Instruments Collection

BABBAGEs ENGINE (2)
Charles Babbages Difference Engine, an instrument which went beyond simple calculation to embody some of the principles of computers

Church Bell Ringers
Ringing the changes in the belfry of an English parish church at Christmas time

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by William McLaren
King Arthur welcomes the Green Knight into the Banqueting Hall and invites him to dismount and eat with the company

Ukulele Song 1926
A happy couple singing by moonlight: Give me a ukulele... and a ukulele baby... and leave the rest to me

Advertisement for Steinway Pianos - no drawing room of distinction has the ideally correct note unless it contains one. circa 1930s

WW2 Poster -- Women of Britain Come Forward Now
Women of Britain -- These scientific instruments demand nimble fingers and quick brains. Come Forward Now. Recruitment poster, Auxiliary Territorial Service

Wurlitzer Pipe Organ Ad
WURLITZER Have your own Wurlitzer installed at home and charm the hours away with the lovliest of melodies

Orrery, 19th Century
Planetarium or orrery

Astrolabe & Quadrant
Astrolabe and quadrant

Galileos Telescope
Galileos telescope

20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne
20, 000 LIEUES SOUS LES MERS [20 000 leagues under the sea], A window opened into this unexplored abyss. Date: 1870

BABBAGEs ENGINE (1)
Babbages Difference Engine - he was continually modifying the design, as with modern computers, so it is not possible to date this precisely

A Watchmaker at Work
A clock and watchmaker seated at his bench makes fine adjustments to a watch part, possibly a cog. He uses a bow lathe ?. Wall, mantel & grandfather clocks can be seen

Various musical instruments

Advert for Harrods piano sale 1919
Selection of bargain pianos, prices start at 148 gns for a Cramer Baby Grand in rosewood to a Chappell upright Boudoir Grand at 64 gns. 1919

Central Computer / Harwell
The Central Computer at Harwell serves over 600 users and has 200 typewriter terminals distributed around the site. This view shows the IBM 360/75

ROWLEYs ORRERY, 1749
Rowleys Orrery

Valve Horn on its Own
The VALVE HORN (French : Cor a pistons) was introduced in the 1830s and completely replaced the Natural Horn used by Mozart and Beethoven

Swinging on Ringing Bell
The bell ringers of Seville - a rather unusual method where the ringers are swinging on the bells themselves

Peruvian Quipu
The QUIPU used by the ancient Peruvians to record events, keep accounts. This unattributed illustration comes from the Swedish Magazine Allers Familj Journal, 25th July 1923 issue

Jazz orchestra by the pool on board the Mauretania
A jazz orchestra entertains passengers by the pool on board the ocean liner, the Mauretania, just one of the many amusements available. Date: 1931

Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691-1765). Musical party given by Ca
Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691-1765). Italian painter. Musical party given by Cardinal De La Rochefoucauld at the Argentina Theatre in Rome in 1747. Museum of Louvre. Paris. France

Tuba on its Own
There are three sizes of tuba - the smallest is the Euphonium : the Bombardon is the most usual; there is also the Contrabass Tuba, used in military bands and by Wagner. Date: 1897

The Emperor Stradivarius violin
The famous Emperor Stradivarius violin, dating from 1715. It was bought by the violinist and composer Jan Kubelik in 1910 for 10, 000 -- the highest price paid for a violin to that date. "

They Laughed when I
They laughed when I sat down at the piano... (and then, of course, he amazed them all with his virtuosity !)

How Pianola Works 1912
How the player-piano works - air passes through the holes in the piano-roll and acts on the bellows mechanism, causing a hammer to strike a key

Organ - Tippoos Tiger
The unusual organ Tippoos Tiger, constructed to the order of Tippoo Sahib (1753- 1799), Sultan of Mysore, and represents the mauling of an East India Company Officer

Clock Mechanism, 1737
A diagram of the inner workings of a clock

Two violins and a viola by Stradivarius
Two violins and a viola by Antonius Stradivarius -- 1717 violin (Hart & Son), 1762 viola (Hart & Son), The Gillot Strad, 1715 (G Haddock). 1875

Alpine Horn
Man blowing a traditional horn in the Alps. Date: 1930s

Boys Band, Hull Sailors Orphanage
Boys naval band at the Hull Sailors Orphanage, also known as Newland Homes

Orrery by Jones
Astronomical objects, namely a trajectorium lunare and an orrery or planetarium by Jones, mounted on a rather splendid stand

Wurlitzer Saxophones
Five saxophones from the Wurlitzer range

HARPIST
A medieval lady plays a small harp

Christmas Bell Ringers
Christmas bell ringers Date: 1869

Persian Musicians
A group of Persian musicians play on a variety of instruments. Below dancing girls perform to the music

Lantern Clock Tompion
Lantern clock by Thomas Tompion, the father of English clock-making

Metric System
Applications of the metric system to dimensions, weight and money

Abraham-Louis Breguet
ABRAHAM-LOUIS BREGUET French watchmaker, known for instruments of great accuracy

Highland Bagpipe Player
Ross : Victorias highland piper

Musical Instruments 1883
Various musicians playing various instruments: a harp, a lyre, pipes, hunting horn. Pipes of Pan are also in evidence

Bracket Clock Tompion
Bracket clock by Thomas Tompion

Computer Envisaged 1927
A COMPUTER, as envisaged in 1927 [illustration to The Thought Machine by Ammianus Marcellinus]

Lie detector 1923
American instrument for the detection of uttered fibs, falsehoods, and other untruths, based on responses of the subjects heart and lungs

Persian musicians
Three seated Persian musicians, playing a hand drum, what looks like a daf and a kamanche. A tonbak, or goblet drum, lies discarded on the ground. Date: 1870s

Advertisement for the Brinsmead grand piano
An advertisement for the Brinsmead grand piano, the best that British craftsmanship can produce, with a pure singing tone and beauty of finish. Payment by instalments can be arranged... Date: 1913

Lovell Telescope
The brainchild of Sir Bernard Lovell, the Lovell Radio Telescope was for many years the largest in the world and dominates the Cheshire countryside for miles around. Date: 1960s

The Dixieland Jazz Band, c. 1919 Date: c.1919

Trombone, Wurlitzer
Three trombones from the Wurlitzer range

Oboe, Wurlitzer
The Oboe, originally known by its French name, Hautbois

Ukulele, Wurlitzer
A range of Ukuleles sold by the Wurlitzer company

Boys Band, Training Ship Indefatigable
The Boys Band of the Training Ship Indefatigable pose for their photograph in a field, near a tent -- probably at a local fete where they were performing

Horn Lesson in a Wine Cellar
A group of gentlemen and a small boy congregate in a wine cellar to practice playing the horn whilst enjoying a drink or two (non-alcoholic for the small boy of course)

Wurlitzer Mandolin
Wurlitzers flat-back mandolin outfit Date: 1924

Astronomical Clock 1833
The astronomical clock in Strasbourg cathedral was first built in 1354 and rebuilt in 1574

Clock Mechanism 1882
A clock mechanism

Adolphe Sax
ADOLPHE SAX French inventor of musical instruments

Chinese Abacus 1814
A man uses a " swan-pen" - a Chinese version of the abacus

M. I. T. Calculator 1930S
The Differential Analyser calculating machine designed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Peruvian Quipu
A quipu of ancient Peru

Cornet on its Own
The CORNET-A-PISTONS - usually known simply as the Cornet, has a tube half the length of the trumpet, and consequently plays an octave higher

Corno Di Bassetto
The CORNO DI BASSETTO (sometimes called the Bassett Horn) is virtually an alto clarinet

Bassoon & Sarrussophone
Bassoon and Sarussophone from the Wurlitzer catalogue

Racial / French Accordeon
A typical French street or cafe musician playing the one-step for accordion

Optique Telescope / Didero
An optique telescope

Computer 1960S
A compact modern computer with built in screen

Long-Case by Tompion
Long-case clock by Thomas Tompion

Armillary Sphere
An armillary sphere

Tycho Brahe Astrolabe
Tycho-Brahes astrolabe

Wurlitzer Mandolin 1924
The Wurlitzer Banjo Mandolin outfit - only 35 dollars !

Man & Concertina / Photo
A young man is photographed playing his concertina

Vocal Cornet (Wurlitzer) 1
A trio of Vocal Cornets from the Wurlitzer range

Trumpet (Wurlitzer)
Wurlitzer trumpet outfit

Lady Plays the Violin
A lady plays the violin

Clocks at Greenwich
Left, Synchronome Free Pendulum at Greenwich Observatory, with right, the Slave Clock which performs its escapement function, accurate to 1/100th second

Ufos / Reichs Cloudbuster
Wilhelm Reich finds that his weather-influencing devices also affect UFOs, and could perhaps destroy them; here he is operating one of his instruments

Interior of Golden Temple at Amritsar, 1858
Interior of the Golden Temple at Amritsar, India (spelt here as Umritzir), 1858. Gurus reading the Grunt h (or Granth)

Chinese musical instruments
A selection of Chinese musical instruments, including a bell(1), gong, (2), cymbals(4), a guqin or seven-stringed zither(7), a pipa or four-stringed lute (8), Yueqin or moon-shaped lute(11)

London Trade Card - William Bull, Musical Instruments - trumpets, kettledrums, French horns, speaking trumpets, hearing horns for deaf people, powder flasks

St Edwards Orphanage, Liverpool - Boys band
St Edwards Orphanage, Broad Green, Liverpool - the boys band pose with their instruments

Wayang puppet theatre and Gamelan Orchestra - Java
Wayang - Javanese puppet theatre (sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang)

Silhouette of Edgar Dowells Dance Orchestra
Silhouette of Edgar Dowell and his orchestra, popular in both the UK and US during the 1920s. Date: c.1925

Glenfinnan Church Bell
Church bell in the grounds of Glenfinnan Church, Inverness- shire, Scotland. It was originally intended for the church tower, but it proved to be too heavy! Date: 1930s

Saxophones, Wurlitzer
Three saxophones from the Wurlitzer range

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