Inventions that Didn't Change the World by Julie Halls

Inventions that Didn't Change the World by Julie Halls

Inventions that Didn't Change the World is a fascinating visual tour through some of the most bizarre inventions registered with the British authorities in the nineteenth century. In an era when Britain was the workshop of the world, registration of designs was quicker and cheaper than the convoluted patenting process, and all manner of bizarre curiosities were painstakingly recorded in beautiful color illustrations and well-penned explanatory text, alongside the genuinely great inventions of the period. Irreverent commentary contextualizes each submission as well as taking a humorous view on how each has stood the test of time. This book introduces such gems as a ventilating top hat; an artificial leech; a design for an aerial machine adapted for the arctic regions; an anti-explosive alarm whistle; a tennis racket with ball-picker; and a currant-cleaning machine. Here is everything the end user could possibly require for a problem he never knew he had. Organized by area of application industry, clothing, transportation, medical, health and safety, the home, and leisure Inventions that Didn t Change the World reveals the concerns of a bygone era giddy with the possibilities of a newly industrialized world.

'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
'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)
'Inventors, however mad, must get things wrong if they are to get things right: a thousand Wallace and Gromits for every Brunel or James Dyson is a price worth paying' - Daily Telegraph
'Irresistible … these inventions provide entertaining glimpses of the lives, hopes and fears of our nineteenth-century forebears' - The Lancet

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

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780500517628
ISBN 10	0500517622
Title	Inventions that Didn't Change the World
Author	Julie Halls
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Thames & Hudson Ltd
Year published	2014-10-06
Number of pages	224
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable