aimé de Lemud, 1838 print Paris paper astronomical instruments. telescope. historical persons

First article, vintage engraving. First article, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1852. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 10673652

Device for fattening of poultry, agriculture, Germany, reproduction of an image, woodcut from the year 1881, digitally restored, historical, Device for fattening of poultry, agriculture, reproduction of an image, woodcut from the year 1881, digitally improved, historical, Europe

International Exhibition in Le Havre 1868, water bubbling apparatus, gas water apparatus, automatic machine for the production of carbonated drinks by Hermann-Sachapelle, France, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact original date unknown, Europe

Galvani, a professor at Bologna, discovers in 1780 the irritability of the muscles of a frog to electricity

Electrical experiments of Father Nollet in Paris at the beginning of the eighteenth century, vintage engraved illustration. From the Universe and Humanity, 1910.

Air tanks for the pneumatic tubes, Paris, France, illustration from L'Illustration, Journal Universel, No 1580, Volume LXI, June 7, 1873.

Isaac Newton (1642-1727) English scientist and mathematician, using a prism to break white light into spectrum. With Cambridge room mate John Wickins. Engraving of 1874.

Engraving depicting messages being sent through the Atlantic Telegraph system from 'The Great Eastern' in the instrument room at Valencia. Dated 19th century

Anatomie from Diderot's Encyclopedie

Engraving depicting a Gramme dynamo in situ. Demonstrated at Wells & Co's Shoreditch Ironworks, London, powering Jablockhoff candles, this was the first permanent electric lighting in England. Gramme improved the armature and solved the problem of overheating, making possible the exploitation of Faraday's 1831 demonstration of electromagnetic induction.

Alchemist in his laboratory studio (according to Thomas Wyck (or Wijcka, around 1616 1677/82) Wijck, Thomas (1616 1677/82), unknown, Wijck, Thomas (1616 1677)

Hall of Physics in Felix Meritis, 1789; Four rooms in Felix Meritis. Demonstration of the electrical machine in the hall of physics in the building of society Felix Meritis in Amsterdam, initiated in 1789.

Engraving depicting visitors to a 'Natural History' museum examining the exhibits.

Series of engravings from the Graphic showing two callers during a telephone conversation and the operators at the exchange working to ensure the call is transferred. September 1st 1883

Boiling, a form of puddling, at Phoenix Iron Works, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. From 'The Science Record', New York, 1873

Repeat of Foucault's demonstration of the Earth's rotation made at the Polytechnic Institution, London in May 1851 by Dr Bachhoffner., c1890, Engraving

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