Invention Collection

Heath Robinson automated Dining Room without servants 1 of 4
Heath Robinson Does Away with Servants - Patent Applied for by " The Sketch" in the Dining-Room. A family at their dining table, which is a typically Heath Robinson design

Pea Apparatus by William Heath Robinson
An interesting and elegant apparatus designed to overcome once for all the difficulties of conveying green peas to the mouth

What every golfer wants by William Heath Robinson. Please note: Credit must appear as Courtesy of the estate of Mrs J.C.Robinson/Pollinger Ltd/ILN/Mary Evans Date: 1921

Ultra-Marine by William Heath Robinson
One of Margates new " Neversink" pleasure boats for keeping an even keel inthe roughest seas. Please note: Credit must appear as Courtesy of the estate of Mrs J.C.Robinson/Pollinger

A Decided Catch by William Heath Robinson
The Whitebait cycle, an ingenious contraption necessitated by the exorbitant charges for hire of boats at the seaside this season

Bound to Draw by William Heath Robinson
Another well-thought-out experiment in dentistry from Heath Robinson, the Gadget King and mastermind behind endless convoluted contraptions and silly ideas. Date: 1927

Rejected by the inventions board

A Swimming Stroke of Genius
A simple device by which a cross channel swim may be rendered both easy and pleasant- not to mention luxurious. Please note

Acme Moustache Guard
The Acme Moustache Guard. Solid comfort while eating. No use for napkins - does not interfere with use of mouth. Made of gold or silver plate. Everyone should have one!

DOLLY TUB
A laundry worker using a dolly stock and tub to clean clothes, prior to the invention of the washing machine

A cunning stroke by William Heath Robinson
A clever but unsportsmanlike contrivance to increase buoyance and prevent fatigue among Channel swimmers. A useful inflatable idea to help long-distance swimmers by the gadget king

The Subzeppmarinellin by Heath Robinson, WW1 cartoon
The subzeppmarinellin for making sure of your enemy. All bases covered with this combined submarine and zeppelin from the imagination of William Heath Robinson during the First World War. Date: c.1916

Rejected by the inventions board
" Rejected by the inventions board. VII -The Gallipoli Shell-Diverter for returning the Enemys Fire" There were other theatres of war besides he Western Front

Ending in Smoke by Heath Robinson
An ingenious smoke screen spreader for preventing embarrassing situations when the bathroom lock is out of order. Hilarious invention by the inimitable Heath Robinson allowing complete discretion for

Bridgewater Canal Map
Map showing the route of the proposed canal from Worsley to Manchester and thence to the Mersey, to be built by engineer James Brindley for the duke of Bridgewater

Invention of the Cube Car. This box-like car, designed by French-Vietnamese designer and engineer Quasar Kahn, was produced in limited numbers between 1967

Victorian inventions in The Engineer
A page of patented engineering and industrial inventions from The Engineer magazine, 1856. Date: 1856

Testing a new type of steering gear / W Heath Robinson
Illustration by William Heath Robinson. Please note: Credit must appear as Courtesy of the estate of Mrs J.C.Robinson/Pollinger Ltd/Mary Evans Picture Library

HMS Habbakuk in section
Illustration showing a cross section of the top secret design for HMS Habbakuk a giant aircraft-carrier built of ice and wood pulp, which was proposed as a secret weapon in the Second World War

Gutenbergs printing press
Gutenberg inspects the first sheet of his Bible, which has just come off the press

Futuristic long distance airship
A futuristic long distance airship held aloft by two long balloons, flying across the sea

Automaton at the Schoolboys Own Exhibition, 1929
A physiological robot at the Schoolboys Own Exhibition in London, 1929. Designed to show how organs of the body work, here three young visitors take great interest in its insides. Date: 1929

Robidas rotating house
Maison tournante arienee or aerial rotating house, one of Albert Robidas futuristic visions of life in the 20th century

Bedroom boat-race practice
An enthusiastic " Blue" leaves nothing to chance and recreates rowing conditions with the help of three tin baths, some wheels and a pair of oars in his bedroom

Sir Francis Ronalds
Portrait of English inventor, Sir Francis Ronalds (1788-1873), inventor of the electric telegraph in 1816. He fitted his garden in Hammersmith with an electric telegraph but was refused when he

Hat Wireless 1930S
A man tunes into his hat radio!

George Stephensons locomotive, the Rocket, which won a prize given by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company

Bailey Bridge and Rhine victory by G. H. Davis
The Bailey Bridge: the British weapon which hurdled Allied armies across the Rhine barrier during the Second World War. Some constructional details of a great engineering invention

Macmillans Bicycle
Kirkpatrick Macmillan and his early Dandy Horse bicycle

Louis Braille - inventor of system of raised-point writing
Louis Braille (1809-1852) - French inventor of system of raised-point writing for the blind. Date: circa 1850

An Attractive Idea for Gents Wear
Do you realise that the equinoctial gales will soon be blowing in upon us? If so, do not forget to buy one of the new patent adjustable, magnetic hat guards, for use with any style and size of hat

Lessons by Post by William Heath Robinson
The new Heath Robinson Swimming Post, which is acquiring such popularity at our most fashionable resorts. Please note: Credit must appear as Courtesy of the Estate of Mrs J.C.Robinson/Pollinger

Cold Comfort by W. Heath Robinson
An elegant device now in use in many seaside boarding houses to obviate the rather indelicate act of blowing on ones food to cool it

The Harley-Scope Mine-Detector by William Heath Robinson
A crackpot invention dreamed up Heath Robinson, allowing a British machine to suspend a stethoscope wearing doctor over the ground, in an attempt to locate the snug dug outs of the German enemy

Johannes Gutenberg, German goldsmith and printer
Johannes Gutenberg (Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg), German goldsmith and printer. He invented mechanical movable type and thereby began a revolution in book printing

Advert, Royles Patent Self-Pouring Teapots
Advertisement for Royles Patent Self-Pouring Teapots, October 1888. 1888

Leonardesque model. Trench-digging machine. Model. Technolog
Leonardesque model. Trench-digging machine. Drawing of a digger for excavating trenches or channels. Manuscript L, sheet 76v, 1497-1502. Model. The science and Technology Museum Leonardo da Vinci

Incandescent giant lamp, model of the Edison type bulb. Expo
Incandescent giant lamp, twelve feet high, mounted on a pedestal crowned by a model of the Edison type bulb, increased 20, 000 times

A very early type of railway signal by W Heath Robinson
A very early type of railway signal now rarely to be seen - an example from Railway Ribaldry, drawn by William Heath Robinson and commissioned by the Great Western Railway to mark their centenary

China. Han Dynasty (206 aC-220 BC). Invention

Honeymoon taxi / W H Robinson
The best man need no longer grovel under back axles to attach boots and horseshoes etc. The Honeymoon taxi comes pre-prepared

Futuristic underwater croquet. The players are all wearing diving helmets with oxygen packs on their backs

First published photograph, William Fox-Talbot facsimile of a photogenic drawing showing fern leaves. Date: 1839

Phonograph by Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)
Phonograph. Created in 1877 by Thomas Alva Edison (Milan, Ohio, 1847-West Orange, 1931). Colored engraving

Cricket for the middle-aged / W H Robinson
More sensible cricket for the middle-aged. Every player has his own comfortable seat and drinks are served on a tray mid game

Out of wrong side of bed / W H Robinson
Post War Britain: Health and happiness at home. Simple precaution to prevent getting out of bed on the wrong side in the morning - a makeshift wall

When the Hot Water Tap Runs Cold
Ingenious invention for improving the level of bath water, especially when hot water runs out, whereby the occupant inflates a large balloon to order to displace water and raise the level

Hurray for the Robinson Ray! by W. Heath Robinson
We are privileged to publish the first illustration of a Death Ray at its dirty work. the top secret experiment was entirely successful, and as our picture shows

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