Inventions that Didn't Change the World

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A captivating and humorous selection of inventions catalogued and registered in 19th-century Britain, as revealed through remarkable, unpublished illustrations from the National Archives.

A captivating and humorous selection of inventions catalogued and registered in 19th-century Britain, as revealed through remarkable, unpublished illustrations from the National Archives.
Welcome to the world of Victorian product design, and the improbable inventions that never quite made it into production during Britain’s period as the workshop of the world. These genuine domestic and professional designs, registered in the 19th century for the most unlikely innovations, have been boxed away - until now - deep in the vaults of The National Archives.

Meticulous illustrations and descriptions accompany the boldest of claims for making daily life in a newly industrialized world that little bit easier. These truly are design solutions to the problems you never knew you had.
Extent: 224 pp
Format: Quarterbound/PLC (no jacket)
Illustrations: 240
Publication date: 2014-10-06
Size: 24.0 x 17.0 cm
ISBN: 9780500517628
Introduction • House & Garden • The Workplace • The Individual • Out & About • Preventatives & Panaceas • Sport & Leisure • Health & Safety • Acknowledgments • Picture Credits • Index

Press Reviews

A treasure trove of self-ventilating hats, boot warmers, hair-brushing machines and improved pickle forks … a unique insight into the world that spawned them
Guardian

Irresistible … these inventions provide entertaining glimpses of the lives, hopes and fears of our nineteenth-century forebears
The Lancet

Patently daft … wonderfully wacky … bonkers
Daily Mirror

Hundreds of bizarre nineteenth-century designs … all laid out with skilful draughtsmanship and Heath Robinson-style eccentricity
New Statesman (Picture Book of the Week)

About the Author

Julie Halls is a curator and specialist in 19th-century registered designs at the National Archives.

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