Historical Scientific Illustrations

Vintage engravings depicting notable historical figures and scientific activities, highlighting inventions and experimentation.

Berlin company Urania, founded in 1888 with the aim of making scientific findings available to a lay audience, here a sound mirror, illustration, reproduction of a model from the 19th century. Authentic, file restored for optimal use, exact date of presentation unknown, Historical, A woman and a man look at a sound arrangement in an exhibition

Berlin company Urania, founded in 1888 with the aim of making scientific findings available to a lay audience, here a sound mirror, illustration, reproduction of a model from the 19th century. Authentic, file restored for optimal use, exact date of presentation unknown, Historical, A woman and a man look at a sound arrangement in an exhibition

James Watt, 30 January 1736 to 25 August 1819, a Scottish inventor, here as a youth during first experiments discovers the laws of steam, Scotland, Hi...

Portrait of the gentleman who draws up the meteorological reports. Dated 19th century

Carpentry workshop, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1845.

Torch and lamp Enameller, vintage engraving. Torch and lamp Enameller, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1861. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 10678108

An engraving depicting audio-typing from a wax cylinder made on a Bell & Tainter Graphophone. Dated 19th century

Man in front of a Barometer, Weather Forecast, 1850, Historic, digitally restored reproduction from a 19th century original

Story of a small ship. I worked for two years to make this model, vintage engraving. Story of a small ship. I worked for two years to make this model, vintage engraved illustration. Journal des Voyage, Travel Journal, 1880-81. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 10657054

19th century manual lathe. Old 19th century engraved illustration from La Nature 1885

Operator receiving a message in Morse code on printing telegraph. In box under table are the wet cells (batteries) supplying electricity. Wood engraving 1887

Coining press at the Royal Mint, London, 1891. Artist: Unknown

A teleprinter in use at the New York Stock Exchange and Edison instrument; 1885.

Engraving depicting Santorio Santorio seated in his balance (a steelyard) in which he could eat and sleep. He was the first to perform experiment on the metabolism. Santorio Santorio (1561-1636) a Venetian physiologist, physician, and professor, who introduced the quantitative approach to medicine. Dated 18th century

Engraving depicting a process in bookbinding: rounding the back of sewn sections to produce swell to strengthen the spine and ensure proper opening of the bound volume. Dated 19th century

James Watt, 30 January 1736 to 25 August 1819, a Scottish inventor, here as a youth during first experiments discovers the laws of steam, Scotland, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact original date not known

Engraving depicting the process of softening a dried skin by 'staking'

Press, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1852.

Berlin company Urania, founded in 1888 with the aim of making scientific findings available to a lay public, here an artificial geyser, illustration, reproduction of a model from the 19th century. Authentic, file restored for optimal use, exact date of submission unknown, historical, people in uniforms observing a scientific device in an exhibition

Story of a small ship. I worked for two years to make this model, vintage engraved illustration. Journal des Voyage, Travel Journal, (1880-81).

Engraving showing a group of gentlemen viewing the Gramme electricity generator and several images showing the electric lamps used with the generator, 1878. Date: 19 October 1878

'Elisha Kent Kane (1820-1857) American Navy surgeon and Arctic explorer, making readings with a magnetometer during the Second Grinnel Expedition,. 1853-1855, to search for Sir John Franklin.'

'20,000 LIEUES SOUS LES MERS' 20 000 leagues under the sea Captain Nemo explains the instruments in his room Date: 1870

Hans Christian Oersted, Danish physicist, 1820 (c1880). Artist: Unknown

Illustration showing Hand spinning, carding and roving. The wire 'cards' or 'combs' are in the left foreground. 1848

The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual'. Dr Watson watching Sherlock Holmes going through mementoes of his old cases. From 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' by Conan Doyle from 'The Strand Magazine' (London, 1893). Illustration by Sidney E Paget, the first artist to draw Sherlock Holmes. Engraving.

An engraving depicting Andreas Cuneus attempting to electrify water contained in a Leyden bottle (1746). Muschenbroek, Cuneus' teacher, repeated the experiment and was frightened by the shock he received. Dated 19th century

MERGENTHALER SHOWS THE LINOTIPIA MACHINE TO OGDEN REID, DIRECTOR OF THE NEWSPAPER, ca. 1885.

Illustration from Theatrum Machinarum Novum 1661 by Georg Andreas Böckler; A flour mill driven by a water powered screw

Engraving depicting a concave mirror. The diagram showing the virtual focus when the light source is inside the principal focus. Dated 19th Century

An engraving depicting Bohemian Garnets. At the bottom miners are washing garnets, while the man on the left is splitting the stones and the couple on the right is polishing them. Dated 19th century

Berliner Gesellschaft Urania, founded in 1888 with the aim of making scientific findings available to a lay public, here in the astronomical department, illustration, reproduction from a model from the 19th century. Authentic, file restored for optimal use, exact date of submission unknown, historical, people look at displayed equipment in an ancient exhibition wearing hats

Illustration showing a desk with a writing slope. London, 1884. Illustration by Alfred J. Johnson (fl 1874-94)

Plunge Bath: after vapour baths, wet packs and dripping sheets, patients were totally immersed in the plunge bath. From The Hydropathic Encyclopaedia, New York, 1874.

Machine for smoothing candles in the Jaillon Moinier tallow candle factory, La Villette, Paris, France, illustration from L'Illustration, Journal Universel, No 430, Volume XVII, May 22-29, 1851.

Fire-watches in Vienna using a telescope mounted so that the location of a fire could be determined accurately by means of the position of a needle in the divided scale on a map of the city. From The Illustrated London News, 31 May 1884.

Berlin company Urania, founded in 1888 with the aim of making scientific findings available to a lay public, here in the machine shop, illustration, reproduction from a model from the 19th century. Authentic, file restored for optimal use, exact date of submission unknown, historical, visitors look at a cable car model at an exhibition, dressed traditionally

Emergency sale, man sells his musical instrument to a dealer for lack of money, after a painting by Anton Müller, 1887 / Notverkauf, Mann verkauft aus Geldmangel sein Musikinstrument an einen Händler, nach einem Gemälde von Anton Müller, 1887, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert,.

An engraving depicting the process of oiling the roller bearings on a revolving lighthouse lens. Dated 19th century

George Wilhelm Richmann (1711-1753) professor of Natural History at St Petersburg, Russia. Already interested in the electrical nature of thunderstorms, he repeated Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment and was killed by ball-lightning on 6 August 1753. The first person to be killed while conducting an electrical experiment. Engraving from 'A travers l'Electricite' by Georges Dary (Paris, c1905).

An engraving depicting the process of polishing a diamond. Dated 19th century

Illustration showing work in a magnetic observatory. From Elisha Kent Kane 'Arctic Explorations', The Second Grinnfell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin, 1853 - 1855.

Jean Alexandre demonstrating his electric telegraph. 1870.

Photograph of the interior of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, an observatory situated on a hill in Greenwich Park, overlooking the River Thames. Dated 19th Century

Frederick Augustus Abel (1827-1902). English chemist and inventor. Explosives: (with James Dewar) invented cordite: New method for manufacturing gun-cotton. Abel at 50. Cartoon by Edward Linley Sambourne in his 'Fancy Portraits' series from 'Punch' London 24 November 1883

Engraving depicting Joseph Black lecturing on latent heat at Glasgow University. Joseph Black (1728-1799) a Scottish physician and chemist. Dated 18th Century

The scientist, mounts his favorite hobby, vintage engraved illustration.

A man consuming many antidotes to the plague during the Great Plague of London. Etching by J. Franklin, 1841.

Watchmaker; Méaulle, Fortuné Louis (1844-1901); 1880-1890 (1880-00-00-1890-00-00);

In the space capsule: calculations making the narrator's head spin. From Jules Verne 'Autour de la Lune', Paris, 1865. Wood engraving.

Determination of acidimetric title, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1869.

Telephone: man on left is making call which passes through the operator at the exchange, centre, to recipient on the right. Ader system. Engraving published Paris 1881.

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) French chemist, in his laboratory at the Ecole Normale, Paris, during his work on hydrophobia. Around him are cages full of the animals he used during his experiments. From 'Le Journal de la Jeunesse' Paris, 1893.

The interior of the new telescope of the observatory in Paris, France, illustration from the magazine L'Illustration, Journal Universel, year 41, volume LXXXII, no 2120, October 13, 1883.

'The Great Lozenge-Maker. A Hint to Paterfamilias', 1858. Artist: John Leech

Engraving depicting a standing clamp used to keep the subject straight during long exposure photographs. Dated 19th Century

An engraving depicting the manufacturing of beaver hats: 'felting' the body of the hats in the 'kettle'. Mercury was used during the manufacture, and many hatters suffered from the uncontrollable shaking typical of mercury poisoning. Dated 19th century

Emery shaking hands, vintage engraved illustration. Jules Verne 3 Russian and 3 English, 1872.

Phonautograph (c 1857) apparatus for studying sound vibrations graphically, invented by (Edouard) Leon Scott de Martinville. Tuning fork vibrated by bow or iron rod, and vibration traced on cylinder coated with lampblack. Engraving, 1872

James Glaisher (1809 - 1903) English meteorologist, aeronaut and astronomer making observations in a balloon 1874

Making a record cylinder, Electricity in the service of man. Phonograph cylinders are the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as 'records' in their era of greatest popularity (c. 18961915), these hollow cylindrical objects have an audio recording engraved on the outside surface, which can be reproduced when they are played on a mechanical cylinder phonograph. In the 1910s, the competing disc record system triumphed in the marketplace to become the dominant commercial audio medium.

A Tour in the North - Pibrochs in Cockneydom, c. 1901

Illustration showing the 'Little Giant'; hand-held drill by the Chicago Pneumatic Tool Co

An engraving depicting a safety candlestick. Using a ball joint, it was possible to keep the candle vertical irrespective of the angle at which the candlestick held. Dated 19th century

Subtle Doctor, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1836.

A cartoon commenting on the adulteration of milk: a woman uses a home testing kit. Dated 19th century

An engraving depicting the manufacture of worsted, a fine smooth yarn spun from combed long-staple wool. Dated 19th century

Jons Jacob Berzelius (1779-1848) Swedish chemist.

Artisan in his workshop. Engraving. 19th century.

Illustration showing SPINNING METAL: method used to produce hollow-ware such as teapots, dish covers, powder horns, 1880

James Watt perfects Newcomen's engine, Thomas Newcomen (1663 to 1729), English inventor, digitally enhanced reproduction of a 19th-century original, historical, exact date unknown.

Engraving depicting an automatic sight testing machine which was placed in a number of German and British towns.

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564). Italian Renaissance artist. Michelangelo explaining anatomy to his disciples. Engraving after a composition of the baroque painter Georg Anton Urlab (1713-1759). Detail. La Ilustracion Espaola y Americana, September 15, 1876.

Jean Martin Charcot (1825-1903) French neurologist and pathologist, demonstrating production of hypnosis using beam of light from a magic lantern. Picture drawn from life at the Salpetriere Hospital, Paris. Freud heard of posthypnotic suggestion from Charcot. Engraving from 'La Nature', Paris, 1879.

Colorimeter, after a design by Labilliardiere with modifications by Salleron, 1871. Artist: Unknown

An engraving depicting the production of raisin wine, in England. the fruit after steeping. 1842

Elisha Gray (1835-1901), American inventor, presenting the caveat for his telephone, 1876. Gray arrived at the US Patent Office at 4pm on 14 February 1876, just two hours after Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) had presented his own caveat for a telephone. From 'Les Nouvelles Conquetes de la Science'. Louis Figuier, (Paris, c1890). Engraving

Illustration showing Electromagnet supporting the weight of a boy.

A man is making candles. Coloured lithograph.

Torch and gas lamp, vintage engraving. Torch and gas lamp, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1861. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 10678113

An engraving depicting the bridge of HMS Inflexible (launched 1876), showing the speaking tubes for communicating with other parts of the ship. Dated 19th century

Colorimeter, after design by Labilliardiere with modifications by Salleron. The intensities of two liquids in glass tubes are made equal by adding water to the stringer and measuring the water added. Instrument used in chemical analysis to compare with s

Mr Utterson and Jekyll's butler, having broken down the laboratory door, finds Hyde not yet back to being Dr Jekyll, From The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson, first published 1886, Illustration by Edmund J. Sullivan (1866-1933/English)

Dr Jekyll, having written down his confession to being the murderer Hyde, seals the document., From The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson, first published 1886, Illustration by Edmund J. Sullivan (1866-1933/English)

'The Astrologer', c19th century.Artist: J Demannez

Engraving depicting an astronomer and his assistant observing Mercury, Venus and Jupiter from a roof top observatory in Paris. Dated 19th Century

Frontispiece of section 'Of Statik Experiments' from Giambattista della Porta (1535-1615) an Italian scholar, polymath and playwright who lived in Naples at the time of Scientific Revolution and Reformation. Dated 16th Century

The rev William DALLINGER's laboratory, where he sought to reconcile theology and biology. Date: 1888

Illustration depicting a Fortin barometer. 1873. Jean Nicolas Fortin (1750-1831) was a French maker of scientific instruments. Fortin is chiefly remembered for his design of barometer, now called a Fortin barometer, which he introduced in about 1800. In this, the mercury cistern has a glass portion through which the mercury exposed to the atmosphere can be seen, and an ivory needle which was made just to touch its mirror image in the mercury before the reading was taken. This allows for the fact that, when the mercury column in the closed tube falls, the level in the cistern rises, and the difference in height between the two cannot be accurately determined unless the height of the latter is taken into account.

An engraving depicting the oiling of the roller bearings of a revolving lighthouse lens. Dated 19th century

Woodcarver, Woodcutter, Man in his workshop, Historic, digital reproduction of an original 19th century pattern

Franklin's kite experiment, c1752. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American scientist, statesman, diplomat, author, printer and publisher, flying a kite in a thunderstorm and about to draw a spark from a metal key attached to the kite string, proving the electrical nature of thunderstorms. From 'Annals of Industry and Genius', CL Brightwell, (London, 1869). Wood engraving.

Practical chemistry; a sketch of students in the chemistry lab at St Thomas's. Date: 1886

An engraving depicting Stephen Gray's experiment with static electricity caused by rubbing a glass rod. Stephen Grey (1666-1736) an English dyer and astronomer. Dated 19th century

Oersted demonstrates the deviation of the magnetic needle by the electric current, vintage engraved illustration. From the Universe and Humanity, 1910.

Ophthalmoscope by Helmholtz, vintage engraved illustration. From the Universe and Humanity, 1910.

Heat reflection in a vacuum experience Davy, vintage engraved illustration. Industrial encyclopedia E.-O. Lami - 1875.

The first mirror, vintage engraving. The first mirror, vintage engraved illustration. Earth before man 1886. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 10647831

Cartoon depicting Edison's phonograph. The phonograph was invented in 1877, for the mechanical recording and reproduction of sound by Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison (1847-1931) an American inventor and businessman. Illustrated by George du Maurier (1834-1896) a Franco-British cartoonist and author. Dated 19th century

In the laboratory of an alchemist in England in 1875 / Im Laboratorium eines Alchimisten in England im Jahre 1875, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert,.

Pierre-Joseph Macquer's (1711-1784) , French chemist, experiment on synthesising water (1781).

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